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The Harambee Stars defender has done well in Ligue 1 since joining Stade Reims from Belgian outfit Gent last July.
Immediate former Stade Reims coach Will Still has revealed the qualities Joseph Okumu will work on in order to take his game to the next level.
Okumu, who is currently stepping up rehabilitation for a slight ankle problem that has ruled him out of each of Reims’ last three games, including the 4-1 defeat to Clermont Foot that effectively ruled Still’s 18-month stint in charge of the club untenable, has had an impressive debut season in France.
Reims paid a fee just below €12 million (Ksh1.8 billion) to Gent and secured their man after agreeing personal terms with the centre-back who became the second Kenyan to play in the French top flight after Dennis Oliech.
He has statistically been placed as one of the best ball-playing-defenders in Ligue One, and his resolute defending has also earned him plaudits, proving value for money.
Earlier this year, Pulse Sports produced a report explaining why Okumu had the potential to be among the world’s best center backs given how his metrics were shown to be as nearly good as the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. (below)
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10:00 - 20.02.2024
STARS ABROAD The metrics showing why Harambee Stars defender Joseph Okumu is as good as William Saliba, Virgil Van Dijk and co
The metrics that indicate how Joseph Okumu is stylistically similar to some of the world's best defenders, such as Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate and PSG's Danilo Pereirra.
Now, Still has revealed the things that the Kenyan stopper will have to work on in order to take his game to the next level if he is ever to get to the heights of challenging some of the World’s top defenders.
“Okumu is the king of Kenya. He has a very good right foot but tends to sometimes force things that are not there,” Still told members of the press in early April.
“We discuss it and laugh about it quite often because it becomes a little too recurrent, but he covers such big spaces which is super important for us.
“He has an anticipation of the opposing danger which is key in what we are trying to do and humanly he is a great guy. He is very good with us and he does alot for the team.
“He adapted to the system and team well and he is great in all the positions we make him play. He also played right back in Belgium which is important and that is why we brought him to the club because he has good qualities to play in both positions.”
However, Still also highlighted areas where Okumu can refine his game further.
“He is not perfect, that is why he is at Stade Reims but he continues to progress and brings alot to the team, whether its through his positioning, his natural speed or the quality of his short game, which is combined when we try to do that.”
Okumu's football journey began in Kisumu, where he started his career at former Football Kenya Federation Premier League side Chemelil Sugar after completing his high school education at Kakamega High School.
It didn't take long for his talent to be noticed beyond the borders of Kenya. Within just six months, he ventured abroad and joined Free State Stars in South Africa, before later joining AFC Ann Arbor in in the United States in 2018.
His performances caught the attention of scouts, and he subsequently made his move to Real Monarchs before switching to Sweden in August 2019. He unsurprisingly did well there before gathering the attention of Gent, who signed him for around €3.5 million in 2021.
Before joining Reims, Okumu had been the subject of interest from a number of European sides due to his sterling performances for Gent and was thrust to the rest of the world last season as the Belgian side reached the Europa Conference League quarter-final in 2023.
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