Kenyan defender Joseph Okumu joins French top tier side Reims

• Okumu started his career with Chemelil Sugar
• He has signed a five-year contract with Reims
• The French club has been known to develop talent

Harambee Stars defender Joseph ‘Crouch’ Okumu has inked a five-year deal with French top tier side Stade de Reims, moving from Belgian club KAA Gent.

Okumu was unveiled by Reims, marking a massive step in his career, in one of the top five leagues in the world.

Gent, where he made 92 appearances in official matches and scored four times, announced the exit of the dependable centre back on their website, praising him for his service and resilience, that saw them become frequent figures in European football.

“Okumu has rendered great services to our club. Together with Ngadeu and Torunarigha he formed a very strong trio in the back. Joseph felt ready to take the next step in his career and is happy with his move to Reims. It is now up to us to replace him in a good way,” said Michel Louwagie, the KAA Gent CEO.

Reims has been a club known for picking and nurturing talent, and among the players who have most recently shone at the club include striker Folarin Balogun, who played for them on loan from Arsenal last season.

Balogun arrived at Reims with limited first team football action, but managed to gather minutes around his belt, scoring 21 goals and assisting twice in 37 Ligue One matches.

Okumu hopes to follow same trajectory

Joseph Okumu signing his contract. PHOTO/Reims

Okumu now hopes to follow in the same trajectory.

Reims finished 11^th last season, with 51 points from 38 matches, and the club hopes Okumu’s arrival will strengthen their squad and improve them for a better finish in the coming season, as they aim for European football.

Despite being only 26, Okumu comes in with a lot of experience gathered over time.

He started his career back home in Kenya, playing for the defunct Chemelil Sugar, making his debut at just 18 years. After a season, he moved to South Africa where he joined Free State Stars, but a troubled spell saw him come back home.

He stayed for close to a year without competitive football but then moved to the USA where he played for Real Monarchs. He then moved to Sweden, signing for IF Elfsborg, before making the next step to Gent in Belgium.

Made his name at Elfsborg

Joseph Okumu turning out for IF Elfsborg.

At Elfsborg is where he quite made his name as he helped them to a second place finish in his debut season and qualification to European football. After performing at the same level in his second season where Elfsborg once again made it to Europe, he was snapped up by Genk.

At the Belgian top tier, he helped his side qualify for the Europa Conference League where they reached the quarter final stage and were eliminated by eventual champions West Ham, with Okumu being a regular in the backline throughout the campaign.

At national team level, Okumu has slowly solidified his hold on a regular starting eleven, and was part of the squad that played at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). He made his national team debut in 2016 in a friendly match against Sudan at the Kasarani Stadium.