Stockport County: 2022 transfer was a clear misstep Dave Challinor and co will want to avoid | OneFootball

The Hatters have got a lot right in the transfer market, but this one didn’t quite go to plan

When the January transfer window opens at the start of 2025, Stockport County will want to avoid doing a similar deal that saw Daniel Okwute arrive at Edgeley Park in 2022 from Kerry.

The Irish striker created some excitement when he first landed in Stockport, with many believing the recruitment department may have unearthed a gem, but it was a move that didn’t really work out for any of the parties involved.

Okwute, just months after switching to the Hatters, was back with Kerry, ready to put the deal behind him and kick on with his hometown team, having simply not made an impact in Greater Manchester.

A match not made in heaven between Stockport County and Okwute

Okwute arrived as an exciting 19-year-old forward, late in the summer window of 2022, seemingly with the idea of developing him at Edgeley Park.

Speaking for the original announcement on the club website, Dave Challinor said: “Daniel is a project for us.

"He’s a highly rated young player from Ireland who came in and spent a week with us and showed some real good things and great belief in himself, despite being thrown in at the deep end with our squad.”

The striker signed a two-year deal, with the option of an additional year, but commitment to the project would not last that long: Okwute was back with Kerry less than 12 months later.

Stockport County seemed to accept the deal wasn't working

The extent to which the move didn’t work out was clear through the fact that Okwute never made a senior appearance for the Hatters.

Loans to Warrington Rylands and Irish side Finn Harps did follow after his arrival, but ultimately, judging the fact that the Stockport stay was cut short, both sides agreed a fresh break was the best option.

Having paid an undisclosed fee to bring him to England initially, there was no mention of a fee on his return, potentially making for an expensive and short-lived experiment by the Hatters.

Speaking on his return, then-Kerry manager Billy Dennehy said: “For Daniel, I suppose things didn’t go the way he hoped, but he is still so young in his career he still has so much to do in his football career and many more chapters to add to his story.

“So, I’m very excited to be working with Daniel again and helping him to get back to the level I know he is capable of.”

Daniel Okwute still has a solid career ahead of him - just not with Stockport

That last line from Dennehy, in essence, is the main point to focus on with this deal.

It didn’t work out, but still only 21 years old, Okwute still has almost his entire career ahead of him, and should not be defined by one deal that didn’t go to plan.

The move should provide some lessons for County’s recruitment, however. Getting this one over the line at the very end of the window could suggest there were certain time constraints that led to unnecessary rushing, for a department that so often gets deals right and concludes them early.