Cardiff City signed a player ‘far above League One level’ after 2024 Tottenham links

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When League One pacesetters Cardiff City completed the signing of a footballer who was linked with Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur just one year previously, it should have been immediately apparent that this was quite the coup.

And, as Football League expert Ali Maxwell pointed out following another statement win from Brian Barry-Murphy’s barnstorming Bluebirds, this is just another Cardiff City player performing like a man in a child’s game.

The phrase ‘too good for League One’ is likely to come up quite often this season. Presuming the South Welsh outfit maintain their explosive start to life in the third-tier, of course.

Cardiff City retained Callum Robinson, Isaak Davies and Ollie Tanner despite interest from elsewhere. Captain Calum Chambers played top-flight football with Fulham, Aston Villa and Arsenal. Chelsea loanee Omari Kellyman moved to Stamford Bridge for a staggering £19 million.

Rubin Colwill ‘might be the best player in the whole division’, too, on the evidence of his Dominik Szoboszlai-esque free-kick on the opening weekend.

And Nathan Trott, five clean sheets in succession, already looks like the stand-out goalkeeper in League One.

So if this is how Cardiff perform without Gabriel Osho at the heart of their backline – they have not conceded a single goal since playing Swindon in the Carabao Cup on August 12th – then imagine how impenetrable Barry-Murphy’s hull should be once the former Tottenham target adds another sheet of military-grade armour.

Ali Maxwell credits Brian Barry-Murphy with Gabe Osho’s Cardiff City transfer

Cardiff signed Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Osho on a four-year deal from Auxerre last week.

As recently as April 2024, Osho was linked with Tottenham Hotspur by Give Me Sport, having been one of Luton Town’s most consistent performers during their brief but respectable stint amongst England’s elite.

Osho also arrived in Wales having played regularly in France’s first division across 2024/25. So, all things considered, the 27-year-old’s signing is testament not only to Cardiff’s recruitment department and Barry-Murphy’s reputation, but also their ambition.

“Pretty impressed that they have managed to persuade him to play in League One,” Maxwell admits. “I think Brian Barry-Murphy is the obvious reason [why Osho joined].”

Former Tottenham target Osho is ‘far above League One level’

Barry-Murphy is renowned for his youth development qualities – there is a reason why Manchester City appointed him as their reserve coach – and it was he who handed Osho his break at this level with Rochdale during 2020/21.

“When he was Rochdale manager, he gave Gabriel Osho a lot of responsibility on the ball at a very young age,” adds Maxwell. “In a Rochdale team that were very brave in possession, [it was] the sort of role that might have exposed any centre-back, especially a young one.

“Osho thrived and has had a very good career up to this point. He was in the Premier League with Luton, one of their most impressive players.

“If he can stay fit and contribute, what, 30 games for Cardiff, they’ve got a centre-back and a ball-playing centre-back that is far above League One level.”

Saturday’s 4-0 trouncing of Plymouth Argyle, who went down from the Championship alongside the Bluebirds last season, came too soon for Osho. A debut could be on the cards away to Stockport after the international break, though Barry-Murphy may have reservations about breaking up that imperious Will Fish – Dylan Lawlor partnership.