In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Gabe Osho discusses why he is watching videos of Casemiro, N'Golo Kante and Andrea Pirlo to help prepare for his new crowd-pleasing role in Luton Town's midfield as he dreams of the Premier League...
Thursday 9 September 2021 14:14, UK
The return of football crowds is a return to normality for many, but for Gabe Osho, it feels like a new experience. At 23, he is not quite a novice, there have been appearances in the National League for Maidenhead, Aldershot and Yeovil. But nothing like this.
The crowd at West Bromwich Albion recently was the biggest of his career, while Luton's home games have been even more special. "It has been amazing," Osho tells Sky Sports.
"Last season I was on loan at Rochdale and we were in a relegation battle but there were no fans so it was really difficult at times. It is almost surreal now to be playing in front of them, especially these Luton fans, because they are so loud. I am just loving it."
Osho has had them on their feet. Not thanks to his goals but instead because of some fierce tackling. Playing as a defensive midfielder in the draw against Sheffield United, he produced two crowd-pleasing interceptions that had Kenilworth Road roaring its approval.
"Honestly, it felt like scoring a goal, that is what it felt like. I remember everyone was cheering and there was just this surge of energy going through my body that I had not really felt before. I have not had that feeling on a football pitch since my debut."
That debut came in defence for boyhood club Reading almost three years ago but the Sheffield United game was his first senior start in this new role. He revelled in it.
"I have always had my eye on that position, believing that I could play that role, so I was happy that the manager put his trust in me to play there. It was just like playing centre-back but being able to run around and tackle everywhere instead of staying back.
"As a centre-back, I would describe myself as a ball-playing centre-back. I like to get on the ball and pass it. But as a midfielder, I would describe myself as a ball-winning midfielder. I can cover a lot of ground and help the team defensively. My first idea is to defend."
"I am enjoying it a lot, especially the role that I was playing in there, working more with the back four than the strikers and wingers. I do hope that I can continue to play there."
Osho is quick to stress that he "will happily play anywhere the manager asks" but this move into midfield is by design, something that was discussed with Luton boss Nathan Jones during pre-season. After impressing in a couple of training games, plans were firmed up.
"He saw it as a good position for me," Osho explains.
As a result, much of the past few months have been spent dedicating himself to his new craft. "I have been working every day, doing extras, trying to learn the position."
And not just in training.
"I have been going home and just watching Champions League finals from 1999 all the way up," he adds. "That is what I have been doing to learn the position. I just watch the midfielders and watch the way that they move."
Is there anyone, in particular, who has stood out?
"Well, Real Madrid were in about 10 of them," he laughs.
"Watching Casemiro, that is the kind of role that I want to emulate. Obviously, N'Golo Kante in the last one. Even going back to when AC Milan were there with Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, moulding those two into one is the type of role I would try to play."
There is a slight pause as he realises how that might sound.
"You have to aim high, I guess."
It is the sort of ambition that convinced Osho to turn down a new contract offer at Reading, leaving his hometown club in the summer of last year.
"It was tough because I had been there since I was eight years old," he explains. "I had played a couple of times for them in the first team but I just felt that with their recruitment I did not see a way for me to be playing regularly so it was a hard time."
His timing was not good. The pandemic saw budgets in the Football League slashed with smaller squad sizes leaving many talented players out of work. Osho, having turned down a Championship contract, found himself without a club for three months.
"There were times during that period when I was like, 'Oh my gosh, what is going to happen here?' It was tough. Especially with the coronavirus because there were thousands of free agents and clubs were trying to get you in on trial because they had so many options."
Did he worry that he had made a mistake? "There were many moments," he adds. "I had to move out of my flat back into my mum's house. I would wake up and see my mates were at training, while I would be going out to train at the local park at 9am.
"Every day that it went on, they would be talking about the latest pre-season game or looking ahead to the first game of the season being a week away but nothing was coming. The season started and I still did not have a club. It was really tough for me mentally."
Osho thanks his mother and brothers for helping him through it. "My family really kept me motivated. I owe it all to them." And he thanks Jones for believing in him, outlining that plan for his future. "The manager here gave me that lifeline, showed that faith in me."
Last season was about playing catch-up, having arrived late. A loan move to Rochdale ended in relegation but he learned plenty from progressive coach Brian Barry-Murphy. "I knew it would be a scrap but I was well up for the challenge. I grew up a lot there as a player."
This season is about taking that next step under another highly-respected coach. Jones, now in his second spell in charge of Luton, took the team to a top-half finish in May.
"You can really see the philosophy that he wants to play because he implements it every day in training, putting it in every single player's mind. The training level here is always intense and the competition is intense as well. I just want to keep going up in his estimations.
"Coming into pre-season off the back of finishing last season at Rochdale, my first aim was that I just wanted to play so I knuckled down and worked as hard as I could. It is good to be involved now but obviously, I want that to keep going and progress further.
"I played 22 times in League One in the second half of last season. Hopefully, now I have ticked off that level and can establish myself as a Championship player with Luton and kick on from there. I want to show everyone what I can do. That is my target.
"We have our targets as a team too. Me personally, I see this club being able to push on from where we finished last season. We want to see if we can get in the playoffs and win promotion to the Premier League. It has been a steady start so now we want to kick on."
