Omalla upbeat after leaving to join Swedish outfit Linkoping City
Football
By
Washington Onyango
| May 07, 2021
Harambee Stars U-20 striker Benson Omalla is confident of succeeding in Europe.
Omalla, 18, left Kenya in the wee hours of Friday morning and will be officially joining Swedish Division One side Linkoping City.
Fresh from completing his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education at Kisumu Day High School last month, Omalla is delighted at the opportunity of playing in Europe.
Speaking to the Standard Sports, the former Chapa Dimba All-Star striker said he can’t wait to don the jersey of Linkoping and help the team avoid relegation.
Linkoping City is currently bottom of the Swedish Division One South table standings after losing all their opening matches of the 2021 season.
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“I can’t describe how happy I am and I thank God for the opportunity,” said a jubilant Omalla.
“My goal is to help my team through scoring goals. I understand it is not going to be easy with the change of environment, culture and league but as an athlete, I always strive to give my best every time I stepped into the field.”
The former Western Stima signed a season-long loan deal with Linkoping City in March, though he is still a Gor Mahia player since he has a lengthy contract with the reigning champions.
Omalla has not featured prominently for Gor in the league this year as he was balancing his schoolwork ahead of his final examinations.
He featured for Gor in the CAF Champions League preliminary round against APR of Rwanda in December last year as K’Ogalo advanced to the first round.
The teenage sensation joined Gor Mahia during the 2020 August transfer window from Western Stima, where he had impressed.
He scored nine goals for Stima last season, including a hat trick against Zoo Kericho before the season was prematurely halted after the deadly coronavirus hit the country.
Omalla also became the youngest player to win the KPL Player of the Month Award after SJAK accorded him the award in December 2019.