Michael O’Neill admits to challenges with Leo Ostigard as he submits Stoke City exit.
Leo Ostigard, a former Stoke City loanee, has opened up about his brief time with the
Championship team and disclosed that issues with previous manager Michael O’Neill
contributed to his departure.
In the summer of 2021, the Potters recruited the defender on loan from Brighton;
however, he was only with the team for six months before leaving to play for Genoa in Italy.
Before leaving in December of that year, the centre-back made 13 league appearances in the second tier,
starting 12 of them (all data from Fbref).
After leaving Brighton permanently in 2022, Ostigard played for teams like Napoli and Rennes.
Before joining the Potters, the 24-year-old had a successful loan spell in the Championship with
Coventry City. The 24-year-old’s last game for Stoke was a 1-0 loss away to Bristol City on November 24.
Leo Ostigard opens up on Stoke exit
Ostigard has disclosed that his early departure from Stoke was partly caused by issues he
had with manager O’Neill.
He has said that moving to Genoa made him feel like a new person,
suggesting that at that stage it was the appropriate next step for his career.
“I have no regrets whatsoever!” Ostigard stated through Ouest France.
“Being young and finding it hard to play, Brighton loaned me out a couple of times.”
That was just how they always did things.
“My first stop in Hamburg was St. Pauli. For the first time, I was truly playing professionally.
“This club is still my favourite; it was great to begin with.
“After that, I was loaned to Coventry City in the Championship, which is a tough
Championship that most people are unaware of.”
I then proceeded to Stoke City, where I encountered issues with the manager.
In January, I ended up in Genoa. Upon seeing the sun in the morning,
I experienced a sense of transformation! “And I travelled to Naples after Genoa.”
O’Neill was named as Stoke manager in November 2019, until being terminated in August 2022.
Before Alex Neil took over, he managed the Championship’s 15th, 14th, and 14th place finishes.
After leading Stoke to 55 victories in his 143 games in command, the 55-year-old has returned to his
former position as an international player for Northern Ireland, having worked there before
switching to English football.
Ostigard, meanwhile, moved from Napoli to Rennes in the summer of last year in a
transaction reportedly valued at €7 (£8.4) million.
Ostigard’s career worked out after disappointing Stoke loan
Ostigard’s loan stint to Stoke ended in failure as he eventually lost O’Neill’s favour and departed
ahead of schedule.
Even though things didn’t work out for O’Neill and the Potters—the team finished 14th that season—
Ostiggard’s choice to go to Genoa advanced his career.
He was a member of the Napoli team that won the Serie A championship in 2023 and is
currently playing football at the highest level in France.
Stoke fans may be wondering why the team was so quick to let him depart his loan so early
back in 2021, given how his career has turned out.
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