Richard Odada has spoken of the inspiration Victor Wanyama provided him as a young player when the latter moved to the English Premier League in 2013.Wanyama, now with CF Montreal, became the first Kenyan player to grace the English Premier League when he joined Southampton from Celtic in 2013. He later moved to Tottenham in 2016 and remains the only Kenyan to have played in what is arguably the best league in the world.##NAJAVA_MECA_8238580##Last week, Odada, who has since replaced Wanyama in the national team, joined Dundee United of Scotland from Philadelphia Union in the US. He hopes to follow in his idol’s footsteps by playing in the Premier League.In an interview, Odada spoke admirably of Wanyama’s impact on his career. “Wanyama was the first player to play in the English Premier League from Kenya,” he told The Courier. “At the time, I was in elementary school. We all used to watch him and think, ‘Wow!’ He’s a guy from Kenya who came from a difficult background.”Odada added that Wanyama’s move was an inspiration to many budding players due to his humble upbringing. “Everybody in the country was talking about him. He came from a place we know, and he showed us that we could all truly make it.”Timothy Ouma features as substitute in Elfsborg lossAt Dundee, Odada has already settled in thanks to the warm welcome from players from southeastern Europe. “The boys have been great and really welcoming. I feel like part of the group already because there are three Balkan guys – two from North Macedonia (Kristijan Trapanovski, David Babunski) and one from Croatia (Vicko Sevelj) – here already,” he continued.“After my experience in Serbia, we speak the same language. I learned it when I was over there.”Odada is now racing against time to get up to speed for Sunday’s Dundee derby opener in the Premiership, marking the first meeting between the sides in two years. “I have heard about the derby and watched some videos from the past. I am excited to experience that,” he added.Shabana beef up squad with two more signings
