Sutton have made their first signing of the summer ahead of the 2026/27 season, with Manny Osadebe making the switch to Gander Green Lane following his departure from Barnet.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Irish forward and his story so far…
Name: Manny Osadebe
Age: 29
Position: Midfielder
Former Clubs: Dundalk (youth), Tottenham Hotspur (youth), Gillingham, Cambridge United, Newport County (loan), Macclesfield Town, Walsall, Bradford City, Forest Green Rovers, Barnet
A Boy in Green
Born in Nigeria and raised in Dundalk, Osadebe grew up local to Dundalk FC and played football in the underage system before moving to England, being considered a serious prospect during his time with the League of Ireland outfit.
Indeed, the midfielder’s journey began with the Lilywhites, and while he never made a senior appearance, his time at the club was an important launchpad for his career, playing for the club’s Schoolboys League at the 2011 Milk Cup in Coleraine, as well as being a member of the Under-19 team before making the move to Tottenham Hotspur’s Foundation College Programme in 2014, with the lure of English football enough to lead to his exit from Oriel Park.
Internationally, he also hasn’t featured for the Republic of Ireland at any level, but he was invited to train with the Under-21 squad ahead of their friendly against Norway in November 2015, though he didn’t feature in the matchday squad. He is also eligible to represent Nigeria through his parents.
EFL Experience
Since making the switch to Gillingham in 2015, Osadebe has spent the bulk of his career in the Football League, going on to rack up over 200 appearances in both League One and League Two. In fact, until Forest Green’s relegation in 2024, the midfielder had never stepped foot in the National League, making his fifth tier debut in the Green’s 3-3 draw with Aldershot Town on opening day, then at the age of 28.
After departing Spurs, Osadebe enjoyed a superb start to life at Gillingham, becoming a springboard for what would turn out to be a long and distinguished career based in the EFL. An impressive debut saw him put in a Man of the Match display in a 4-0 win over Sheffield United, though it later emerged that he had been ineligible to play, with Gillingham having mistakenly registered his previous club with the Football League and the FA as Tottenham rather than Dundalk. As a result, the Gills received a £4,000 suspended fine, but escaped a points deduction.
Despite this, he ended a successful 2015/16 campaign with 18 League One appearances to his name, as well as winning the Goal of the Season award for a brilliant solo effort against Bury, before agreeing a one-year contract extension to prolong his time in Kent. This was followed by further stints at Cambridge United, Newport County, Macclesfield Town, Walsall and Bradford City, before a brief spell in the league with Forest Green preceded a move to Barnet following the Bees’ promotion in 2025.
Success with the Saddlers
It was his time with Walsall that perhaps proved to be the most successful, as the midfielder appeared 91 times for the Saddlers – more than he has for any other club.
Despite initially signing for Southend United following his departure from Macclesfield, a registration issue during the Shrimpers’ transfer embargo at the time led to his move to the Midlands instead, teaming up with a Saddlers side who had finished the 2019/20 campaign 12th in the division.
He went on to rack up almost 100 games in red and black, being a virtual ever present across both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaigns, as well as scoring eight goals, the most notable being perhaps his late strike against promotion-chasing Port Vale, helping to seal a 2-0 win.
Versatility
Despite being a midfielder by trade, Osadebe has displayed much versatility over the last few years.
He was initially converted into a wing-back following the arrival of Michael Flynn at Walsall, a role he had occasionally played whilst at Gillingham, to bring a different dynamic to the overall look of the team, and after starting out with a key contribution as they defeated Hartlepool United, this tweak led to a run of six games without defeat.
With Flynn opting to deploy a system which involves getting the ball out wide and having the strikers play off, Osadebe proved to be an alternative option to Tyrese Shade on the other side, preferring to come inside to get involved in link-up play.
He has since turned into a makeshift wing-back on numerous occasions, doing so at Bradford City and Forest Green, establishing himself as someone who can comfortably operate in the centre of the park or on the flanks, with a lot of different components in his game which can add threat to the side, including versatility and dynamism, coupled with his determination, technical ability and power.
