Linton Maina: Excitement As Kenyan Midfielder Secures Move to Bundesliga

• Linton Maina scored a brace in his final game for Hannover FC as he is set to leave the club for Bundesliga side FC Koln
• The Kenyan midfielder will join FC Koln on a free transfer after spending three seasons at Hannover, racking up over 90 appearances
• Maina’s new club FC Koln have qualified for next season’s UEFA Conference League after finishing seventh in the just-concluded Bundesliga season

Kenyan midfielder Linton Maina scored two goals for Hannover FC in the second division league of Germany. Maina who recently confirmed that he will be joining top-flight side FC Koln ahead of next season signed off in style for his current side with a brace.

Maina was born to a Kenyan father and a German mother. He can play for Harambee Stars having not featured for the German side. The 22-year-old made his debut on March 28th.

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Speaking ahead of FC Koln’s final game against Stuttgart and as quoted by Standard Sports, FC Koln’s head coach Steffen Baumgart was excited at the prospect of signing Maina.

We are happy he has joined us and looking forward to having him. We believe that he will strengthen our attack, particularly with Florian Kainz on that side as well. We hope to incorporate his skills into our game.

Maina has over 90 appearances for Hannover

Maina has scored nine times and provided 15 assists in 96 appearances for Hannover. This season, he has scored four goals and provided one assist. Hannover finished the season with 42 points in position 11.

In their last game against Ingolstadt, Maina bagged a brace to help his team win 3-2. Michael Heinloth opened the scoring for Hannover after turning the ball into his own net. Valmir Sulejmani equalized for Ingolstadt before Linton Maina took over the show.

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Maximillian Beier assisted Maina for his first goal in the 56th minute before he put the game to bed in the 74th minute. Ingolstadt added a second goal through Filip Bilbija but Hannover held on for the three maximum points.

Maina will now FC Koln next season on a free transfer. Koln finished the Bundesliga season in seventh place and are perfectly placed to compete in the UEFA Conference League next season.

Kenyan racially abused in Belgium

Elsewhere, Sports Brief had earlier reported that Kenyan defender Joseph Okumu was abused in a Belgium top-flight game.

Okumu was spat on by a fan when his KAA Gent side were playing against KV Mechelen in the race to qualify for the UEFA Conference League. Gent won the game 2-1.

Both clubs released statements condemning the incident, promising to follow up on the matter.

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