Noah Okafor is officially a new player of Milan.
The agreement with Red Bull Salzburg arrived yesterday seemingly out of nowhere and today (Saturday) it is already official: Okafor is a new member of the squad of coach Stefano Pioli.
The versatile attacker had his contract expiring in Austria in 2024 and Milan used it to their advantage to get him for €14m including bonuses, a much better price that the €25m wanted for him just a few weeks ago.
“Milan is delighted to announce that Noah Arinzechukwu Okafor has joined the Club from FC Red Bull Salzburg on a permanent basis. The Swiss forward has signed a deal with the Rossoneri that lasts until 30 June 2028,” a statement reads.
“Born in Binningen (Switzerland) on 24 May 2000, Noah developed in the FC Basel youth section and made his professional debut with the club in 2018. He would go on to score seven goals in 54 games with FCB, winning one Swiss Cup title. He then moved to Salzburg in January 2020, where he made 110 appearances and scored 34 goals. He won four Austrian Bundesliga titles and three Austrian Cups with Die Roten Bullen. In international football, Noah has won 14 caps and scored twice for Switzerland.”
“Noah Okafor will wear the number 17 shirt.” The 23-year-old takes Rafael Leão’s old number and he will look to earn a place alongside the Portuguese in the starting XI. Okafor will tomorrow head out to the United States where he will join the team for a pre-season training camp and friendly matches.
Noah is the 6th signing of the summer, after Marco Sportiello, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Luka Romero, Christian Pulisic and Tijjani Reijnders. The 7th signing will be Samuel Chukwueze from Villarreal.