Confirmed Transfer Caleb Okoli

[Jeff]

Not officially announced by the club yet, but they've accidentally put an interview with him on Youtube

 

[Jeff]

 

[Graz]

This looks like a nice bit of business.

I hadn't heard of him until he was linked, but comes from a good club, seems highly rated, and a good age and good price. Hopefully getting back to the model that has brought us success.

Sell him to Chelsea for £90m in 2 years.

 

[Jeff]

Highly rated young defender Caleb Okoli has joined Leicester City Football Club on a permanent deal from Serie A side Atalanta, subject to Premier League and international clearance.

The 22-year-old centre-back, who represented Italy at the EURO U21 Championships in 2023, has signed a five-year-deal with the Foxes as Steve Cooper’s side continue their preparations for the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Speaking to Foxes Hub, he said: “I think now is the right moment [for me] to make a step forward and a very big one. I’m very happy with the choice I made, so I’m very excited to start in the Premier League. Now I’m here in Leicester I’m feeling ready to start with my new team.

“It was the right opportunity and it’s very important for me. The Premier League is the best league in the world. Leicester is a beautiful club, an important club and the two combined together, so I took this opportunity to come and express myself in the Premier League.”

Born in Vicenza in Italy, Okoli joined Atalanta in the summer of 2015 and won the National Youth Super Cup (Primavera) with the Under-19s in 2019, before joining SPAL on loan for the 2020/21 season, making 16 appearances for the Serie B side and scoring once in a 2-1 victory over Lecce.

The centre-back continued his development at Serie B level with a loan spell at Cremonese in 2021/22, featuring 27 times, before making his Serie A debut for Atalanta in a 2-1 win against Sampdoria in August 2022.

He made 17 appearances for the Nerazzurri during the 2022/23 campaign, helping the side to a fifth-place finish and UEFA Europa League qualification.

In September 2023, the 6-foot-3 defender joined newly promoted Serie A club Frosinone on a season long loan and went on to feature for them on 37 occasions in all competitions, building on an already impressive reputation.

On the international stage, he has represented Italy at U19, U20 and U21 level.

Okoli will now link up with his Leicester City teammates as pre-season gets underway and preparations begin for their return to Premier League football.

 

[homer]

Can now join up with Faes, Vestergaard, Coady, Souttar, and Nelson to play rock, paper, scissors to decide who’s going on the bench….

 

[City Fan]

Centre Back is the last position we need more players in, so bit of a strange one.

 

[SilverFox]

 

[pork pie fox]

Centre Back is the last position we need more players in, so bit of a strange one.

Unless they actually think they might be able to get rid of some of them at last. Wishful thinking, obviously.

 

[jb5000]

Centre Back is the last position we need more players in, so bit of a strange one.

Maybe Cooper is planning on converting one of them into a bustling number 9

 

[londonfox]

Hang on, some people spent all last season saying that Faes and Vestergaard weren't good enough for the Championship, and definitley wouldn't be good enough for the Premier League. And now, centre back is the last position we need more players in?

 

[Graz]

Centre Back is the last position we need more players in, so bit of a strange one.

Did you watch Faes last time we were in the Prem? Or Vestergaard for that matter.

They might've improved, might do better in a different system, but it's a ****ing big risk to take.

 

[Orifice]

'Caleb Okoli' sounds like the type of player name that we would buy in the '00s.

 

[popillius]

Centre Back is the last position we need more players in, so bit of a strange one.

There is widespread (albeit unfair a lot of the time) criticism of Faes and Vesteegaard with many believing them incapable of PL football. Nelson has never really looked all that, neither has Coady. Souttar has fallen out of existence.

I think we needed a CB.

 

[City Fan]

Hang on, some people spent all last season saying that Faes and Vestergaard weren't good enough for the Championship, and definitley wouldn't be good enough for the Premier League. And now, centre back is the last position we need more players in?

Faes and Vestergaard aren’t good enough for the Premier League, but it looks like we have no plans to sell either of them.

 

[City Fan]

There is widespread (albeit unfair a lot of the time) criticism of Faes and Vesteegaard with many believing them incapable of PL football. Nelson has never really looked all that, neither has Coady. Souttar has fallen out of existence.

I think we needed a CB.

Coady is a proven Premier League defender. He’ll be fine next season when not playing Enzo ball.

I’d rather have a CM. We currently have two under contract, one of which is nowhere near a Premier League player.

 

[Miles Away]

I’d imagine Souttar or Faes are available.

 

[Miles Away]

Coady is a proven Premier League defender. He’ll be fine next season when not playing Enzo ball.

I’d rather have a CM. We currently have two under contract, one of which is nowhere near a Premier League player.

Do you think the club aren’t going to sign midfielders?

 

[City Fan]

Do you think the club aren’t going to sign midfielders?

Of course. But we now have £13m less to spend in that position.

 

[popillius]

Of course. But we now have £13m less to spend in that position.

But if you don't think Vestegaard or Faes are good enough and you didn't think we should sign a CB, then you'd be happy with Coady (who wasn't anything like as good as Vestegaard when he played), Nelson and Souttar as our only other options. That makes no sense to me.

Each to their own I guess but I'm glad we have got a CB through the door.

 

[Miles Away]

This lad is going to be good too.