Williams Kokolo Extends His Contract with Swindon Town FC

Williams Kokolo will be at Swindon Town for a while longer at least. The Frenchman has impressed during his ten games with The Robins, and his performances on the left side of defence have earned him an extended contract at the County Ground.

Kokolo signed a three-month deal at Swindon in November, but based on the player's enthusiasm and extended run in the starting lineup, the club has chosen to extend his contract until the end of the 2023/24 season.

As things stand, Swindon Town sits 16th in League Two, but Kokolo believes there is more to come from Michael Flynn's fourth-tier outfit. On thanking Flynn and Swindon for his renewed contract, Kokolo, who also holds Congolese citizenship, expressed his desire to help The Robins climb the table over the second half of the league campaign.

"Firstly, thank you to the club and to the gaffer for giving me a new contract. I've really enjoyed my time here so far and I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of this season holds for me and for the team. I hope we can look to build on a good second half to the season as we look to kick on and push for promotion as there is [sic] a lot of games still to play."

Robins fans will be eager to see more of their new signing who, despite being only 23, represented English clubs Darlington, Middlesbrough and Burton Albion during his fledgling professional career. Kokolo's most recent was League One Burton, who he played for 16 times. He also scored his only senior goal for The Brewers in February 2022 in a draw with Cambridge United.

Although goalscoring is not considered one of his main duties at Swindon, grabbing the odd one here and there while also opening his assist count for the season would add to Kokolo's attacking value. 

It would also relieve some pressure on former England U20 midfielder Dan Kemp and 22-year-old striker Jake Young, who've shared 30 of The Robins' 45 league goals this season. According to the listed non-GamStop betting sites on Techopedia, Young is the 9/1 second favourite to top the League Two scoring charts in 2023/24, behind only Notts County's Macauley Longstaff.

Swindon Town's top two goalscorers could still do with some help, though, as the club has a goal difference of -5 in the league. If Kokolo applies his primary role of restricting opposition attempts well in tandem with his fellow defenders for the rest of the campaign, prospects of addressing this negative balance are promising - especially if Young and Kemp continue scoring as they have been.

The same sportsbooks offer odds of 5/2 of Swindon Town finishing in the top half of the League Two table and 20/1 to make the playoffs. Williams Kokolo, with his new contract providing an additional confidence boost, intends to play a big part in making this happen.