There was exctiment among Power dynamos fans, When the Kitwe giants acquired the services of the then Kenyan Super League top goalscorer Elvis Rupia almost as much as Juventus fans when Cristiano Ronaldo made his move to Italy.
Rupia become the second high profile signing for Abayellow in the July 2018 mid – season transfer window after the capture of Zimbabwean international defender Jimmy Denis Dzingai from Yadah FC . Rupia came highly rated after netting 15 times in 22 matches for Nzoia Sugar.
But life at Arthur Davis Stadium has not been as easy as he might have thought. Prior to his debut he was very vocal and dared ‘The King’ Jesse Jackson Were.
The fans should expect me to score goals but in everything it is God first. I am targeting to score 14 to 15 goals.
I am not scared of him (Were). I know myself, I can score more goals than him.
The Zesco United talisman who has been their top goalscorer in the last three seasons later gave a response but rather than take shots Were gave Rupia advise.
“I would advise him to be very patient. This is a totally different league from the KPL and the pace is extraordinary. He should take a step at a time, settle in and try to create a good environment on his side by getting advice from his seniors,” Were told East African football website Futaa
“My teammates were very supportive to me from the onset and they really helped to settle down. He needs to be very friendly and ensure he gets along well with all his teammates. He also should double up his efforts in training. I wish him all the best as he starts his career in Zambia.” He added.
For all the talk Rupia has only managed to assist once and has yet to open his goal scoring account since making his debut raising the question, Was the move really worth it?.
According to Zamfoot crew sources in Kenya Power dynamos paid half a million Kwacha (K500 000) to Nzoia Sugar for the services of Rupia.
And to make matters worse Zamfoot understands that Rupia gets paid something slightly above quarter a million and is the highest paid player at Power dynamos at the moment. This is believed to have contributed to the recent poor run as some felt under done by the move.
The big question now is ‘Can Rupia redeem himself ‘ or it’s the case of too much expectations and little or nothing to show for it. As things stand only time will tell.