Harambee Stars players (from left) Ryan Ogam, Austin Odongo, Masoud Juma and Boniface Muchiri during a past training session at in Nairobi.
The revolving door at the Harambee Stars camp has had little rest in recent days after coach Benni McCarthy was forced to call up new players to his 2024 African Nations Championship (Chan) squad.
Forward Mohammed Bajaber will not take part in the tournament as he is due to join Tanzanian giants Simba SC from Kenya Police FC.
Chan is a tournament for players plying their trade in their respective country’s domestic league.
Bajaber has since been replaced by Shabana winger Brian Michira, who scored 17 goals last season, 12 in the league and five in the MozzartBet Cup.
The other new call-ups are Tusker FC midfielder Chrispine Erambo and Sofapaka forward Edward Omondi. They joined the Harambee Stars squad as reserve players owing to two injury concerns in the team. They will be drafted into Harambee Stars’ final Chan squad if the injured players do not recover in time.
Bajaber’s departure will be a huge disappointment to thousands of Kenyans who were looking forward to watching the exciting attacker in international action.
It is the third high-profile exit at Harambee Stars squad following the withdrawals of highly rated strikers Moses Shumah and Emmanuel Osoro. Shumah and Osoro topped the scorers’ chart in the 2024-25 FKF Premier League season with 17 and 16 goals respectively.
The exits of Bajaber, Osoro, and Shumah will deprive McCarthy of much-needed firepower in attack.
Other forwards will have to step to the plate to hunt for goals, including Austin Odongo (Shabana), Boniface Muchiri (Ulinzi Stars), David Sakwa (Bandari), Felix Oluoch (Posta Rangers), Masoud Juma (Migori Youth), and Ryan Ogam (Tusker).
A lot of focus will be on the experienced duo of Juma, 29 years, and Muchiri, 28 as well as the youthful pair of Ogam, 20, and Odongo, 19.
Juma, a journeyman who always finds his way into Harambee Stars squads, is one of three players in the team with continental football experience.
He was part of Kenya’s 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, together with defender Abud Omar and goalkeeper Faruk Shikhalo.
The Isiolo-born Juma, who has scored eight goals for Kenya in 22 outings, shares a history with Harambee Stars coach Benni McCarthy.
The South African coach signed Juma for Cape Town City in 2018 after he completed the 2017 Kenyan Premier League season as the top scorer with 18 goals for Kariobangi Sharks.
Harambee Stars striker Masoud Juma at Nation Centre on August 9, 2018.
It is likely that his past relationship with the South African will see him play a key role in Kenya’s campaign.
Juma’s playing style perfectly fits the profile of the attacker McCarthy desires. His height and strength allow him to receive and control long balls.
That allows him to occasionally drop deep to collect the ball and participate in build-up play and creation of goal-scoring chances.
His strength allows him to hold up play before making the right pass.
His awareness and link-up play come in handy for his team in high-tempo build-ups. Other than when cutting in from the left wing, Juma rarely dribbles.
He is mostly economical with his touches of the ball, always preferring to play first-time quick passes or controlling then passing the ball.
In addition to that, Juma is a hardworking player who presses opponents and track backs to help his team in defence. Above all, he is a goal poacher with good heading ability.
Ogam, who scored 15 goals in last season’s FKF Premier League, also exhibits similar attributes.
However, his agility means that he is much quicker than Juma at releasing the ball and wins a lot of fouls due to his pace when dribbling or when making one of his trademark quick turns. His heading ability is a strong aspect of his play.
Odongo is also a good header of the ball and a proven goal poacher who has a knack for the spectacular.
He scored seven goals in last season’s FKF Premier League and his one-touch finishes, excellent positioning, and instinctive play mark him out as a dangerous player while in the box.
He does not fear to go for the spectacular via acrobatic moves, which underlines his confidence in the danger area.
The service they will receive will matter and that is where Boniface Muchiri will most likely come in.
Muchiri is a dead-ball specialist who will be called upon to take most of Harambee Stars’ corners and free kicks as well as be relied on to deliver accurate crosses from open play.
Harambee Stars striker Masoud Juma takes part in a training session at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi on May 28, 2019 ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations finals set for Egypt from June 22-July 19. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
He was Ulinzi Stars’ top scorer in last season’s FKF Premier League.
The first test for Kenya’s frontrunners is on Sunday at a sold-out Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani, against the formidable Democratic Republic of Congo.
