Dunga: Olunga had no influence on my transfer to Japan

Despite leaving an indelible mark on Japanese football, Kenyan forward Ismael Dunga revealed that Michael Olunga had no effect on his transfer to Sagan Tosu.

Dunga impressed during his short stint with Albanian outfit Vllaznia Shkodër after joining the club from KF Tirana back in August 2020, scoring four goals in seven appearances. 

The lanky forward revealed that Tosu were convinced to splash cash for his signature due to his hard work on the field but admitted that Olunga has a big influence in Japan following his highly successful spell at Kashiwa Reysol. 

“I came here because of my performances. I had a good season with Vllaznia. I do not really think I came here because of Olunga's performance in Japan. Olunga is a really good player, he had outstanding season's with Reysol and Japanese people really love him,” said Dunga.

This comes after former Reading FC winger Ayub Timbe admitted that Michael Olunga advised him to join Vissel Kobe. 

The 28-year-old was unveiled by Tosu on Thursday, 80 days after putting pen to paper back in January but his move to Japan was delayed due to travel restrictions in the Asian country. 

Dunga was however delighted to finally link up with the side after sharpening his fitness with Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) log leaders Tusker. 

“I feel happy to join the team, you know it has been a while before playing - it has been almost four months because of Covid-19, I was training with Tusker to keep fit,”

“For now, I cannot say that I have concrete targets because I have already missed like 10 games and the league is on going. I just want to catch up with a team and I will take it a game at a time, right now I'm focused on settling down and giving the best for the team,” noted Dunga.

The 28-year-old will be hoping to soon make his debut in the Japanese J1 League with Tosu sitting fourth on the log.