Brighton pull off transfer masterclass with Ibrahim Osman | OneFootball

Whether you're an avid or more casual follower of European football, you've no doubt already heard of the Right to Dream Academy. For Brighton fans, their latest signing, Ibrahim Osman, hails from the academy and looks set for a bright future much like some of his fellow alumni.

The Right to Dream Academy has produced many great talents

Founded in 1999 by Tom Vernon, former head of African scouting for Manchester United, the structure has grown steadily over the years. In his own words, the organization describes itself as "a community of dreamers dedicated to expanding people’s understanding of excellence through football. And we believe that every talent deserves a fair shot at pursuing their dreams, whatever they may be."

This is the essence of the Right to Dream Academy. Starting from zero, it has now become a benchmark in training, enabling - among other things - its students to take part in programmes in the United States. Now backed by the Mansour Group, an Egyptian investor who helped develop the academy, the Right to Dream Academy owns several clubs across the world, including FC Nordsjaelland (Denmark), FC TUT (Egypt) and San Diego FC (United States). Among the 282 players who have graduated since its creation, the Right to Dream Academy has trained many young African players who are now playing for major European clubs.

Notable examples include Mohammed Kudus (West Ham), Ernest Nuamah (Olympique Lyonnais), Simon Adingra (Brighton), Kamaldeen Sulemana (Southampton) and Majeed Waris (Anorthosis Famagusta). Osman, with his move to Brighton, is the latest to take the well-trodden path from the Right to Dream academy, to Nordsjaelland, to a major European club.

Ibrahim Osman's time at Nordsjaelland

Born in Ghana on the 29th of November 2004, the young striker joined the Danish giants in January 2023. Quickly deemed mature enough to train with the professional team, he made his debut for the club on the 24th of February of the same year, when they hosted Odense BK (4-2). It was a dream debut for the 19-year-old.

His debut was followed by a further nine appearances under Nordsjaelland coach Johannes Thorup. This confidence was maintained since the start of the 2023-24 season, making 29 appearances in all competitions this campaign, and scoring four goals and providing five assists too.

His performances didn't go unnoticed by a number of clubs across Europe, including the likes of West Ham, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach. The latter had even opened talks with Nordsjaelland, considering the Ghanaian as a possible replacement for Hannes Wolf, according to Bild. In the end, however, it is the Premier League and Brighton in particular that he is now headed for.

As reported by The Athletic, Brighton have reached an agreement with their Danish counterparts on the signing of Osman, who is already undergoing a medical. It's believed that the deal is worth €19.5m (£16.5m - the second-biggest transfer in Nordsjaelland's history. Osman's switch means he will follow in the footsteps of teammate Simon Adingra, who also trained at the Right to Dream Academy and played for the Danish club.

Ibrahim Osman's style of play

When speaking back in the summer of 2023, Osman's coach at Nordsjaelland, Thorup, raved: "He is a fast winger and striker, and I have huge expectations for him to be skilled. He has the pace which is important for us to have on at least one of our strikers." The Ghanaian relies heavily on his speed, power and dribbling ability to get the better of his opponents. It is a style of play that regularly forces opponents to foul him - according to FBREF, he has been fouled 26 times in the league this season, with only seven players in the entire division being fouled more.

Osman does remain a very raw player however, something that is reflected in his technical inaccuracies, particularly when it comes to passing. As Sofascore points out, he has just a 77% pass accuracy in the Danish top-flight. Another area in which the attacker will need to improve is the accuracy of his shots. Although he has taken 42 of them (the highest total for a player in the league), he has only hit the target on nine of them. Osman is still young and there is no doubt that his future training will help him make up for his shortcomings, and you would imagine a place like Brighton where so many young players have developed into stars, will be of the greatest benefit to him.

What next for Ibrahim Osman?

The question of Osman's future will largely depend on how his next few months are managed. If he does join Brighton, what role would he play? Would he be immediately integrated into the first team or would he go through the reserve ranks? Given the Seagulls' recent history of trusting young players from abroad and giving them first-team opportunities from the off, you would think Roberto de Zerbi will assess Osman quickly on the training ground before giving him a chance to shine on the pitch.

Having Osman alongside Kaoru Mitoma would set up Brighton to have two incredibly pacy attackers with the directness and skill to make things happen. If the Seagulls weren't already a scary prospect to face, then having to come up against both of them at the same time would leave opposition defenders terrified.