Collins Sichenje: Harambee Stars Ace Earns Recognition as One of Europe's Highly-Rated Defenders

Harambee Stars defender Collins Sichenje has received glowing praise from Europe, with his former club's chief scout explaining why the Kenyan centre-back has developed into one of the continent's highly rated defenders.

In an interview, Zoran Kuntic, the head of scouting at the FK Vojvodina, lifted the lid on how Sichenje's outstanding recovery pace, athleticism and defensive awareness ultimately outweighed the errors that often dominated discussions about his performances

The recognition comes despite the occasional mistakes that have periodically attracted criticism of the Charlton Athletic defender.

"A lot of people asked me what exactly we saw in Sichenje. His mistakes certainly stood out because there was usually only one per game, and it was often costly," Zoran Kuntic told Mozzart Sport.

"However, on the other hand, nobody talked about how many times Sichenje rescued Vojvodina with his recovery pace. He sprinted back to prevent almost certain goals. People simply took that for granted. His speed is extraordinary, and that's exactly why he developed into such a highly-rated defender."

Kuntic further revealed that signing the Harambee Stars international from Swedish side AIK in July 2024 was far from a straightforward decision.

When the Kenyan defender arrived, the move was met with scepticism, with many questioning whether he was worth the investment after unfavourable reports from his former club.

"What was interesting is that when we contacted our people at AIK to ask about Collins, most of the feedback was actually negative," Kuntic revealed. "We heard all sorts of things about him. Making the final decision wasn't easy at all."

Sichenje initially joined on a six-month loan with an option to buy before quickly convincing the club to activate the permanent transfer, signing a three-year contract in a deal reportedly worth €400,000 (KSh59 million).

Although opinions within the scouting department were divided, Kuntic explained that Sichenje's physical attributes made him impossible to ignore.

"When we were evaluating Collins, it became obvious just how different the four of us in the scouting department were," he explained.

"One of us wanted to give him an 'A' rating, meaning he could instantly improve the quality of our side. The others strongly disagreed, which led to some serious debates."

After extensive analysis, the scouts agreed that while Collins Sichenje still had areas of his game to refine, his ceiling was exceptionally high.

"His athleticism is something you simply cannot teach," the scout noted. "At the time, he was by far the fastest centre-back in the Serbian top division."

Collins Sichenje's breakthrough moment came during his former club's UEFA Europa League ties against Ajax, where his commanding displays caught the attention of the Dutch giants.

"After he arrived and played against Ajax Amsterdam over two legs of the Europa League, Ajax's head of scouting was furious with his own scouts," Kuntic said. "He asked how they had managed to overlook such an outstanding talent."

The performances reinforced the belief of those who had backed the Kenyan defender from the beginning, highlighting the qualities that have since earned Collins Sichenje growing recognition in European football.