PETER Odemwingie established himself as a fans' favourite after netting ten Barclays Premier League goals for the Baggies last season.
The striker became the first Albion player to reach double figures in back-to-back Premier League campaigns after scoring 15 goals in his first year at the club.
Odemwingie further enhanced his reputation with supporters after bagging a hat-trick in the Baggies' 5-1 Black Country derby triumph over Wolves at Molineux in February.
The Nigeria international, who has two years of a three-year contract remaining, committed his future to the Baggies until June 2014 last summer.
The club rewarded Odemwingie for a stunning debut season in England which saw him finish as the Barclays Premier League's fifth highest scorer with 15 goals.
Odemwingie quickly established himself as a huge fans' favourite and, in April 2011, he became the first-ever Albion player to score in four successive Barclays Premier League games.
That scoring streak helped him join illustrious company when he became only the sixth-ever player to win two Barclays Player-of-the-Month Awards in a season.
Only Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Cristiano Ronaldo have achieved the same feat.
In May 2011, he was also named the Premier League's African Player of the Season at the inaugural Best of Africa Awards.
Odemwingie joined Albion from Lokomotiv Moscow only a day before the opening home game of the 2010/11 season against Sunderland.
He fitted in just one training session at the end of a whirlwind week - and made a dream debut by scoring the winner in a 1-0 victory over the Black Cats.
In the build up to the game he flew from Moscow to Korea for an international match, in which he scored, then to London, and back to Moscow to pick up his work permit from the British Embassy before returning to the Black Country.
The versatile Odemwingie featured twice at the 2010 World Cup against Argentina and Greece.
He spent the previous four seasons in Russia's top flight with Lokomotiv, scoring 21 goals in 70 starts.
Born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to a Russian mother and Nigerian father, his full name is Osazemwinde Peter Odemwingie and he lived in both countries as a youngster.
He opted to play for Nigeria and has netted nine goals in 47 appearances for his country.
The 6ft forward made his debut in a friendly against Kenya in May 2002 but really announced himself on the international scene with a double in a 4-0 African Nations Cup victory over South Africa in January 2004.
Odemwingie has also enjoyed three other African Nations Cup campaigns, twice finishing third and captaining the Super Eagles at the 2010 tournament, when he was also named in the competition's 'Best XI'.
He was selected as the only over-aged player for Nigeria at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, scoring once and going on to win a silver medal.
He started his career at the CSKA Moscow Academy before breaking through at senior level for Nigerian hometown club Bendel Insurance between 1999 and 2002.
He spent the next two seasons at La Louviere, winning the Belgian Cup.
Odemwingie moved on to French top-flight side Lille for a three-year spell, where he gained Champions League and UEFA Cup experience against the likes of Manchester United, Benfica and Villarreal.
His strike in a 2-0 victory over AC Milan at the San Siro helped Lille reach the knockout stages of the 2006/07 Champions League and he moved onto Lokomotiv at the end of that season.
Before joining Albion, Odemwingie had made 192 career appearances, including 41 as a sub, scoring 60 times.
(LAST UPDATED AUGUST 13, 2012)