When we signed Noah Okafor – and for a modest £18 million as well, I remember thinking, “now that’s an interesting one”. When he was at RB Salzburg, he was one of the top emerging left-wingers/attacking midfielders so I wasn’t massively surprised when AC Milan swooped.
Though, I felt sorry for him. He joined at a time when the club invested in a lot of young talent (and, more established), so he never really got a look in. Personally, I think it was a level above where he should have gone and it felt like the Italian side were being greedy more than anything.
In the limited opportunities he had at the San Siro, he definitely didn’t pull up any trees, though I think it would be unfair to say that fans weren’t privy to what he is capable of.
For AC Milan, he scored six goals and made five assists in 42 matches across all competitions, while on loan at Napoli for the second half of last term, he didn’t register a goal or assist in four games. And, to be honest, that isn’t a bad return, considering that most of his appearances were from the bench.
Already this season, Okafor has two goals in five; both in his last three and he is starting to give hope that he can live up to the potential he showed while in Austria.
Essentially, he has been rotating with Willy Gnonto on the left – a position I think we needed to address following Manor Solomon’s return to parent club Tottenham and the spectacularly failed pursuit of Igor Paixao. However, I think Okafor could turn out to be a masterstroke.
He also seems to be gradually adapting to the demands of the Premier League and at 25, I think he is at the right age to push on. His Champions League experience in both Austria and Italy can be a major plus for us as well – he’s tried and tested against top opponents and I think we’ve outdone ourselves here.
I definitely think he’s better than anyone that Sunderland or Burnley have signed – and, you could probably argue a few other clubs as well. Also, he’s a Swiss international and he definitely will want a stage to shine to show that he is his country’s ‘main man’, in a similar way Xherdan Shaqiri was. We can provide that platform for him.
Every Chance He Can Be Our Top Scorer
I know, I know. We’ve got three senior strikers on our books already. But, so far, it seems like he’s the only major, realistic goal threat – from an attacking position at least.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (fingers crossed he stays injury free), can get back to his best if things go his way, though I feel this will take time. Lukas Nmecha is useful, but I don’t think he’s going to notch every week, while Joel Piroe probably needs to be given more of a chance to see what he can do.
So, with that in mind, I think Okafor has a good chance of going on a really good run. He doesn’t really have much competition for his place either and looks to be playing with increased confidence every week.
We’ve seen how prolific that left-wing position can be in recent years, when you get the right type of player; first Crysencio Summerville and then Manor Solomon – Okafor could prove to be the best of the lot.
