Canterbury Bulldogs winger and second rower Jayden Okunbor will officially relocate to England after signing a deal with Hull FC.
The English Super League club are yet to confirm the news, or the duration of the contract for Okunbor, but Canterbury director of football Phil Gould confirmed the news on his Twitter account on Friday morning.
@NRL_Bulldogs Jayden Okunbor has announced his signing with UK Super League Club Hull FC. A great result for Jayden and Hull FC. He will do very well. We will be cheering for him. #OnceaBulldogalwaysaBulldog
— Phil Gould (@PhilGould15) August 25, 2023
Okunbor, who began his career in 2019 as a dangerous prospect on the wing and scored five tries in his first ten games, struggled to lock down a first-grade spot over the following years, playing less than ten games in each season after his debut season and until the currently ongoing 2023 one.
2023 has seen him feature 17 times, with Okunbor transforming into an edge forward for the struggling Bulldogs where he has mainly featured off the bench, but has also started six times - five on the edge and once on the wing.
The 196-centimetre tall 26-year-old is the second signing from the Bulldogs to join Hull FC for next season, with Franklin Pele also heading to England. Herman Ese'ese is the other international signed by the club to date for 2024, with The Hull Daily Mail previously reporting that the club had also shown interest in Wests Tigers edge forward Shawn Blore and Gold Coast Titans' middle Jacob Alick.
Australian coach Tony Smith's squad also features ex-NRL players Tex Hoy, Carlos Tuimavave, Jake Clifford, Ligi Sao, Chris Satae, Joe Lovodua and Kane Evans, while Gareth Ellis, who spent time with the Wests Tigers, is Smith's main assistant.
Despite that, Hull are looking for a revamp with the new signings, with the club sitting ninth on the table, having won 10 of their 22 games to date this season in the competition, although they are well clear of potential relegation, with Wakefield Trinity and the Castleford Tigers having only won four and five games at the bottom of the table respectively.