Elfsborg general director Stefan Andreasson has admitted reported Rangers target Joseph Okumu may be sold during the summer transfer window, speaking to Aftonbladet.
As Okumu himself says, the Swedish top flight isn’t usually the end of the journey for an ambitious young footballer with dreams bigger than ABBA’s back catalogue.
And Rangers feels like the logical next step for a versatile, technically gifted 24-year-old, especially when you consider Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard has a superb track record when it comes to developing and improving players.
Elfsborg are expected to demand about £3.5 million for Okumu, two years after he arrived following a brief spell in the US.
Is Okumu heading to Rangers?
“There is concrete interest,” says Andreasson, admitting Okumu’s future could be sorted out next month.
“When the right sporting challenge comes that pays well, we usually find solutions. The focus has been on playing and June will be the month to put the puzzle together.
“We will sit down with his representatives, who will surely come here in the next few weeks. If the right club comes in and Joseph wants it, we will look into it.”
The new Virgil van Dijk?
Okumu has been likened to Liverpool superstar Virgil van Dijk because of his height, positional sense and raking passing range.
The nine-time Kenya international has been playing in a slightly more advanced role of late, however, with his performances in the new position leading Andreasson to brand him the “best midfielder that has ever been in the Allsvenskan”.
That’s some statement given Sweden’s top flight is 97 years old and Okumu only arrived in 2019.
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