East Pennyroyal News

Opoku Signs With Leicester City F.C

Former Lindsey Wilson College men's soccer standout Nathaniel Opoku has signed with Leicester City F.C., the club announced earlier this month.

Leicester City Football Club is an English professional football club based in Leicester in the East Midlands of England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system.

The Ghanaian striker was immediately loaned to Belgian side OH Leuven, the sister club of Leicester, where he will play out the remainder of the 2022-23 season. A loan is a temporary transfer and a common practice in the European soccer system. This allows younger athletes to enhance their development and then return to their original club following the completion of the loan.

Opoku came to the United States prior to the start of the 2021 collegiate season, playing 19 matches and scoring 19 goals in a Blue Raider uniform. While in Columbia, he garnered NAIA Second-Team All-American and Mid-South First-Team All-Conference status and was voted the conference's Player of the Year as he helped lead the program to the regular season and tournament championships.

Opoku also spent one summer at Ventura Fusion, a club based out of Ventura, California, where he scored 11 goals in 16 league and playoff appearances, and guided the team to the League Two title.

In 2022, Opoku transferred to Syracuse University, an NCAA Division I institution, and made an immediate impact for the Orange in their quest for a national championship. Not only was he successful in that mission, but he also collected an All-American nod, an All-Atlantic Coast Conference accolade, and was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the College Cup. In all, Opoku finished his tenure with Syracuse with 11 goals and eight assists, including a tally in the NCAA final, which the Orange won on penalties over Indiana University.

Following his activities with Syracuse, Opoku was expected to draw immense interest from Major League Soccer, but turned down a contract offer, leaving him to set his sights on Europe.

Original source can be found here.