Dynamo Kyiv and SuperSport United are now in discussions over the potential move of Ime Okon.
Soccer Laduma has reliably learned that record Ukrainian champions Dynamo Kyiv are believed to be in negotiations with SuperSport United to secure the services of Ime Okon.
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Earlier this month, reports emerged that the towering central defender was set to undergo a short trial with the Blues and Whites. This was soon confirmed by the club, which revealed that Okon would be assessed during their training camp in Turkey.
What was initially expected to be a brief evaluation period turned into a two-week trial, during which the 20-year-old featured in four friendly matches. Okon played against notable sides, including German second-division outfit Magdeburg, Poland’s Widzew Lodz, Slovenia’s Maribor, and KF Llapi from Kosovo.
It now appears that Okon has made a lasting impression on the decision-makers at Dynamo Kyiv. Soccer Laduma has been informed that talks are underway with Matsatsantsa to finalise a deal before the transfer window closes.
Okon has been a constant presence in SuperSport’s starting XI since being promoted from the club’s Multichoice Diski Challenge side last season.
The youngster has started 37 of the 41 matches he has played for the Pretoria-based side since making his debut during the 2023/24 campaign. Still in the early stages of his career within South African football, the Bafana Bafana prospect could now be on the verge of a major move to a renowned European club.
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Dynamo Kyiv currently sit at the top of the Ukrainian Premier Liga standings, holding a five-point lead over second-placed Oleksandriya. However, their fortunes in European competitions have been less favourable, as they currently occupy bottom spot in their UEFA Europa League group.
Soccer Laduma contacted SuperSport United for comment but the club had not responded by the time this report was published.
BLOEMFONTEIN, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 14: Kaizer Chiefs during the Betway Premiership match between Marumo Gallants FC and Kaizer Chiefs at Free State Stadium on September 14, 2024 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. (Photo by Charle Lombard/Gallo Images).
There has been a first team departure at Kaizer Chiefs on the final day of the transfer window.
The Soweto giants bolstered their squad with three signings on Monday, including Congolese forward Glody Lilepo.
As a result, winger Christian Saile has now left the club and joined fellow Betway Premiership side SuperSport United.
Christian Saile has joined SuperSport United.
The Tshwane outfit have also confirmed the arrival of Ghanaian winger Enoch Quaicoe.
“SuperSport United is pleased to announce the signing of Ghanaian winger, Enoch Quaicoe on a two-year deal with an option to renew for a further year and Congolese forward Christian Saile from Kaizer Chiefs,” the club announced on X.
The former Aston Villa and Whitecaps player joined Mic’d Up to discuss the UCL format, the Prem title race and educating U.S. fans
Nigel Reo-Coker has a unique perspective. Born in London, pushed through the academy systems of English football, before eventually settling in three different long-term stints with Premier League teams, the center midfielder put in the hard yards in one of the game’s more traditional formats. Then, things changed. He moved to MLS and played in America for three years. And now, he’s back, a pundit, analyst and talking head for CBS Sports Golazo Network. Very few of his English peers returned to embed themselves in the U.S. broadcast landscape. Reo-Coker has no regrets, though. Educating new American soccer fans, he feels, is important.
“I think now Americans are really starting to understand it and starting to get deep. It’s only going to be because of different players’ experiences, and how they communicate. My biggest thing I always say to my American fans is: watch the game. When you really watch the game, then you truly understand it,” Reo Coker tells GOAL.
His journey has been an interesting one. For starters, Reo-Coker is a rare English analyst on American television who never represented his country or played consistent European football. His experience in MLS, too, was in the early 2010s, when the league was still in an awkward spot between a niche micro-culture and global relevance. But in many ways, that makes him singular in his analytical efforts. He has been in MLS and seen it from the outside. He played in the Premier League and watched it from afar. There are some constants here, though. Reo-Coker will remain an Aston Villa loyalist – although he believes the Birmingham club should have a bigger footprint in America. He will also always root for old-fashioned football; it’s why he loves Nottingham Forest this year.
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“We always say as ex-players, there’s more than one way to win a football match. You know, what might be palatable to me might not be to you. But at the end of the day, we grew up in a generation and culture about winning, and that will never change in football. So there’s many ways to stimulate conversations from many different points of view,” he says.
And all of that knowledge is being applied on American TV every week. Reo-Coker is a CBS Sports analyst and co-host of The Golazo Show on Paramount+, where he covers football worldwide, ranging from the Champions League to the Premier League. It’s a broad remit, but one he has embraced.
Reo-Coker weighed in on the state of American soccer, the Premier League, and why jeopardy is good for the Champions League in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.
NOTE: This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
ATLANTA (Jan. 28, 2025) – The U.S. Soccer Federation and The Home Depot today announced an expansive partnership, making the world’s largest home improvement retailer a strategic partner of the 27 U.S. Soccer National Teams, including the U.S. Men’s and Women’s senior National Teams, as well as the Federation’s Youth and Extended National Teams. The retailer will also be a Supporting Level partner of the Arthur M. Blank U.S. Soccer National Training Center – U.S. Soccer’s new home in Atlanta, named for the company’s co-founder.
“The Home Depot’s deep roots in the Atlanta community and strong ties to sports, and soccer in general, make it a perfect strategic partner for our Federation,” said U.S. Soccer Chief Commercial Officer David Wright. “Its support is crucial toward building our National Training Center and helping us unite communities across the country through the beautiful game, and we look forward to what we can achieve together in service to soccer.”
“The Home Depot is thrilled to deepen our commitment to soccer through this partnership with The U.S. Soccer Federation,” said Molly Battin, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at The Home Depot. “Our customers are passionate about sports, including soccer, and we’re proud to support the game they love. This partnership allows us to help build the foundation for the future of soccer in the U.S.”
The partnership was officially announced at an in-person event at the construction site of U.S. Soccer’s new state-of-the-art National Training Center, where Wright and Battin, along with The Home Depot field associates, celebrated a marquee coming together of two iconic brands based in the Atlanta area. During the event, U.S. Soccer’s Chief Financial Officer Chelle Adams provided updates on the facility’s construction.
Through this partnership, U.S. Soccer and The Home Depot will bring communities together by shining a spotlight on local Hometown Heroes who are creating a positive impact in their communities, engaging them as Gameday Ambassadors for unique matchday experiences at U.S. Soccer matches.
The partnership complements The Home Depot’s recent deal with FIFA, which made it the official home improvement retailer in North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup which will take place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Atlanta will also host eight matches throughout the tournament, including a semifinal.
ABOUT THE HOME DEPOT
The Home Depot is the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. At the end of the third quarter, the company operated a total of 2,345 retail stores and over 760 branches across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs over 465,000 associates. The Home Depot’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index.
ABOUT U.S. SOCCER
Founded in 1913, U.S. Soccer has been the official governing body of the sport in the United States for more than 100 years. As U.S. Soccer looks toward the future amid an unprecedented moment of opportunity, it has aligned its efforts around five strategic pillars: Grow the game by increasing youth and adult participation and accessibility to the sport; Foster best playing environments through quality of referees and coaches, and commitment to participant safety; Develop winning teams through solidified pathways and success of professional leagues; Grow the soccer economy to fuel reinvestment by increasing membership, fandom and commercial success; and Create a world-class organization through revitalized structure and culture, best-in-class talent, progress in DEIB, and more. For more information, visit ussoccer.com/ourvision.
Following their loss to Orlando Pirates, Richards Bay FC coach Ronnie Gabriel has made a bold claim about the so-called big teams.
The Natal Rich Boyz suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Buccaneers in the Nedbank Cup Last 32 on Sunday afternoon.
This was their third loss to the Sea Robbers this season, after two 1-0 defeats in the Betway Premiership matches.
When asked about the gap between his team and top sides like Orlando Pirates, Gabriel acknowledged that Jose Riveiro’s troops are are on another level.
However, he asserted that Richards Bay’s impressive second-half showing against Pirates demonstrated their ability to “compete against the big guns.”
He expressed confidence that they will elevate their game even more in the second round.
RICHARDS BAY COACH – ‘WE ARE CAPABLE OF DOING IT’
“Pirates is a team of high quality,” said Gabriel. “They are a top team, we can’t take that away from them. The levels are high.
Richards Bay FC Langelihle Mhlongo challenged by Orlando Piratss stars – Picture courtesy of Richards Bay FC
“They’re having a good season, they’ve been doing well in Africa. They’ve been doing well in the local league.
“So, they are one of the best performers in the African continent at this present moment. But looking at our second half display, it gives us encouragement that we can compete against the big guns.
“We do have the ability and we are capable of doing it. It’s just a matter of us being more consistent, starting the game with more confidence, taking more risk, and the results will come our way.”
Looking to come back stronger in the second round, Richards Bay have added striker Mxolisi Macuphu to their squad. Gabriel expressed their excitement to get him on the field.
“We didn’t discuss that about more reinforcements. But we’re doing well at training,” he added.
“He [Macuphu] had a few good training sessions. We want to get him into a respectable level of fitness so we can throw him out to the pitch and maybe he can do a job for us.”
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Fiacre Ntwari of Kaizer Chiefs during the Betway Premiership 2024/25 media day for Kaizer Chiefs at Chiefs Village in Johannesburg on 25 November 2024
Alche Greeff, Backpages
There seems to be hope for a Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper despite having appeared to be down in the pecking order, the Siya crew has learnt.
In recent matches, Chiefs goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari has been out of coach Nasreddine Nabi’s starting line-ups as Chiefs have been trying different combinations.
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Following a good start with Amakhosi as he was starting matches earlier in the season after he joined the club from TS Galaxy, Ntwari suffered an injury while on national team duty with Rwanda in November.
While indications had been that the 25-year-old was the number one choice for Nabi earlier in the campaign, he has struggled to reclaim his place since recovering from injury.
Bruce Bvuma has been playing ahead of him and his performances have been impressive.
However, sources close to the Soweto giants have given hope about Ntwari’s situation that all is not lost in his push for a place in the team.
“He (Ntwari) is working hard to win his place back in the starting line-up. The most important thing about him is that he is a positive guy who is willing to always learn. With that attitude, he will go far, and people shouldn’t rule him out yet, and he’s got the support of everyone at the club,” said the source.
Meanwhile, Bvuma is likely to retain his place as Chiefs’ number one for Saturday’s big clash against Orlando Pirates based on current form.
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In the previous match on Sunday against third tier outfit Free Agents FC in the Nedbank Cup, Bvuma kept another clean sheet and provided an assist for the first goal scored by Pule Mmodi in the 4-0 victory.
The 29-year-old has now kept three clean sheets in seven matches across all competitions.
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