Who Is Joseph Okumu? The 3 Things You Need To Know About The Rangers Target

Content Editor

3 years ago

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has said that he wants to improve his squad during the summer transfer window, despite his side finishing the Scottish Premiership season unbeaten.

The Light Blues have already been linked with a number of players, including Heerenveen’s Joey Veerman and America de Cali’s Santiago Moreno, but the most concrete interest appears to be in Elfsborg’s Joseph Okumu.

Reports indicate that the Gers are extremely interested in bringing the Kenyan to Ibrox if they can beat off the competition to the player’s signature.

So who is Okumu? Press the next page to find out three interesting facts about the centre-half.

He has already played football in four different countries

Okumu started life out in Kenya with top-flight team Chemelil Sugar. He spent two years in their academy before moving to South Africa in 2016, where he had a brief spell with first division outfit Free State Stars.

Combined with his performances for the national team, that got him some attention from scouts in the United States. He made the switch to AFC Ann Arbor in 2018, where he made eight appearances before he was snapped up by USL Championship side Real Monarchs. After just over a year in the second tier of US soccer, he moved to Europe when Swedish Premier League team Elfsborg signed him for an undisclosed fee.

Okumu is very quick despite being a towering defender

The centre-back is 6ft 4 so he is very strong in the air but, despite his height, he is very fast across the ground, having recorded a top speed of 34.58km/hr, which was the quickest of anyone in the Swedish top-flight.

At 24 years of age, Okumu still has his best years ahead of him as well, so it is not a surprise that Rangers and a number of other teams across Europe have taken a keen interest in the defender.

He is in great demand and could cost a sizeable fee

Reports in Sweden suggest that Okumu has an asking price of €4m (£3.4m), which is a steep figure considering he has yet to play in a top European league.

The Kenyan international is a player with a number of suitors, though, with the likes of Celtic, Lorient, Gent and Stade de Reims all thought to be keen on signing him this summer. At the moment, the highest bid is said to be a £2.56m offer from Lorient so we shall see if Rangers do challenge the French club.

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