The Thistle Archive

The (then) QPR right-back (who had previous Scottish experience on loan at Livingston) joined the Jags as a loanee on transfer deadline day (2 September 2019) and featured regularly in the Scottish Championship until the end of that calendar year, making 11 league appearances (all starts) as well as cup outings against Connah's Quay Nomads (a 2-0 Firhill win in the Challenge Cup) and Penicuik (a 1-0 Firhill win in the Scottish Cup). Very much in the modern wingback mould, he spent much of his time further forward as a right winger or in midfield roles, and adapted well to the Scottish game with a 50% win rate as a Jag, earning praise from fans and management alike for his contributions, as well as a couple of man-of-the-match displays.

Internationally, he has been a mainstay for Sierra Leone since his debut on 9 September 2018 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ethiopia and the 22-year-old brought honour to Partick Thistle in November 2019 when he won his second cap for his country, appearing in a 1-1 draw at home to Lesotho in an Africa Cup of Nations Qualifier. At the time of writing (September 2026) he's the last man to be capped whilst a Jag. One things for sure; there's no way Thistle would've finished bottom of the league had Osman Kakay stayed beyond the New Year into 2020. He later publicly congratulated Thistle on their bounce-back promotion success in April 2021, a nice touch. To date, he's earned 27 caps for Sierra Leone, a highlight being his inclusion in the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Sierra Leone’s first appearance at the tournament since 1996). He started all three of the group games in Cameroon, including the full 90 minutes in a notable goalless draw against the holders and favourites, Algeria. Since then, he has continued to feature in World Cup and more AFCON qualifying campaigns.

Osman is included in our feature piece, The Definitive Who's Who Of The Partick Thistle Internationalists →