Nairobi City Stars head coach Sanjin Alagic has praised teenage midfield prodigy Timothy Ouma aka Babu, saying he is destined for bigger things.
The youngster, current reigning Chapa Dimba Rift Valley MVP, signed in the offseason transfer window from Laiser Hill Academy.
The Kenya U-20 call up, who plays as a creative or attacking midfielder ended up missing Cecafa U20 last year due to lack of a passport, has featured in all but one of the 15 games played in the Premier League.
“Babu has made amazing progress. With each passing day, he looks better. He’s only a teenager, so I’m very careful with the minutes and playing time he gets,” Sanjin told the club’s official website.
He added: “But I believe he’s huge potential and that’s reason he has played almost every match this season. I worked for many years in youth football so I’m the coach who likes to give opportunity for young talent. I believe that sometimes in your life, you just need to get opportunity in right moment to achieve your dreams. I’ll try to help this boy to achieve his dreams.”
On his part, Ouma said: “I have really grown in those games. Initially I wasn’t getting enough minutes but thereafter the playtime graduated which has really helped in the growth.”
He marked his Premier league debut in the season opener against Nzoia Sugar in Narok in late November 2020 after coming on for Oliver Maloba in the 83rd minute.
In the 15 games played so far, Ouma has earned starts in games against Bidco United, Vihiga United and Sofapaka and is looking forward to a full game. Just once against Posta Rangers did he miss on playtime as he did not come off the bench.
As he looks forward to a big game against Tusker on March 20th, Ouma remembers the last game against AFC Leopards which he reckons was one of the toughest he’s played in the league.
“I came on when the tempo and the pressure was really high. I would have been elated had we won it, but . . ” said the young star who replaced Sven Yidah in the 79th minute in that game.
In scaling up from high school to City Stars, Ouma joined his elder sibling Elvis Noor Ojiambo at Simba wa Nairobi. They both contest for minutes in the mid of the park.