Baggies boost attacking options with fifth summer recruit
ALBION have signed Nigeria international striker Brown Ideye from Dynamo Kiev for a club-record transfer fee.
The 25-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-year contract, plus a further year’s option in the club’s favour, after agreeing personal terms and passing a Hawthorns medical.
Ideye will wear the No.9 shirt and becomes the Baggies’ fifth summer signing.
His undisclosed transfer fee surpasses the amount Albion agreed with Sunderland for Stephane Sessegnon last summer.
The marksman, who boasts Champions League experience, arrives with a proven record having notched 74 goals in 182 career league appearances.
Head coach Alan Irvine said: “Brown is a quality striker and I’m looking forward to working with him.
“He’s a strong, quick, powerful player who likes to get in behind defences and has plenty of Champions League and international experience.”
Ideye will meet his new team-mates when they return from the club’s pre-season training camp in Sacramento, California.
Technical director Terry Burton added: “When I arrived at Albion the recruitment department flagged Brown up as the man at the top of their wish list.
“It is a fantastic signing because of the quality and the potential of the player.
“I can see that he really wants to be here and that he really wants to be playing in the Premier League.
“He’s a dynamic player who likes to get in behind defenders and he has the pace to do so.
“He gets himself into good scoring positions in the box and if there are opportunities then he will get on the end of them.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him play for the club and scoring goals.”
The 5ft11in forward started his career in Nigeria with Ocean Boys before moving to Swiss outfit Neuchâtel Xamax after impressing at the 2007 Fifa World Youth Championship.
He fired 23 goals in just 55 appearances for Xamax before moving on to Sochaux in France, where he helped his new club achieve a fifth-place Ligue 1 finish, scoring 15 goals.
During his time with Sochaux, he made his international debut for Nigeria in a 2-1 defeat against South Korea in August 2010.
After being snapped up by Dynamo Kiev in July 2011, he netted 12 goals in his first season with the Ukrainian giants, as they finished as runners-up to Shakhtar Donetsk.
He netted 34 goals in 74 league appearances during his three seasons in Kiev.
In 2013 Ideye helped Nigeria clinch their third Africa Cup of Nations title, scoring in the 4-1 semi-final victory over Mali.
In total he has five goals for the Super Eagles, having been capped on 24 occasions.