logo
Maxi Oyedele: from Manchester United outcast to ‘dream' tie against Chelsea

Maxi Oyedele: from Manchester United outcast to ‘dream' tie against Chelsea

The Guardian09-04-2025

Fourteen months ago, Maxi Oyedele was experiencing the lowest moment of a burgeoning career, being substituted after coming off the bench for a team destined for relegation from League Two. Now he is preparing for a European quarter-final with Legia Warsaw against one of the biggest clubs on the continent. Forest Green feels a world away.
When any teenager is loaned by Manchester United to a lower-league club, the aim is for them to gain experience that can help them progress. In theory, this is done through positive performances and playing against senior professionals, allowing a youngster to learn the tricks of the trade. Sometimes, however, a setback is the best learning curve. It has helped the midfielder earn full international honours, the Conference League battle with Chelsea in Warsaw on Thursday and a Polish Cup final next month.
'I would put that down as one of my most valuable experiences, going to Forest Green and it not working out the way I wanted it to,' says Oyedele, who returned to United after four substitute appearances in League Two. 'The way I had to come back to the club and be back in the under-21 squad and be training in and out with the first team … that whole period was extremely, extremely tough. Whatever problems I face I know what it's like to be at the lowest point. It's only made me stronger.'
A move to eastern Europe may not sound like an obvious move for someone who was brought up in Salford and joined United aged six, but Oyedele has a Polish mother and a Nigerian father. Oyedele regularly visited his mother's homeland as a child, learning the language to interact with his grandmother, and started representing Poland as a teenager. Legia came calling in the summer, offering a homecoming of sorts when it became clear he was not in Erik ten Hag's plans.
'It's just funny for my mum because she left Poland to come to England and make a life; I left England to go to Poland to start my journey,' says Oyedele. 'Legia was the biggest opportunity. I don't even think I realised how big of an opportunity it was when I heard about it. I felt like this was the opportunity to play in Europe, the biggest team in Poland. It's my nationality, so it's close to the national team. It's always a risk to leave it, but it just seemed like the best choice'
The deal was completed in late August and within a couple of months Oyedele had ticked off a top-flight, European and full international debut. The central midfielder won two caps for Poland last year against Portugal, where he swapped shirts with his former club captain Bruno Fernandes, and Croatia.
'I always thought I would love to leave and start a new journey abroad,' he says. 'I couldn't afford to waste another year playing academy football. I could have stayed in England and continued my journey and who knows what would have happened. I might have not been anywhere near and now I'm about to play Chelsea.'
A cacophony of noise and pyrotechnics will be used at Legia's stadium to create an intimidating atmosphere in the hope of putting Chelsea on the back foot in a tie they are heavy favourites to win. The eclectic nature of the Conference League means Legia, fifth in Poland's top division, have defeated the Welsh Premier league side Caernarfon and Real Betis on their way to this stage.
'I can't even begin to describe the Legia fans,' says Oyedele. 'It's one of the best things I've seen. I go to the stadium and I'm looking around thinking: 'Wow. It's unbelievable. I can't wait to play, in front of these fans. My debut, the fans were crazy.
Sign up to Football Daily
Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football
after newsletter promotion
'You just rise, it absolutely lifts you up. And then walking out they had the tifo and I was thinking: 'This is why I play football.' I've never seen anything like it for me'
Legia went through three playoff rounds starting in July to reach the Conference League group stage. It has been a circuitous route to a first European quarter-final since a defeat by Panathinaikos in the Champions League 29 years ago. Anticipation has been building since they beat Molde in the last round.
'When I first joined, I watched us in the [Conference] League and thought I would love to play Chelsea,' Oyedele says. 'This was months ago, in August. For us to get to this point, to have the opportunity to play such a big game … it was this dream. This is everybody wanted and when the game finished [against Molde], we had done it.
'Now all that dream stuff is gone – it's reality. We know that it's Chelsea, so it's going to be tough, but it's a case of why not? I bet everybody thought we were going to lose to Real Betis and look what we did then.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Chelsea halt negotiations with Milan for Mike Maignan after failing to agree fee
Chelsea halt negotiations with Milan for Mike Maignan after failing to agree fee

The Guardian

time39 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

Chelsea halt negotiations with Milan for Mike Maignan after failing to agree fee

Chelsea have cooled their interest in Mike Maignan after failing to agree a fee with Milan for the goalkeeper before the Club World Cup. The Stamford Bridge club, who are also pursuing a deal for the Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens, commenced talks with Milan after being presented with an opportunity to sign Maignan. The France international has a year left on his deal and has indicated that he wants to join Chelsea. Chelsea's hope has been to push transfers for Maignan and Gittens through before Tuesday's 7pm BST registration deadline for the group stages of the Club World Cup, which begins on Sunday. However, the Uefa Conference League winners were not willing to overpay for Maignan given that the 29-year-old will be available on a free transfer next summer. They were willing to pay around €15m (£12.7m) for the former Lille goalkeeper, with Milan demanding €25m. The clubs have been unable to reach an agreement and negotiations have ended for now. There remains a chance that Chelsea will revisit the situation with Maignan later this summer. The transfer window reopens on Monday, enabling teams in the Club World Cup to register new players for the tournament's knockout phase. Maignan can discuss a pre-contract with foreign clubs from next January. Chelsea, who travel to the USA on Friday and play LAFC in their opening game in Atlanta on Monday, have refused to be pressured into meeting Milan's demands. They remain happy with their quartet of goalkeepers, Robert Sánchez, Filip Jorgensen, Djordje Petrovic and Mike Penders. Sánchez excelled at the end of last season, recovering from a dip in form to help Enzo Maresca's side qualify for the Champions League. There is huge excitement about Penders following the highly rated 19-year-old's arrival from Genk. Marcus Bettinelli, Chelsea's current No 3, is joining Manchester City. The Blues who have already boosted their attack by signing Liam Delap for £30m, are also looking for a right-footed left winger. They have had a bid rejected for Gittens but are relaxed about the situation. The 20-year-old has agreed a seven-year contract with Chelsea but Dortmund, who are also in the Club World Cup, want up to £50m for the England Under-21 international.

Peterborough sign winger Frith from Swiss club Thun
Peterborough sign winger Frith from Swiss club Thun

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Peterborough sign winger Frith from Swiss club Thun

Peterborough United have signed winger Declan Frith from Swiss club FC Thun for an undisclosed 23-year-old had spells in the youth set-ups at Chelsea and Aston Villa before moving to Spain in 2023 to play for Valencia's reserve joined Thun last summer and helped them win promotion to the Swiss Super League, but has now agreed a three-year deal with Posh."We were aware for a while that we needed a right winger, because we knew that Kwame (Poku) would be leaving," said manager Darren Ferguson."There were other clubs in for him in higher leagues, but I think he has seen what we do as a club and I can't wait to start working with him."Frith is Peterborough's second summer signing following forward Kyrell Lisbie from National League club Braintree Town.

Mohammed Kudus transfer odds: Chelsea and Newcastle battling for £70m-rated West Ham star, Liverpool in contention
Mohammed Kudus transfer odds: Chelsea and Newcastle battling for £70m-rated West Ham star, Liverpool in contention

The Sun

timean hour ago

  • The Sun

Mohammed Kudus transfer odds: Chelsea and Newcastle battling for £70m-rated West Ham star, Liverpool in contention

CHELSEA are the odds-on 4/5 favourites to sign Mohammed Kudus this summer. That's according to bookmakers Betfair, who've priced up Kudus' next destination should West Ham United agree to his sale. Kudus, 24 has no shortage of admirers with clubs in Europe and Saudi reportedly monitoring his situation. However, anyone considering the Ghana international will likely need to pay an eye-watering sum with three yers remaining on his contract plus the option for a further year. It's believed that West Ham would be prepared to listen to offers in the region of £70million for the player they signed from Ajax for £38m in 2023. Kudus has scored 19 goals and provided 13 assists in 80 appearances for the Hammers, but the club might reluctantly sell to finance other deals for manager Graham Potter. So who are the favourites to sign Mohammed Kudus? 1 Chelsea are the leading contenders at 4/5 following claims they've added him to their list of potential simmer targets. It's also been reported that Chelsea would be prepared to include goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in the deal. However, Newcastle (5/2) aren't far behind in Betfair's markets with Football Insider claiming they've switched their attentions to Kudus having missed out on Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo. Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said: "As Graham Potter prepares for a much-needed revamp of his West Ham squad ahead of the new season, Chelsea have emerged as the odds-on favourites to sign Mohammed Kudus. Newcastle follow at 5/2, with Arsenal 9/2. Meanwhile, a move to Premier League champions Liverpool is 13/2. "With plenty of interest in Kudus during the early stages of the summer transfer window, other potential destinations for the 24-year-old include Atletico Madrid at 15/2, Man City and Man United, 12/1 with AC Milan 16/1.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store