FKF Premier League side Nairobi City Stars hopes to complete the signing of Japanese national Yuto Kusaba once the transfer window opens in January.
City Stars chief executive officer, Patrick Korir, said Kusaba returned to the country on December 7.
“He arrived and immediately resumed training with the team. We expect to complete his transfer once the window opens in January,” said Korir.
The Japanese was signed by Simba wa Nairobi in August from fourth-tier side Zenshin FC (Northern Zone) but did not feature in the first leg because the Fifa Transfer Matching System (TMS) guidelines had not been met before his move and the window had already closed.
When his transfer is completed, he will become the first Japanese to play in the Kenya Premier League.
“We expect to have him available for selection once the transfer window opens in January. We are all excited to have him in our team,” said Korir.
Yuto is a former player with St. Andrew's University, and Basara Hyogo in Japan before coming to Kenya as a volunteer with an Embu-based NGO.
Korir ruled out making any major changes in the team in the January transfer window.
“We don’t expect any departure but if a player gets a good offer and leaves, we shall replace him. However, if there is no movement, the status quo will remain,” he noted.
Korir added: “The team has peaked at the right time. We have at least two players in each position so there will be not much activity in the mid-season transfer window.”
'Simba Wa Nairobi' has been in fine form, winning four games on the trot. In their last fixture of the year, they beat Kakamega Homeboyz 1-0 at Bukhungu Stadium with Wycliffe Omondi scoring the all-important goal.
City Stars sits sixth on the log with 27 points from 16 games. They resumed training on Thursday from the festive season break ahead of their game against Talanta FC on January 6 at Kasarani Annex.
