Gor Mahia explain Omala loan deal to Sweden side Linkoping City

Gor Mahia have come out to clarify youngster Benson Omala will return from Sweden at the expiry of his short-term contract.

The former Western Stima striker officially sealed a six-month loan deal to play for Swedish Division One side FC Linkoping City, returning to Kenya in December 2021.

Gor Mahia secretary-general Sam Ochola has now clarified the youngster, who also features for the national team Harambee Stars, will return home after the short-term contract comes to an end and will not stay in Europe.

“Of course Omala is going to Sweden on a six-month loan deal and we are hopeful the deal will make him a better player while in Europe and we expect him back by January to play for us,” Ochola told Goal on Saturday.

“We want the player to go out there and develop and nothing much and we know when he comes back, he will be a better player than he is now.”

Linkoping will officially have the services of Omala after the centre-forward clears his final high school examinations in March.

In a recent interview Gor Mahia official Omondi Aduda, who sits in the club’s technical committee, revealed to Goal the agreement signed between the club and Omala by stating: “Let Omala go and develop in Sweden.

“He has made the move on a season-free loan and that is the agreement between Gor Mahia and Linkoping City. The deal was completed here in Kenya as the officials from the team came to finalise everything in the country.”

Since joining Gor Mahia Omala has not enjoyed regular playtime with the giants, with the arrival of Burundian Jules Ulimwengu and Tito Okello of South Sudan, who were signed in the same transfer window, saw him relegated to the bench most of the time.

There was also stiff competition from Nicholas Kipkirui who has left the club to sign for Nairobi City Stars.

Recently, the goalscoring responsibility has been handed to either forward Wilson Silva, the newly signed centre-forward for the Green Army from Brazil, or Ulimwengu with Okello enjoying more minutes as a substitute.

Although minutes have been limited at club level, Omala has always been called to the national side as he was also summoned for the friendlies against South Sudan and Tanzania but school duties rule him out entirely.

Omala made his name at Western Stima before he attracted interest from Gor Mahia. The youngster earned his debut in the Premier League against KCB and scored his first top-tier goal.

His form saw him included in the Rising Stars squad that featured in the Cecafa U20 championship in Kampala, Uganda in 2019 and he went on to score on two occasions.

While serving the Powermen, he registered his first hat-trick against Zoo FC, a game they won 4-1 in December 2019, and became the first Western Stima player to do so.