Chiefs announce first signing of January transfer window

Cape Town - Kaizer Chiefs have confirmed their first signing of the transfer window with the acquisition of Kenyan midfielder Anthony Akumu on a three-year deal.

Chiefs finally unveiled their man, having to first terminate the contract of Ghanaian midfielder James Kotei (the fifth foreign-contracted player in the squad) to make way for Akumu.

Kotei was released on Tuesday, with the deal for Akumu now done and dusted less than 24 hours later.

Akumu has been touted as a long-term replacement for Willard Katsande.

Amakhosi fans will remember Akumu scoring against them for Zambian giants ZESCO in a CAF Champions League defeat.

The 27-year-old is described as a lanky yet robust, reliable, ball-winning midfielder who poses a threat from set-pieces and he should fit well into Chiefs' direct and physical style of football.

Akumu has been a mainstay in the ZESCO side for some years now and was nominated for the Zambia Super League Player of the Season last campaign as he helped his side to the league title and qualification for the CAF Champions League.

"I grew up in a place called Mathare in Nairobi and that is where I started playing football," the midfielder said as quoted by the club's website.

"In this area the guys were Manchester United fans and at the time there was the great United team with Ryan Giggs and Dwight Yorke, so the guys used to call me Teddy after the striker former Man Utd and England striker Teddy Sheringham."

Akumu says that he is also pleased to have his former Zesco United team-mate Lazalous Kambole with him at Chiefs.

"When you come to a football institution like this, it's good to have somebody to help show you around and guide you, having him around is making it easier for me to acclimatise."

The 27-year-old is the first player from Kenya to join the Amakhosi which means that the Soweto giants have signed up players from 18 different African countries.

"I have learnt that I am the first Kenyan at Chiefs and it is a good thing. I now need to perform well and show I'm capable of doing for the team," he said.

"This will hopefully open doors for other people. The fact that Chiefs had had so many players representing different African countries, it shows what a welcoming team it is and I am grateful to be part of that."

- TeamTalk Media