Atalanta have been pretty good sellers over the past few seasons and they did that again with the sale of Caleb Okoli to Leicester City.
La Dea earned a fee of around €15m for the Nigeria born Italian and Leicester have now started using the defender in their first-team too, having handed him a start against Aston Villa at the weekend.
Okoli’s agent Alessandro Barison has spoken to Radio Sportiva about the move to Leicester City and how it came about.
He described the move as a ‘dream’ for Okoli and explained that the transfer happened quickly, with his words relayed by TMW.
“There were several Italian clubs looking for him, even in France and the Bundesliga. Then Leicester called and he told me he dreamed of the Premier League and in 4-5 days we closed everything.
“He has always dreamed of the Premier League since he was fifteen, he arrived prematurely together with the national team. Fulfilling dreams so young can make him really happy.”
Despite playing only once for Leicester, Okoli has been called up to the Italian national side and the player described the call-up as an ‘immense joy’.
“The day they called him he contacted me, he said ‘now it’s up to me to prove my worth’.
“They contacted him the night before by the technical staff, then he called me and told me he was going to the Nations League camp. An immense joy. It’s always been his dream together with the Premier League. He’s 22 years old and it’s the most beautiful thing”.
Playing in the Premier League and for Italy is the perfect scenario for the defender, whose agent also highlighted the importance of playing in the lower divisions in Italy.
“The loans were clearly winning choices for Caleb, the best choice. I advise all my boys to always play, not to stay in teams with a name but on the bench.”
For someone who has just come into the Premier League, it is normal for him to take some time to settle in.
Okoli played over 30 Serie A games for Frosinone last season and the expectation at Leicester will be that the defender becomes a regular for the club sooner rather than later.
