Harambe stars defender Joseph Okumu has joined French Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims, from Belgian club KAA Gent.
The former Chemeli Player has signed a five-year deal with the French outfit.
Reims announced the signing on Twitter on Friday days after rumors emerged of a potential transfer.
Okumu played for Kenya Premier League side Chemelil Sugar and also had stints in South Africa’s Free State Stars and USA’s Real Monarchs.
Reims paid a fee of €12 million (Ksh1.8 billion) to Gent after agreeing personal terms with the centre-back who will become the second Kenyan to play in the French top flight after Dennis Oliech.
Okumu had been the subject of interest from a number of European sides due to his sterling performances for Gent in the last two seasons and was thrust to the rest of the world last season as the Belgian side reached the Europa Conference League quarter-final.
Last season, Reims finished 11th, conceiding 45 goals and scoring as many in 38 matches. The fact that Reims couldn’t score more goals than they conceded last season means Still had to embark on an ambitious plan to bolster his backline.
In his debut season at Gent, Okumu’s stats were impressive. It was reported that several European clubs such as Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal, Atalanta, Celtic, and Leicester were interested in signing the Kenyan defender.
