ONE OF Ireland's newest sporting stars has set sights on the Premier League. Chiedozie Ogbene currently plays for Rotherham in League One, but the Corkman has backed himself to reach the pinnacle of English tiered football.
Ogebene has shined for Stephen Kenny since coming into the Ireland side with two goals in five appearances in his maiden campaign and has also done well for his club side Rotherham, who are top of the League One.
The former Nemo Rangers(GAA) man's contract with Rotherham is set to run out in the summer and could be subject to a number of clubs higher up the football league, but the starlet isn't expecting major movement to entice him away from his current club.
From Lagos to Nemo and scoring tonight for the Boys in Green - The Chiedozie Ogbene story is just so wonderful (and it gets better - he's a @LFC supporter! @NemoRangersGAA @tomas5ky @COYBIG @OfficialCorkGAA @sportireland pic.twitter.com/zqGkeEismZ
— Graham Clifford (@GrahamJClifford) October 9, 2021
Speaking to The Irish Independent in an interview Ogbene said:
“I don’t think anything is going to happen, the club have made it clear they are happy with me and I am happy with the position I am in,”
“I am quite happy in the club, we are doing well, at the top of League One, I missed a lot of football when we were in the Championship so I would like to correct the opportunities I missed last time.
"I am happy, the club is happy to keep me. At the start of the year my goal was to win the league and gain promotion with Rotherham. Should I achieve my goal, I’ll see where it takes me.”
Ogbene's time at Ireland has opened his eyes to what is required at top level football and getting there remains his aim.
“I believe in my ability, I believe in myself, you can see when I play with the national team I feel I can play at that level,” he says.
The 24-year would love to play in the top division with his current club Rotherham, but remains realistic about the prospect.
“Ideally I want to play in the Premier League for Rotherham, everyone has ambitions to play at the highest level. I want to get to the next level, I want to play in the Premier League and at the highest level. I try my best every day and see where it takes me, said Ogbene.
“League One is still difficult, it’s a different challenge in League One, teams are a lot more physical, games are more physically demanding, so I do believe I can play at another level, I am ambitious,” he added, those hopes crossing over to the international stage.
“We have the Nations League in June. I know this is ambitious of me but we have four games in ten days, I do believe that we have what it takes to finish top of the group.
Player of the Match | Chiedozie Ogbene
Another fantastic performance by Chiedozie Ogbene who is deservedly named the @carlsberg Player of the Match 👏#COYBIG | #WeAreOne | #LUXIRL pic.twitter.com/xnx87gUAva— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) November 14, 2021
Ogbene was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He and his family moved over to Ireland in 2005 where they settled in Cork. At 17, he was playing for Cork City, along with playing for Nemo Rangers, his local GAA club.
After spells at Limerick, Brentford and Exeter, he moved to current club Rotherham.
He would then receive his first Ireland call-up and then become the first African-born player to represent the Republic of Ireland.
Lots of clubs are interested in the right-wing-back and who knows we may see Ogbene light up the Premier League one day.
You can find the full interview from the Indepedent in the link below where Ogbene goes into more detail about his plans
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/i-believe-i-have-the-ability-to-play-in-the-premier-league-chiedozie-ogbene-aims-to-make-big-leap-41237927.html
