SuperSport United assistant coach Andre Arendse believes Ime Okon will surpass the level of Bafana Bafana legends Lucas Radebe, Neil Tovey and Mark Fish and urged South Africa not to let him slip out of their hands.
Okon, who turned 20 last month burst onto the scene this season with 26 games under his belt since officially being promoted from the DStv Diski Challenge squad.
Having arrived three years ago from Randburg FC, the towering defender has enjoyed a meteoric rise and captained Gavin Hunt’s troops in the CAF Confederation Cup where they have often fielded youthful line-ups dominated by academy graduates.
“Ime Okon is the next one [like Ronwen Williams] of that radar and I don’t want to hype him up and put it out there to say he’s the best because he’s 20 years old I think, maybe for a few months 19, but he’s a super talent, a super talent,” Arendse said about the defender whose been on the fringes of the Bafana Bafana team.
However, with Okon, whose father is Nigerian, making him eligible to represent the Super Eagles, yet to be capped more than four times in senior competitive games for South Africa – the door remains open for a switch of allegiance, which Arendse feels is a huge risk.
“I know I’m not putting pressure on him because he can handle the pressure, he’s starting to prove it in games, we need to look after him. And you spoke about dual citizenship, we better be careful we don’t lose him, he’s one for the future,” he continued.
“I know what I’m talking about, I had the privilege of playing behind some of the best defenders in South Africa – I don’t even need to mention names, you guys know who I’m talking about and I’m telling you now in a few years time he’s going to be up there and even better than those ones.”
Okon has been an ever-present figure this season alongside veteran defenders Thualni Hlatshwyo and Siyanda Xulu in the Matsatstsana first-team and is on the radar of Danish giants FC Midtjylland, where he spent a couple of weeks on assessment in January.
