From National League, the fifth tier of English football, to Ligue 1, France’s top tier.

It’s not very often we get to see this story arc, but it is a reality for Gabriel Osho, the 25-year-old centre-back who played for Luton Town in the Premier League last season.

Osho has secured a move to play for AJ Auxerre, promoted to Ligue 1 for 2024/25.

So how did this all happen?

Well, the simple answer could be that Osho’s consistent performances over the last couple of seasons for Luton in the Championship and Premier League have earned him a move where, if all goes to plan, he can be a regular starter.

The visualisation below shows Gabriel Osho’s ranking for some key metrics compared with Europe’s top leagues.

Playing as a centre-back, Osho’s performances did take some hit after Luton were promoted to the Premier League last season, but during Luton’s promotion campaign, he was one of the most consistent performers for Luton during before his injury towards the end of the season; since then, he has missed a lot of games.

While on the pitch, Osho is very brave and comfortable on the ball, even if the numbers above might suggest otherwise.

He has shown versatility in the past, playing as a defensive midfielder, too.

This once again highlights his ability on the ball, and his strong defensive acumen — 81st percentile for defensive positioning, top 25% for defensive duels won, and top 3% for defensive duels competed.

Over 6’0 tall, Osho is also strong aerially and has the physique to go toe-to-toe with most attackers on aerial duels.

His aggressive nature means he is quite often prone to getting a card, but the positive side is that he stops a number of opposition attacks for his team.

Osho is also one of the least error-prone defenders.

Gabriel Osho’s move to AJ Auxerre went under the radar, but looking at his performances over the last few seasons, it is deserving and not surprising.

There could be other reasons for such an out-of-the-box transfer move, but it will be interesting to see where this move takes Osho in his career.