Nairobi — Former FKF Premier League Golden Boot and Most Valuable Player (MVP) winner Eric Kapaito says he is under no pressure, as he comes back home and starts a new chapter with 12-time champions Tusker FC, after leaving Ethiopian side Arba Minch.
Kapaito was Kenya's best in the 2020-21 season, before leaving for an adventure abroad where he signed for Ethiopia's Arba Minch, playing there for the last two seasons.
He had been protracted for a move to Zambia with Zanaco, but the two parties couldn't find an agreement and he came back home.
With the brewers seeking for a proven goalscorer due to the long-term injury to top striker Ibrahim Joshua, Kapaito was the most natural pick and after weeks of discussion, he signed a one-year contract at Ruaraka.
With a high pedigree from his last time out in the FKF Premier League, expectation is heavy on the Namanga-born forward's shoulders.
"I am under no pressure at all. I have handled myself well since I started from bottom and I am not cracking. Pressure is also good and it helps you grow. I will take it positively in my stride and it will push me to be better," noted Kapaito, speaking after penning his year-long contract.
He says picking Tusker FC ahead of other local clubs who were hovering for his signature was not a hard decision, as the 12-times champions' project attracted him.
"It is a great feeling because this is one of the biggest teams in the country It was not a hard decision. Looking at the team's structure and ideas that they have as well as plans to win the league, it is a club that has its path well laid out. When the management approached me, I made the decision easily," he noted.
Kapaito will now be tasked with leading the team's attack line, though he will have to battle for a regular starting slot with Ugandan Eric Kapaito, lanky Eric Otieno and Joshua when he recovers from injury.
But with a proven track record of double digit goals in the season's he has played in Kenya, Kapaito looks the outright candidate to lead the lines for Tusker.
"I believe the team has signed me to score goals and that will be my duty. God willing, if I remain injury free I want to score as many as I can. The target is double-digit goals," the striker added.
He is expected to have his first full training session with the team on Friday, just a week before they travel to Mombasa for their season-opener against Bandari FC on August 26.