Noah Okafor on his Leeds United return and aims with team verdict after extended break
Leeds United winger Noah Okafor bagged his first minutes of the summer in Wednesday night’s friendly against Manchester United in Dublin.
Noah Okafor has saluted his Leeds United return and outlined the next aims ahead of a second season in the Premier League.
Okafor joined Leeds from AC Milan last summer and the winger enjoyed a particularly impressive second half of the season which was then ended prematurely as he suffered a calf injury.
Okafor, though, was still named in Switzerland’s squad for the World Cup in which his country progressed all the way to the quarter-finals, albeit with Okafor limited to playing just 19 minutes from the bench in the round of 32 win against Algeria.
The 26-year-old was then given an extended break ahead of the new season but the winger returned to training last week and bagged his first minutes of the summer in Wednesday night’s friendly against Manchester United in Dublin.
Okafor was one of ten players brought on at the break and the winger quickly produced several bursts up field in a contest that ended in a 1-1 draw and was ultimately decided on penalties.
Manchester United then won 5-4 on spot kicks but Okafor felt the match was a good contest and shared his delight at being back on the pitch.
Hailing a “good energy and atmosphere” in the team on his return to training, Okafor said United now needed to keep building and “stay happy” ahead of a second season back in the Premier League.
Asked by LUTV what it was like to be back, Okafor declared: “So nice to be back.
"I think we had some good moments that we can score.
"But for that a friendly we have to try some things, take it the next days in training, learn more and try to do it in every training better.
“From the moment I came back it was a really good energy and a good atmosphere in the team”
"We have to just keep our head up and stay focused and work hard.
"I think from the moment I came back it was a really good energy and a good atmosphere in the team.
"We have to just keep building and stay happy and positive and take day by day."
Giving his assessment of the match itself, Okafor reasoned: “I think nice.
"Leeds Man U is always a good game.
"You can tell it in the atmosphere.
"In the end it was a friendly but I think a good test and now we have to just keep working in the next days and take the next friendly on Saturday.
"Of course when you tell someone that in a friendly it's going to be 80000 fans, nobody would believe that.
"But today was a good atmosphere and I really enjoyed it to be back."