Collins Sichenje: Charlton coach praises Kenyan defender after debut

Kenya national defender Collins Sichenje made his debut for Charlton Athletic in the EFL Championship as they battled Southampton to a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday.

Charlton coach Nathan Jones handed a debut to the Harambee Stars defender, who joined the Addicks on the final day of the January transfer window.

Full debut incoming 🇰🇪#cafc pic.twitter.com/7VQD1VhQ6B

— Charlton Athletic FC (@CAFCofficial) February 21, 2026

The former AFC Leopards player, in the FKF Premier League, played for 90 minutes before he was replaced.

Speaking after the game, Jones admitted to being impressed by the performance of the Kenyan player especially managing to stop Southampton on their home soil.

‘Sichenje was wonderful’

“Magnificent, to make his debut away at Southampton. To come into it without playing for a little while – he was wonderful.” Jones told Charlton website.

He added: “The supporters were magnificent for a me all game. Our fans really warmed my heart today and I thank them for that.”

On the draw, he said: “It is a good point, these are a really, really good side. They are really fluid; they have some really good individual players. We know about the pedigree they have, so we had to be tactically good, we had to be really disciplined in our shape and we were that.”

The 22-year-old put pen to paper on a three-and-a-half-year deal with the club after moving from Serbian SuperLiga side FK Vojvodina for an undisclosed fee.

Sichenje became the Addicks’ seventh signing of the window following the arrivals of Harry Clarke, Lyndon Dykes, Luke Chambers, Tiernan Brooks, Jayden Fevrier and Conor Coady.

Sichenje has represented Kenya eight times

Sichenje started his career with Green Commandos before moving to Kenyan Premier League side AFC Leopards in September 2019.

Following a brief spell in Greece with PAOK B, the centre-back returned to AFC Leopards before joining Swedish top-flight side AIK in 2022.

After spending the 2023-24 campaign on loan with Finnish outfit KuPS Kuopio, he joined FK Vojvodina on an initial six-month loan, with the move made permanent in September 2024 following an impressive start to life in Serbia.

Sichenje has represented Kenya eight times to date, having made his debut in a 1-0 win over South Sudan in March 2021.