Kakooza on the verge of MLS move

Major League Soccer side CF Montreal, commonly known as Montreal Impact, have reportedly made an offer for 18-year-old Ugandan striker Derrick Kakooza with strong reports suggesting that the deal is nearly done.

Kakooza instantly rose to fame after a fine display in the recent 2021 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations that culminated in the teenager grabbing the top scorer award after scoring five goals in six matches. His fine form in front of goal propelled the Uganda Hippos, who were only playing in the tournament for the very first time, to the finals where they failed to overcome Ghana’s challenge, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat.

Kakooza started his football career at the Naguru Police Academy before joining the Police FC junior team. Shortly after, the striker was promoted to the Police FC Senior team in 2017 while still in high school. On his debut, he scored the lone goal that earned Police a 1-0 win over Kirinya FC (Now Busoga United) in a league match.

In an interview on CAF official website, Kakooza hoped to use the under 20 tournament as a stage to announce his name, and after topping the scoring charts in Mauritania, he might just have done that with the developing news that Impact are interested in him.

“I want to advance my career and maybe this tournament can offer the breakthrough for me. I want to keep working hard and my target is to become the top scorer,” he is quoted on the interview.

Should the deal sail through, Kakooza will join fellow Uganda international Mustafa Kiza who joined the team back in July 2020. Montreal is also the home of veteran Kenyan international Victor Wanyama.

Police FC, where Kakooza plies his trade, is currently in sixth place in the Ugandan Premier League.