Michael Olunga: Japan side agrees to release striker
What you need to know:
- Olunga is set to leave Japan on Wednesday.
- This development highlights a significant breakthrough in negotiations between FKF and the Japanese second-tier club which was earlier on only willing to release the player after Sunday's league match away to Ehime FC.
Football Kenya Federation seems to have triumphed in a club versus country row involving Michael Olunga, with his club Kashiwa Reysol now offering assurances they will release the Harambee Stars lead striker for international duty on Wednesday.
This development highlights a significant breakthrough in negotiations between FKF and the Japanese second-tier club which was earlier on only willing to release the player after Sunday's league match away to Ehime FC.
"His club says it will release him this morning. We will wait to see if the officials keep their word and then let you know," FKF president Nick Mwendwa told Nation Sport in a telephone interview from Paris.
Earlier, the Harambee Stars and Reysol lead striker looked set to miss Kenya's international friendly against Madagascar in Paris on Friday in a move that left the team's head coach Sebastien Migne fuming.
Indeed, the Frenchman even contemplated dropping Olunga from his 27-man provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations as a result.
Migne is said to have mapped out an elaborate training program for each of his players in a bid to gauge their fitness and fine tune the technical and tactical formations ahead of Kenya's Group 'C' assignments at the Africa Cup of Nations versus Senegal, Algeria, and Tanzania.
FIFA INTERVENTION
It is against this background that Migne recently rejected a request by Harambee Stars captain Victor Wanyama to rest for four days before linking up with the national team. Wanyama was an unused substitute as his English side Tottenham Hotspur lost 2-0 to Liverpool in the Uefa Champions League final on Saturday.
Wanyama reported to camp Tuesday evening.
FKF had reportedly sought Fifa’s intervention on Olunga's issue.
Olunga missed Kenya's last international assignment away to Ghana in March under unclear circumstances as Reysol - who are ranked seventh on the 22-team Japan's second tier league - insisted he was carrying an 'injury'.
