Chiedozie Ogbene was Ipswich Town’s last signing of the summer transfer window, joining from Luton Town for a fee of £8 million. Alex Jones takes a closer look at the versatile forward.
A difficult decision
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Ogbene saw his whole world change when he was just eight years old. His father had an opportunity to go and work in Florida, but ended up turning it down to get a job in Ireland. As a result, Ogbene and his entire family (his parents, two brothers and two sisters) ended up in Cork.
He grew up in the Grange area of the city, attending local Catholic schools at primary and secondary level. That’s where he first got into sport.
Despite living on the other side of the country, he was following a similar path to that of Ipswich and Republic of Ireland team-mate Dara O’Shea. Funnily enough, the pair played together on loan at Exeter City in 2018/19, and they both had to make a decision between Gaelic football (GAA) and association football at the start of their careers.
He was able to balance the two sports initially, playing GAA for Nemo Rangers while building up his football experience in the Munster Senior League with Tramore Athletic, College Corinthians, Kilreen Celtic and Everton. As he began to take it more and more seriously, it became clear that it wasn't viable.
“I had to pick between soccer and GAA,” he told The42. “But I’ve always wanted to be a professional soccer player and this is the dream. It’s just unfortunate as a lot of people thought I was good at Gaelic football.
“I did like it but I had to choose. You miss it sometimes but a lot of things have been happening that I’ve been dreaming of so it’s all been positive for me.
“It was tough because you play GAA most of your life and you’re leaving friends you grew up with. I always wanted to be a soccer player. People might not have seen it because I played both but those at home and all my close friends knew.
“At the end of the day, I always knew what I wanted to pick.”
Changing sports
Back in 2015, Stephen Bermingham and Declan Coleman began working together at Cork City’s Under-19s set-up. The former was the manager while the latter was his assistant, but together they spotted Ogbene’s talent in the Munster Senior League and looked to bring him into a professional academy.
At this point, he was still trying to balance football with GAA. Ultimately, it became too much.
"I had a lot of heated conversations, people didn't think I was going to make it [in football]. I was still at Cork City,” he told BBC Sport.
"I had a big match coming up, a county final [with Nemo], and Cork had to play UCD away, so I had to make a decision.
"I'm quite an emotional person and it was really difficult to ring the GAA to tell Nemo Rangers that I was going to try and follow the football route.
"It wasn't an easy decision. I was so young, but I still have the support of Nemo Rangers and all the GAA people."
He scored 1–2 and was awarded Man of the Match in an under-21 final for Nemo Rangers in 2015. It proved to be his last game. After that, he was fully focused on football.
At youth level, Cork were particularly strong. Ogbene recalls gaining a winning mentality at the club, where they regularly played against some of the best sides in Europe in the UEFA Youth League.
“If I never got selected by Stephen Bermingham and Declan Coleman, I don’t know where I’d be right now,” Ogbene said via EchoLive.ie in 2022.
“They tracked my progress at Everton and Corinthians. Playing for Cork City’s U19s was one of the best things that could have happened to me.
“I was able to get into that kind of schedule where you are playing every week and travelling a country. You get a taste of what you could be as a professional footballer.
“We trained a lot. We were one of the best teams in the country.
“I learned how to win games. We went 40-something games unbeaten.
“You learn how to win games in different ways. It taught me as well that being a professional footballer is not easy. Even though we were winning games, not many of us got opportunities in the first team. That is how hard it was.
“Playing for Cork City’s U19s was massive for my development. The same things my coaches told me at 19 is what my coaches tell me now at 24.
“Football is football, and they knew what they were talking about. They helped and guided me to become better.
“When I look back now, the chance that I got at that age, if I didn’t get that chance, I don’t know where I’d be today.”
He won the Enda McGuill Cup with their U19s before lifting the 2016 FAI Cup with the senior team, his first piece of silverware. It earned him a move to fellow League of Ireland club Limerick in 2017, where he was nominated three times for the League of Ireland Player of the Month award.
He continued to impress, gaining interest from England. For a while, it looked like Aston Villa were leading the chase, but he ended up in London.
Moving to England
Brentford signed Ogbene in January 2018, handing him his debut in April that year. He only made two appearances in the second half of the campaign, with a loan exit feeling inevitable. That saw him join Exeter for six months, although he spent a period on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in a win against Swindon Town.
In the end, he departed Brentford permanently the following summer - just 18 months after signing a three-and-a-half year deal - dropping to League One to join Rotherham United.
Paul Warne played him in a more central role, often starting him up front in a strike partnership. Although he thrived out wide, his frightening pace made life difficult for lower-league defenders. It was a role that Ogbene enjoyed, giving him the chance to play further up the pitch. Given that he openly tries to base his game on that of the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, it suited him.
Speaking after a 3-0 win against Bristol Rovers in January 2020, the manager described him as ‘unplayable’, saying: “He will have a great career if he keeps playing at that level. If Chieo continues in the form he is in, he will be a hard one to keep hold of.”
The campaign was ended early due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Millers secured automatic promotion via the points-per-game system. He stuck with them as they bounced between the Championship and League One, scoring at Wembley as they beat Sutton United in the 2022 EFL Trophy final.
In the end, the allure of the Premier League was too difficult to turn down.
Taking on the Premier League
Ogbene was signed by Luton Town on a free transfer following their promotion to the Premier League in 2023. It was his chance to take on the biggest league in the world, a huge opportunity for someone that was playing youth football in Ireland just seven years earlier.
His competitive debut came in the Hatters’ 4-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day of last season, coming off the bench in the 76th minute. In September, he was clocked as the fastest player in the division for a sprint against Fulham that was recorded at 36.93km/h, which wasn’t a huge surprise given that both of his brothers are runners. Ogbene’s record was only beaten by Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven.
Minutes were hard to come by at the start, however, as Rob Edwards’ side played without wingers. A slow start to the campaign saw the manager change things up, moving to a 3-4-3 formation against Wolves. Ogbene started off the left as his side picked up their first point of the campaign, drawing 1-1.
His first Premier League goal came the following month - a flick-on from a free-kick that kickstarted Luton’s late comeback against Nottingham Forest, which they drew 2-2. Two weeks later, he played a starring role in a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Kenilworth Road, raising eyebrows with a stunning run to beat Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ibrahima Konaté.
SO CLOSE 😰
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 5, 2023
Brilliant from Ogbene to get past Alexander-Arnold and Konate! 💪⚡ pic.twitter.com/dmorvsRkac
It was a special moment for him, given that he supports Liverpool. At that point, he could never have imagined that he’d score against the Reds, but he did just that in February 2024 as he opened the scoring at Anfield with a close-range header at the Kop end. Even though the match ended in a 4-1 defeat for Luton, it was clear how much it meant to him.
“I’ve always been a Liverpool fan,” he said via Luton Today. “We moved to Ireland in 2005, that’s when I fell in love with the likes of Steven Gerrard and the time they won the Champions League.
"Most of my family are Liverpool fans, I’ve always grown up a Liverpool fan, so I’m delighted. I’m happy, scoring at Anfield is something special for me, it will live long with me going forward, but in terms of business you can hear from my voice I’m devastated that we didn’t get any result here.”
Representing Ireland
Ogbene’s international career remained unclear for a while. Although he grew up in Ireland, it took quite some time to determine whether he was eligible to represent them. In July 2020, the Football Association of Ireland revealed that they had begun the paperwork for the eligibility process after he ‘expressed his desire to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level to national team boss Stephen Kenny’.
His wish came true, receiving his first call-up just under a year later for summer friendlies against Andorra and Hungary. He stressed his desire to be a role model for other Irish players from similar backgrounds, becoming the first African-born player to represent the country when he made his debut against Hungary in June 2021.
"It was a special moment for me and my family," Ogbene said after the game, where he was introduced as a late substitute.
"Stephen [Kenny] wanted me to declare for Ireland and I showed interest.
"There were a lot of complications with the registration and how I came into the country but to carry that title of being the first Africa-born player is very special.
"To see how proud I've made my family and the people of Cork, it's priceless. The support in Ireland is amazing."
It clearly meant a lot to his family too, admitting: “My mum phones me every game, every game I play, wants to know how I'm feeling and if I'm healthy. She was in tears, I could hear the emotion in her voice.”
"Parents take pride when their children do well and where we come from in Cork a lot of people notice my mum and ask about her so she feels famous. I can see how happy it makes her.
"She always said she dreamed of me helping her to be recognised.
"I then rang my two brothers, I have two sisters too, and we all did a Zoom call. I rang my dad last, he's the father figure and always happy to be last."
Seeing Ogbene get a move back to the Premier League with Ipswich following Luton’s relegation would’ve undoubtedly been a proud moment for the whole family.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel