Lincoln City have completed the permanent signing of right-back Daniel Oyegoke from Hellas Verona for an undisclosed fee.
The 23-year-old has signed a four-year contract at Sincil Bank, adding another specialist option on the right side of defence following the serious injury suffered by club captain Tendayi Darikwa.
Oyegoke arrives from Verona after spending around 18 months in Italy, having initially joined the club from Hearts in January 2025. He made 20 appearances for the Italian side before making the move to Lincolnshire.
City’s interest emerged over the weekend as they looked to strengthen an area of the squad left particularly exposed by Darikwa’s injury. Chris Cohen confirmed last week that the club had been assessing their options, with Josh Honan also returning to fitness and capable of operating at right-back.
The arrival of Oyegoke now gives City two natural options in that position, while his ability to operate as a wing-back or on the right of a back three should suit the flexibility Cohen and Tom Shaw have looked for within their squad.
Oyegoke began his youth career with Barnet before joining Arsenal’s academy, eventually moving across London to Brentford in 2021. He was unable to establish himself in their senior side but gained EFL experience during loan spells with MK Dons and Bradford City.
He made 13 League One appearances for MK Dons during the first of those spells before featuring 24 times in League Two for Bradford the following campaign.
A permanent move to Hearts followed in the summer of 2024, where he made 19 Scottish Premiership appearances and also gained experience in European competition. His performances at Tynecastle were enough to earn a move to Serie A with Verona in January 2025.
Oyegoke also has significant England youth experience, representing his country from Under-16 through to Under-20 level. He was part of the England Under-19 side that won the European Championship in 2022 and started the final against Israel alongside former City loanee Brooke Norton-Cuffy.
Speaking after completing his move, Oyegoke believes his own ambitions are well suited to those of his new club.
“Our journeys align at the minute. The club was promoted and wants to do good things this season, and it’s the same for me. I want to crack on this season and do good things.
“It’s a fantastic league, everyone knows that. It’s a difficult league and I think the squad we’re building here can do really well in this division this season.
“I just want to be part of it. I want to show everyone what I can do, what the team can do and have a really successful season here.”
The signing addresses one of the more obvious needs to emerge during the opening weeks of the Championship campaign.
Darikwa’s injury left City without their first-choice right-back and captain, although the coaching staff had spoken positively about Honan’s ability to provide cover once fit. Rather than simply finding another short-term solution, City have now committed to Oyegoke until 2030.
Sporting director Jez George explained that Darikwa’s absence had prompted the search for another specialist option.
“Since the unfortunate injury of Tendayi Darikwa, we have been looking at options in this position so that we have two specialist right backs in the squad.
“We now have that with Daniel and Josh, but the additional positive is that they both provide flexibility within the squad as Daniel can also play as a right wing back and as a right sided centre back, while Josh can also operate on both flanks in any of our potential shapes.”
George also praised the club’s recruitment operation for identifying a player fitting their longer-term model despite the need arising late in the transfer window.
“It is great credit to Joe, our recruitment team and our processes that we have been able to source so many options at such short notice so late in the window and execute on a player that fits our profile in terms of physical attributes, mentality and future potential.”
Oyegoke is not a completely new name to City’s recruitment department, with George revealing the Imps have been tracking him since the early stages of his senior career.
“We have tracked Daniel since his first loan from Brentford and he comes with similar pedigree to an ex-Lincoln City loanee, Brooke Norton-Cuffy, following a similar pathway, being in the squad with him for England’s U19 European Championship win in 2022, and starting in the final. We are excited to bring Daniel to the club and believe he will be a long-term asset.”
At 23, Oyegoke fits firmly into City’s recruitment strategy of bringing in players with scope to develop further, while his experience already stretches across the EFL, Scottish Premiership, European football and Italy.
Most importantly in the immediate term, his arrival gives Cohen and Shaw another natural right-sided defender at a point when Darikwa’s absence had suddenly left that area of the squad looking particularly thin.
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