Gambia teenage sensation Kajally Drammeh has signed a four-and-half-year contract with Cape Town City Football Club, his Gambian club Real de Banjul and the South African premier league side both announced today.
Drammeh, 18, a product of the famed Real youth system starred for the Young Scorpions in last year’s African U-20 Cup of Nations by helping Matarr M’Boge’s side finished third in the Mauritania edition of the competition. The team went into that competition at the back of winning the WAFU Zone A championship in Senegal at the end of 2020.
Kajally made the grade up to the senior side at Real and is a hugely popular figure around the club and its fans. Amidst interest from Belgium’s Anderlecht, FC Midtjylland, Budapest Honvéd, Slovan Bratislava, FC Torino, FC Krasnodar, and Ferencváros amongst others, Real de Banjul supremo William Abraham described the youngsters permanent move to the Cape Coast as the best suitable option.
“The South African top flight football is one of the best in Africa and is regarded as the most supported and the richest domestic football league on the continent after the CAF competitions. It is even ranked better than some European leagues, so for me, this is a good move for Kajally where he can start his life and career,” he told www.realdebanjul.com.
He will wear the iconic number seven shirt at his new club and Head Coach Eric Tinkler is full of praise for the nimble-footed playmaker who can also operate as both a left and or right winger.
“Kajally is a young attacking player that we scouted from The Gambia. He’s someone who we’ve been chasing since the start of the season but we only managed now to conclude the deal,” the former Bafana Bafana midfielder stressed, noting that they have been watching Kajali every single week in the domestic Gambian league.
“I’m delighted to sign my first professional contract. I can’t wait to get started here and I want to wish nothing but luck to everyone in Real de Banjul and I hope my teammates will continue the journey we started together,” Drammeh, who will go by the name Kajally at the back of his shirt, told his new club’s website.
His former U-20 Coach Matarr M’Boge was also full of praise for the youngster. “As a coach, yes, we have won medals, trophies but this is the perfect medals [your players signing professional] for any coach to hear. Our role has always been to help them grow to the highest level and he’s the latest in the long queue of brilliant lads to have done that which we are proud,” he affirmed.