Leeds United sign Noah Okafor! — Leedsunited.com 21/8/25
Whites bring in exciting international forward.
Leeds United are delighted to announce the signing of Noah
Okafor on a four-year contract, subject to a work permit and international
clearance.
The 25-year-old arrives at Elland Road on a permanent deal
from Italian giants AC Milan and can operate across the forward areas on either
wing, or as a central striker when required to do so.
Beginning his career in Switzerland with FC Basel, Okafor’s
trickery, pace and eye for goal meant he was named the Swiss Super League Young
player of the Year, which then earned a move to Red Bull Salzburg.
His stay with the Austrian outfit saw the attacker play over
100 times across all competitions, registering 57 goal involvements in those
games. Four successive league titles, as well as three Austrian Cups were a
reward for his efforts within the team.
Okafor impressed domestically for his side and also across
European competition. He played 16 times in the UEFA Champions League for Die
Roten Bullen, scoring six times. This form led to Italian powerhouse AC Milan
moving for his signature in 2023.
In his first season at the San Siro, Okafor was a regular
member of the side who finished as runners-up in the league standings. The
following year he was again a big part of the Milan side before joining Napoli
on loan in the winter window. The attacker played an important role at the
Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, helping Gli Azzurri to win just their fourth
ever Scudetto!
At international level Okafor also has plenty of experience.
After progressing through the younger age groups, he made his senior debut for
Switzerland in 2019 against England in the Nations League finals. He now has 24
caps to his name and represented his country at the 2022 World Cup.
Our ninth arrival of a productive summer signs for the
Whites with the Premier League campaign now underway, following Monday night’s
late win over Everton! He will join a squad with some familiar faces too,
having come up against his new side in the pre-season friendly in Dublin.
Everyone at Leeds United would like to welcome Noah to the
club and we look forward to seeing him make his debut.
Speaking to LUTV after signing his contract, Okafor gave his
first thoughts on the move.
He said: “I think it's an amazing day, I'm really excited.
“As a kid, I dreamed of playing in the Premier League.
That's why for me it was quite an easy decision.
“So I said, yeah, my football suits the Premier League, this
is like a dream come true. I can't wait to step on the field.
“I heard that the Premier League is the best league in the
world, it's so intense. I have loads of friends that played there or are
playing there.
“I'm really, really excited. I can't wait, like I said
before. I'm also ready for this new challenge.”
Noah will be linking back up with a couple of familiar faces
to him, but also will recognise his teammates from the pre-season friendly in
Dublin over the summer.
“I know Brenden Aaronson, he's a friend of mine. I used to
play with him in Salzburg a couple of years ago,” our new signing told us.
“I also know Isaac Schmidt, he's from Switzerland. And Lukas
Nmecha, I know a little bit. For the other guys, I'm excited to get to know
them better.
“[In Dublin] I was like, why are there so many fans in a
friendly game? And then I saw on the screen it was like 50,000. So I was like,
wow.
“And it was quite loud, but I heard in the stadium [Elland
Road], the atmosphere should be crazy.”