Gor Mahia defender joins Zambia’s Zesco, signs two-year deal
David ‘Calabar’ Owino on Monday completed a move to Zambian champions Zesco United after passing his medicals.
The former Gor Mahia defender penned a two-year deal that should keep him at the Ndola based club until January 2017.
The club announced on its official facebook page that it had acquired the signature of the utility defense kingpin.
“Zesco United has officially signed a two year contract with Kenyan Defender, David Owino Odhiambo from Gor Mahia.”
Calabar left the country on Sunday accompanied by his link man George Bwana, who formerly served as K’Ogalo’s secretary general.
In pictures posted by the club on its facebook page, the 26 year old defender is seen signing the contract flanked by Zesco club officials and Bwana.
WEARING A SMILE
In another, he is seen wearing a smile as he is handed the club’s orange coloured home jersey.
Under the deal, Gor will pocket US $ 15,000(Sh1.4 million) while Owino will take home US $20,000(Sh1.8million) in sign-on fee.
No further details of the contract were made public but sources say the former Gor vice-captain has been offered a sweetened deal that persuaded him to ditch Gor.
While at K’Ogalo, he earned a modest Sh 80,000 a month and the glamour club had expressed interest of handing him a new improved offer of Sh 160,000 a month that would have made him the highest earner at the club.
Owino becomes the third key player to ditch the financially troubled Kenyan champion in less than two months following the exit of midfield war horse Geoffrey ‘Baba’ Kizito, who left for Vietnam, and lead goal poacher Dan Sserunkuma who crossed the border to link up with Tanzanian league giants Simba.
Gor face a backlog of fixtures beginning February when they tackle Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale Sport (CNaPS) of Madgascar in the pre-liminary leg of the African Champions League.
Apart from the continental fixtures, they will participate in the league campaigns, the Domestic Cup, Top Eight tournament as well as the regional Cecafa Kagame Club championship in July.
BOLSTERING TEAM
Gor has been bolstering its playing unit with young talents as they bid to build a formidable squad for the future and club deputy secretary general Ronald Ngala expressed optimism that they will land all their transfer targets before the Caf Jan 15 deadline.
“There are players we have already signed and there are those we are in talks with. We hope to complete their signing before January,” Ngala said on Sunday.
K’Ogalo have so far roped in former Tusker goalie Boniface Oluoch, Glay, Timothy Otieno and Martin Weruga (both from Talanta Academy), Ghanaian striker Taofiq Zachary,20, signed from United Arab Emirates outfit Al Shaab FC and are closing in on Bidco’s youthful midfielder Ernest Wendo .