Kyrgyz international Kojo joins Esteghlal
Kyrgyz international striker Joel Kojo joined Persian Gulf Pro League club Esteghlal on Saturday.
The contract will see Kojo, 26, who joins from Dinamo Samarqand in the Uzbekistan Super League, commit his future to the Theran Blues until the end of the 2027/2028 season.
The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but Dinamo coach Vadim Abramov said after the league’s final game in December that the Kyrgyz international, who had a year left on his contract with the Uzbek club, would be released if “his $300,000 asking price is met.”
Kojo netted 11 goals and provided his teammates with four assists in 27 games across all competitions, as Dinamo finished eighth in the top-flight 14-team table.
Capped 23 times for Kyrgyzstan, the Ghana-born striker has 10 goals under his belt since making his international debut in June 2023 – including a double during a 3-2 home defeat against Iran in the World Cup Asian qualifiers last November.
Kojo is the second winter signing for Esteghlal’s South African head coach Pitso Mosimane, following Kenyan forward Masoud Juma, who has one goal in three games since joining the Blues as a free agent in November.
Kojo’s first game for Esteghlal, which is 10th in the Iranian top-flight table with 18 points, will come at home against Shams Azar on January 20.
The Capital Blues are eighth – last qualification spot for the knockout phase – in the West Zone’s 12-team table of the AFC Champions League Elite with two games to spare.
Mosimane’s side will host bottom-club Al Shorta of Iraq on February 3, before visiting Qatari outfit Al Rayyan two weeks later.