Pa Dembo recommends Durgarden to Omar Colley Africa » Gambia Thursday, August 14, 2014 Gambian international and new Djurgarden signing Omar Colley has explained that compatriot Pa Dembo Touray has an influence in his decision to sign on with the Swedish top-flight side. The Swedish Allsvenskan side announced this week they have recruited the former Real de Banjul and Wallidan defender on a three-year contract, beginning January 1, when he will join on a free transfer. The contract is valid until November 30 2017. Djurgarden wanted the 21-year-old, who can play in either side of defence, to join them immediately but couldn’t agree on a transfer fee with his Finnish side Kupio. According to the Swedes, the Finns rated the former African U-17 championship very highly that they were prized out of an immediate deal. Pa Dembo spent eleven years at the Stokholm Stadion [now Tele2 Arena for sponsorship reasons] and was a former captain of the team until his departure to South Africa three years. The former Gambian skipper alongside Kebba Ceesay advised the youngster to sign for Djurgarden. “Kebba Ceesay is a fantastic footballer and he has spoken highly of DIF, which has helped me in my decision. Pa Dembo Touray is also one of the major Gambian footballers, so they both have influenced me a lot to choose Djurgarden,” Colley told Djurgarden’s official website. Colley, a native of Lamin village has been with Kupio since January 2013 but will leave the Savon Sanomat Areena at the end of the Finnish season in October. Bosse Andersson, the Djurgarden sports director explained on the club’s official website that they were desperate to finally tie down the 1.90 meter tall defender to a contract. “We have been working frantically to resolve a transition immediately, but Koupio were not willing to release him until the end of the season [because of his importance and with KuPS still fighting for a place in Europe next season]. I know that he had previously been monitored by Arminia Bielefeld but they could not agree on a deal as well, so he is clearly a player that is highly valued by his current Finnish club,” Andersson added. Aside Bielefeld, FC Kaiserslautern (both in the German second tier) was also interested in the signature of the Gambian, but after Kupio failed to agree on a deal for the defender, Colley stayed to see out the remaining year of his contract but he is already looking forward to working with his new teammates and the 30,000-seater Tele2 Arena. “It is a big club and Ive heard a lot about the fans and the atmosphere at the games so Im really looking forward to further connect with the team next season. Swedish football is at a higher level than the Finnish league so it feels like a good step in my development.” Regarding his capacity to adapt to situations, Colley describes himself as a physically imposing player with good technique who fights hard on the field and can be used in several positions across the back. “I like to play as a central defender but I can also go out as a left back. Im left-footed so it suits me fine too,” he concluded. Author: Baboucarr Camara
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 16:16:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015