Shichenje set for AIK Fotboll debut against Sirius after unveiling

Swedish top-tier side AIK Fotboll have unveiled versatile Kenya international Collins Shichenje.

The teenager joined the European side from Football Kenya Federation Premier League side AFC Leopards in early April.

The 18-year-old has been training with the Gnaw who have now revealed the jersey number for the East African.

"Collins Sichenje, our new number 29. A warm welcome to AIK!" the 12-time Swedish champions posted on their official social media accounts.

The youngster is expected to make his debut on Saturday as AIK, who are the current Allsvenskan leaders, host eighth-placed Sirius at Friends Arena. The former are on 19 points while the latter have 13.

"Shichenje is a disciplined player who is talented and I am confident he will perform well abroad," Tom Juma who is Leopards' assistant coach told GOAL on Thursday.

"The good thing about Shichenje is that he is a good learner who has a massive room for improvement. He had stabilized Ingwe and honestly it was hard for us to let him go, but we had no option since it was an opportunity for him to grow his career."

The Kakamega-born player first played for the former National Super League side Commandos before he was signed by Leopards in 2019. He established himself as a regular starter for the local giants, especially after he returned in February after an unsuccessful trial with PAOK of Greece.

Shichenje is the third player to leave AFC Leopards in recent days after Daniel Musamali and Marvin Nabwire.

Nabwire and Musamali opted to join Kenya Police – but will have to undergo police training before playing for the Premier League side – and those exits are expected to hand Ingwe a blow.

The three were key players for coach Patrick Aussems, who has been able to stabilize the club after a wobbly start to the new season. The Belgian coach had to assemble the players mainly from the junior team when the current season began, as 18 players left the Premier League outfit.