Paul Osew

Paul Osew
Personal information
Full name Paul Asiedu Osew[1]
Date of birth (2000-11-25) 25 November 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth Wandsworth, England[2]
Position(s) Left back
Team information
Current team
 Welling United
Youth career
2008–2010 Chelsea Kicks
2010–2011 Evolution Sports & Health Academy
2011–2014 Brentford
2015–2019 AFC Wimbledon
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017 Raynes Park Vale 2 (0)
2019–2023 AFC Wimbledon 59 (1)
2023 Northampton Town 4 (0)
2023–2024 Woking 5 (1)
2024– Welling United 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:49, 28 December 2024 (UTC)

Paul Asiedu Osew (born 25 November 2000) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for National League South club Welling United.

Osew is a product of the Brentford and AFC Wimbledon academies and played in the English Football League for the latter club between 2019 and 2023. Following a short spell with Northampton Town and a period as a free agent, he dropped into non-League football in December 2023.

Career

Early years

Osew began his youth career with spells as Chelsea Kicks and in the Evolution Sports & Health Academy. Following a rejection by Chelsea Academy for being "too small",[3] he joined the Brentford academy at the age of 11.[4] At age 15, Osew signed a scholarship deal with AFC Wimbledon, after previously being a part of the club's Foundation's College Education programme.[5] During his time in the club's youth system, he was converted from a forward to a left back.[5] During the first month of the 2017–18 season, Osew played the first senior matches of his career for Combined Counties League First Division club Raynes Park Vale,[6] on an ad-hoc basis.[5]

AFC Wimbledon

After progressing into AFC Wimbledon's U23 team during the 2018–19 season, Osew signed his first professional contract with the League One club in April 2019.[7] He was a regular inclusion in the first team squad during the truncated 2019–20 season and by the time his season was ended by a stress fracture to his tibia in March 2020,[8][9] he had made 23 appearances and scored one goal.[10] On 8 January 2020, Osew signed a contract extension and made 14 appearances during the 2020–21 season,[8] scoring one goal.[11] He improved his tally to 32 appearances during the 2021–22 season,[12] which culminated in relegation to League Two.[13] Osew proved his versatility as a utility player in defence and midfield during the season and scored one goal,[3] with the only goal of an EFL Cup first round win over Charlton Athletic on 10 August 2022.[12]

Osew was offered a new two-year contract in May 2022,[14] but delayed signing it until 21 August 2022,[15] due to a need to recover from injury.[16] He returned to match play six days later and following six appearances,[17] he was sidelined for two months with an ankle injury.[18][19] Osew failed to appear again before agreeing a mutual termination of his contract on 1 February 2023.[20] He made 76 appearances and scored three goals during 3+1⁄2 years as a professional with the club.[20] Following his departure from Plough Lane, Osew trained with the Chelsea Development Squad.[21]

Northampton Town

Following a period training with the Chelsea Development Squad,[21] Osew transferred to League Two club Northampton Town on 10 March 2023 and signed a contract running until the end of the 2022–23 season.[22][23] He made four appearances during the remainder of the club's promotion-winning season and was released when his contract expired.[17][24][25]

Woking

On 8 December 2023, Osew joined National League club Woking on a contract running until the end of the 2023–24 season.[26][27] He made six appearances during the remainder of the season, scoring one goal, which came with the winner on his league debut, in a 2–1 victory over Dorking Wanderers on 16 December.[2] Osew departed the Kingfield Stadium when his contract expired.[27]

Welling United

Following trials with clubs in Germany and Belgium,[21] Osew signed signed an undisclosed-length contract with National League South club Welling United on 27 September 2024.[28] After making 9 appearances,[29] he was made available for transfer on 9 December.[30]

Personal life

Born in England, Osew is of Ghanaian descent.[31] He attended Sudbourne Primary School, Brixton and Southfields Academy, Southfields.[4][32] Osew is a drummer and as of February 2022, was playing in church on Sundays.[3] In March 2022, he became an ambassador for the AFC Wimbledon Education Hub at Plough Lane.[32]

Career statistics

As of match played 26 December 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Raynes Park Vale 2017–18[6] Combined Counties League First Division 2 0 ― ― ― 2 0
AFC Wimbledon 2019–20[10] League One 18 1 2 0 1 0 2[a] 0 23 1
2020–21[11] League One 10 0 0 0 0 0 4[a] 1 14 1
2021–22[12] League One 27 0 2 0 2 1 1[a] 0 32 1
2022–23[17] League Two 4 0 0 0 0 0 2[a] 0 6 0
Total 59 1 4 0 3 1 9 1 75 3
Northampton Town 2022–23[17] League Two 4 0 ― ― ― 4 0
Woking 2023–24[2] National League 5 1 ― ― 1[b] 0 6 1
Welling United 2024–25[29] National League South 6 0 ― ― 3[c] 0 9 0
Career total 76 2 4 0 3 1 13 1 96 4
  1. ^ a b c d Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
  2. ^ Appearance in FA Trophy
  3. ^ 1 appearance in FA Trophy, 1 appearance in Kent Senior Cup, 1 appearance in London Senior Cup

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: AFC Wimbledon" (PDF). English Football League. p. 2. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Paul Osew at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ a b c Cornell, Rob. "Paul bangs the drum for more points". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b Slavin, Chris (27 November 2019). "Paul moves on quickly after leaving Brentford behind". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Slavin, Chris (29 August 2019). "From Raynes Park Vale to Wimbledon's first-team". AFC Wimbledon. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  6. ^ a b "Paul Osew – Raynes Park Vale FC First Team". Raynes Park Vale F.C. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Trio sign pro deals at AFC Wimbledon". AFC Wimbledon. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Dons full-back signs new contract at Wimbledon". AFC Wimbledon. 8 January 2020. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Paul ruled out for six weeks with stress fracture". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Games played by Paul Osew in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Games played by Paul Osew in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Games played by Paul Osew in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  13. ^ AFC Wimbledon at the Football Club History Database
  14. ^ "Retained List Announced". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Defender signs new deal". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  16. ^ Brack, Edmund (23 July 2022). "'It has gone on longer than you would hope' – Dons boss on contract talks with defender". South London News. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d "Games played by Paul Osew in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  18. ^ Brack, Edmund (13 October 2022). "AFC Wimbledon boss has injury update on sidelined quartet". South London News. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Trophy exit for Dons after Argyle fightback". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  20. ^ a b Thorpe, Chris. "Paul leaves after seven years". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  21. ^ a b c Brack, Edmund (18 October 2024). "'I actually contemplated: 'Maybe it's time to stop playing?' – Former AFC Wimbledon defender Paul Osew opens up on wait for club after landing Welling deal". South London News. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  22. ^ "Paul Osew Signs for Northampton Town". Northampton Town. 11 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  23. ^ "Paul Osew – Defender – First Team – Northampton Town". www.ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  24. ^ Northampton Town F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  25. ^ "Northampton Town Retained List". www.ntfc.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  26. ^ Bewsey, William (8 December 2023). "Paul Osew Signs". Woking F.C. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  27. ^ a b "2023/24 Retained and Released List". Woking FC. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Wings sign left-back Paul Osew". Welling United. 28 September 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Paul Osew | Player Profile". Aylesbury United Archive. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  30. ^ "Squad update". wellingunited.com. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  31. ^ "Exclusive: Sunderland in pursuit of Ghanaian defender Paul Osew". Footballghana. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  32. ^ a b "Paul shows the way to Plough Lane's class of 2022". www.afcwimbledon.co.uk. Retrieved 9 August 2022.