Noble Okello
Noble Okello Ayo (born July 20, 2000) is a Canadian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC. Early life. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Okello first began playing with the North York Hearts SC. He was part of the Toronto FC youth system since the age of 12. On August 20, 2017, he was part of the U17 side that beat Juventus U17 to capture the inaugural International Youth Soccer Cup in dramatic fashion. Club career. Early career. He played 16 games for Toronto FC III in League1 Ontario during the  2016 season and 13 games during the 2017 season, scoring once against ProStars FC. On September 15, 2017, Okello signed his first professional contract. On October 6, 2017, he made his professional debut against Bethlehem Steel FC in the USL replacing Brian James in the 71st minute. Following the conclusion of USL season Okello was invited to train with VfL Wolfsburg. On January 10, 2018, he played a full 90 minutes for their U19 side in a 2–1 victory over Hallescher FC where he scored the equalizing goal in the 88th minute On January 13, 2018, he played in a  4–1 win over BFC Dynamo at the Porschestadion and Thomas Reis described his performance as enthusiastic and satisfying. He was recalled by his club to take part in first team pre season with 2017 Major League Soccer champions Toronto FC in Los Angeles starting on January 22, 2018. Toronto FC. Okello made his first team debut on January 31, 2018, in a preseason friendly against Tijuana, coming on in the 61st minute to replace Michael Bradley in central midfield as the team was winning 3–2. The game finished in a 3–2 victory for Toronto. On February 2, 2018, Okello started  against Los Angeles FC in their first ever preseason game at Drake Stadium (UCLA), which finished 2–2. On February 6, 2018, he travelled with the first team to Mexico for the second leg of their 2018 preseason with games scheduled against Liga MX clubs Pachuca, América and Cruz Azul. On April 6, 2018, it was reported that VfL Wolfsburg had made three separate transfer bids to sign Okello, which would see his club receive a six figure transfer fee in addition to appearance fees and sell on percentage fee. Toronto FC confirmed that an offer was received yet did not  clarify why the bid was rejected. On April 18, 2018, Okello made his first start of the 2018 USL season, playing the full 90 minutes and helping his team pick up its first points of the season and clean sheet in a 0–0 draw at BMO Field. He finished the game with an 87.3% pass success rate. On September 16, 2018, Okello started and played the full 90 minutes in front of 27,275 fans at Nippert Stadium against FC Cincinnati in a thrilling game that finished 4–3. Okello was promoted to the Toronto FC first team on January 22, 2019 . He made his first-team debut for Toronto on August 14 against Ottawa Fury FC in the second leg of their 2019 Canadian Championship semi-final series. He made his MLS debut on July 21, 2020, against the New England Revolution. He got loaned to the second team for some matches in 2021. He scored his first goal for TFCII on June 30, converting a penalty kick against Tormenta FC. Upon completion of the 2021 season, Okello's option for the 2022 season would be picked up by Toronto. Loan to HB Køge. On September 25, 2020, Okello was sent  out on loan to Danish 1st Division club HB Køge, the same club that his teammate Rocco Romeo was also loaned out to. On September 30, he made his debut for Køge, coming on as a second-half substitute and scored a goal from 35 metres out. International career. Youth. Okello has represented Canada U17 and was part of their 2017 CONCACAF U-17 Championship campaign coached by former Werder Bremen and Tottenham Hotspur full back Paul Stalteri. In May 2018, Okello was called up to the Canadian U21 side for the 2018 Toulon Tournament. On May 28, 2018, he started  in the Group C game against Portugal U20 which finished 0–0. In October 2018, Okello was named to the Canadian U20 squad for the 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship. He scored a brace in the tournament opener against Dominica, a 4–0 victory. Okello was named to the Canadian U-23 provisional roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Men's Olympic Qualifying Championship on February 26, 2020. Senior. Okello was named to the Canadian senior team's provisional 40-man roster for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He was named to the final squad on May 30. Okello made his senior debut on January  7, 2020, against Barbados as a substitute in a 4–1 victory. Style of play. Because of his height, technical ability and range of passing Okello has been likened to Paul Pogba. The TFC Prospect report and former Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney describe him as having the "ability to control the ball and play short, long and fast whilst under pressure. He is calm and little seems to faze him. When Okello roams, he is capable of covering a lot of ground — with or without the ball — quickly. His technique with both feet enables him to glide past opponents  without breaking stride". Personal life. Okello's uncle, Anthony Atine, is a Brampton, Ontario resident who is originally from Uganda and has been the president of the Canada-Africa Soccer Friendship Association. His cousin, Tony Awor, is a UK-based soccer agent and consultant. Through Awor, he is a distant cousin of Ugandan former international player David Obua.