Exclusive: Interview with Al Mokawloon New Signing John Okoli

The 24-year-old joins from Saif Sporting. The striker has an incredible record abroad, scoring 69 goals in stints at Saif, Yenicami, Gonyeli and Göçmenköy.

He hit 18 goals in 22 appearances for Saif Sporting in the Bangladesh Premier League last term.

The attacker is known for his professionalism and focus, a footballer wise beyond his years. 

"I went to Yenicami when I was 20 and was alone there so I knew I would be fine going somewhere without any Nigerian players. But it's really nice to have some Nigerian guys playing in Egypt, especially because they're all super nice. I feel happy here and that confirmed my good feeling about Al Mokawloon," Okoli said.

Okoli had been looking for a new challenge after 1 year at Saif and Al Mokawloon faced stiff competition for his signature.

The prospect of a challenge in a new country convinced his to move to Egypt, but it was Al Mokawloon's attacking style that really won him over. "I had been playing in Bangladesh for one year and I wanted to try something new. I want to become a better player. If you look at Al Mokawloon, they play amazing football.

How will Okoli be used? Well, that depends on how coach Emad El Nahhas wants to use him. He definitely has options. Okoli is not a prototype center striker by any means, but he can play as a very Kelechi Iheanacho-esque forward. He'll run off the shoulder one minute, and then drop into the hole to play a runner through the next. While he'll bag a free header just fine.

Though he has the skills to operate as a winger or play as a No. 10, he's also not a textbook fit at either of these positions. The ideal situation would see him running off a strong lead striker as the freer-to-roam support forward. The Nigerian loves to time late runs up the gut to overload the opposing center backs, but Mokawloon staff will want to push him to look for his own shot off the dribble more often. He did that back in his Gonyeli days, but was more often a link player for Saif.

Some of Okoli's strengths apply wherever he fits into Mokawloon's formation on a given day. He's good with both feet, but generally prefers to operate from the right channels. The 24-year-old does outstanding pressure valve work to get his team out of their end and knows when to slow things down so the team can organize their build or adjust the tempo. He's always eager to close down an opposing ball carrier regardless of field locale, which makes him a pressure weapon.

Everything this 24-year old touches has a habit of turning into gold. He should paint Egypt red with goals.

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Ademetan Abayomi has always dreamt of being a sports journalist. His journey began 11 years ago when he created my first sports news page on Facebook, called "Futball Galore" and from there on his passion for sports journalism grew stronger. Now, he is a Sports News Reporter and Feature Writer where he strives to add value and learn as much as he can.

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