Rangers missed out on Gent’s Joseph Okumu last year and the £3 million defender is now a target for Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Old Firm rivals Celtic, as reported by the People Daily.
Remember when Celtic signed a fresh-faced 21-year-old by the name of Virgil van Dijk for just £2.6 million? Well, nearly a decade later, perhaps the Hoops will soon be shaking hands with the Dutchman’s spiritual successor.
“He has similar qualities (to Virgil van Dijk). It is not a stupid comparison but a tough comparison to live up to,” former Elfsborg team-mate Johan Larsson said last year, when Rangers were reportedly taking an interest in this cultured colossus (Aftonbladet).
11 months after joining KAA Gent instead to the tune of £3 million, Okumu is emerging as a target for another Glasgow-based giant.
“We have had informal interest from English side Arsenal and Scottish giants Celtic,” says the Kenya international’s representative.
“But German side Borussia Dortmund are the first side to make an official inquiry about the central defender. (Okumu) is open to a move if a proper agreement is reached.”
Will Rangers’ one-that-got-away Joseph Okumu join Celtic?
A 6ft 4ins giant of a man who is as comfortable with the ball at his feet as he is in the air, Okumu’s stay in Belgium looks destined to be a short one.
At least Gent, who finished a respectable fifth in the 2021/22 Jupiler League table, can console themselves with a sizeable profit, wiping those tears away with a roll of euros.
Okumu, who turns 25 today, played 47 times during his debut season at the Ghelamco Arena, scoring three goals.
His rapid rise will come as no surprise to Elfsborg sporting director Stefan Andreasson. Last year, after Rangers made their admiration known, Andreasson described Okumu as the finest centre-half in the history of the Swedish top-flight.
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High praise, indeed. Especially when you consider the likes of Olof Mellberg and Filip Helander made their name in the Allsvenskan.
Okumu’s terrific passing range should see him fit in nicely under Mikel Arteta or Ange Postecoglou at Arsenal or Celtic. Interestingly, he is the third centre-half to be linked with the Hoops this week, following Manchester City duo Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Ko Itakura (Sky Sports).
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