Noah Okafor is ‘ready to take the next step’ as Premier League rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur show an interest in the Red Bull Salzburg striker.
It’s never a happy day when you say goodbye to a star forward.
But if there is any club capable of bouncing back stronger from the sale of a talismanic attacker, it’s a side who lost Erling Haaland, Dominik Szoboszlai, Sadio Mane, Hwang Hee-Chan, Patson Daka, Takumi Minamino and more while still maintaining their place at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga table.
Okafor, the silky Swiss international, may be in the next cab off the Red Bull rank. Arsenal, Tottenham, West Ham United, AC Milan and co are among the 22-year-old’s many admirers, per the Daily Mail.
And, with his contract expiring around 14 months from now, Salzburg may have no choice but to cash in, especially if they receive offers in the region of £25 million.
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur like Noah Okafor
“Let’s see what happens,” sporting director Christoph Freund tells the Salzburger Nachrichten. “Even a Noah Okafor is certainly ready to take the next step in his career.”
Okafor has 10 goals in 30 games this season, three of those coming in the Champions League against Milan, Dinamo Zagreb and Chelsea.
Blessed with searing pace and a devastating effectiveness in one-v-one situations; Okafor would fit in nicely alongside Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and co at Arsenal.
Tottenham’s frontline has not been anywhere near as effective in recent times. Okafor, if he ends up in another part of North London, could help Spurs move on from the soon-to-be-31-year-old Heung Min-Son. Spurs, The Times say, are scouring the market for potential long-term successors.
“He has magnificent technical qualities; speed and power,” former Swiss U21 coach Mauro Lustrinelli says of Okafor.
“I was his coach at FC Basel in the U18s,” adds Switzerland legend Alexander Frei. “Back then, there weren’t many people who bet on Noah despite his talent. He had too much nonsense in his head, didn’t understand what football demands.
“I talked to him a lot and explained to him: ‘You decide where your journey goes. Do what I tell you; how to behave as a young player, how to train, how to prepare and how to eat. Then, you’re going to have a great career.
“’Otherwise you’ll be constantly injured and end up playing in Swiss second tier.’ Noah understood and implemented (my ideas).”
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