Ben Osborn opens up on "emotional rollercoaster" of Sheffield United departure and Derby County boyhood dream
Ben Osborn opens up on “emotional rollercoaster” following Sheffield United release and Derby County transfer
Ben Osborn has opened up on the “emotional rollercoaster” of his Sheffield United departure after putting pen to paper on a two-year deal with his boyhood club Derby County. The former Nottingham Forest man, 29, became a free agent this summer after United performed a surprise U-turn on their initial decision to exercise the option in his contract.
Osborn had previously been told that he would be remaining at Bramall Lane beyond this summer before being informed that the plans had changed, and that he was a free agent. Despite interest from Watford, Derby were always strong favourites to land his signature due to the emotional connection with the side he grew up supporting.
“It has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster,” Osborn said. “As soon as I left Sheffield United, I found that Derby were interested. It came out of the blue a little bit. I played here when I was really young, got released and went to the other side of the A52 for a number of years but still remained a Derby fan until I started getting close to the Forest first team. It all got a little muddled up then! I’ve gone full circle, it’s been emotional but I’m really excited to get going.”
Asked about his decision to move to Pride Park, Osborn told Derby’s official website: “It excites me, massively. I know the club inside out, it’s a huge club with huge potential and if we can get it right here - it will be amazing. Paul Warne has been brilliant ever since I got let go by Sheffield United and I think it will be a great place to play my football. I don’t think I could have gone anywhere else and had the level of motivation that I’ve got for this one. It ticks a lot of boxes and excites me.”
Osborn, a £3m signing for United from Forest in the summer of 2019 after they won promotion to the Premier League, played more than 130 times for the Blades and experienced three of the last five seasons in the top flight before last season’s relegation back to the Championship. Sadly Osborn’s father, a lifelong Derby fan, passed away a couple of months ago and never saw his son play for their club.
“My main goal was to always play in the Premier League,” Osborn said of his United career. “It was an unbelievable first year there but the second year was tough with Covid-19 and we ended up finishing bottom. To get back up into the Premier League was another incredible experience. I improved as a player and met friends for life there.”