Nigeria Content Online

It is strange that the only big news
Nigerians are celebrating in a quite uneventful summer transfer is
Osaze Odemwingie’s switch to Premier League’s newly promoted side, West
Bromwich Albion.

No one is however
more excited than the Super Eagles striker himself who had even
revealed the completion of the deal before an agreement was reached and
an official statement released from either his former club, Lokomotiv
Moscow or his new outfit.

“Most likely I will
join on Tuesday. I’ve already signed a contract. The parties have been
left to negotiate among themselves and then my dream of playing in the
English Premier League will come true,” he revealed on Monday.

“I returned from
England on Sunday morning after signing a personal contract with the
club. It’s now left for both clubs to negotiate then I will achieve my
dream of playing in England.”

His new manager,
Roberto Di Matteo finally admitted on Wednesday that a deal was in
place to sign him. At the time of this report, the Baggies as the
English side is called were yet to confirm the transfer on their
website.

West Brom who
previously had Nwankwo Kanu and another ex-Eagles defender Ifeanyi
Udeze on their payroll have never survived more than a season in the
top flight before being demoted, and so it will be a very challenging
prospect for the Nigeria international after agreeing a three year deal
to fulfil his career dream of playing in the Premiership.

Popular player

Odemwingie has
undoubtedly enjoyed positive coverage by the Nigeria media and support
from football followers across the country particularly because of his
energetic and committed displays for the national team. But that will
not be enough to make his stay in England a success if not accompanied
by a respectable scoring record at the end of the 2010/2011 campaign.

The Eagles forward
has always believed he is made for the Premier League because of his
powerful and pacy style of play and he must be ready to shoulder a lot
of responsibility in a team that is likely to play him alone upfront
for most of the season. He is however no stranger to the role after
playing in that position during his spell at Lille Metropolle in the
French Ligue 1.

After half a
century of caps playing for the national team, Di Matteo is expecting
Odemwingie to help the minnows set a modest record of avoiding
relegation for the first time. He will be expected to be huge part of
the Baggies campaign at the Hawthorns this season baring injuries, and
it will be exciting to see how quickly he can adapt to the highly
physical English League in a team that is seen as one of the yoyo clubs
in the elite division.

Scorecard

Odemwingie’s goal
scoring record is a contrast to his high work-rate; he surely needs the
later to succeed in England but he will need to prove he is a lethal
finisher in order to avoid the infamous tag of Premiership flop. He has
always claimed playing on the wings is the reason for his poor return
of nine goals for the national team, where his best moments dates back
six years ago at the 2004 African Nations Cup where he netted three
goals en-route the Super Eagles’ bronze medal finish in Tunisia. He has
constantly featured for the national team since then, including playing
a part at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He managed only
nine goals in 44 league appearances as a striker for Belgian side La
Louviere and his tally of 23 strikes in 75 league appearances for Lille
remains the best in his professional career. During Odemwingie’s
three-season spell with the French side, he featured for them in the
2006/2007 UEFA Champions League and struck just twice in 610 minutes;
featured in eight games.

Outspoken

Despite being a
regular in the national team, Odemwingie has constantly criticised the
coaching appointments of the Eagles including Lars Lagerback who took
the country to the Mundial. He also suggested Samson Siasia was not old
enough to handle the senior team after claiming “he would need some age
on his side” following the U-23 Eagles’ silver medal performance at the
Olympic football tournament in Beijing in 2008.

After being
selected by Siasia as an over-age player permitted to take part in that
tournament, he reportedly fell out with Siasia for not playing from the
start in the team’s group games before being included in the starting
eleven in the quarter final game against Cote D’Ivoire.

He however
justified his selection by scoring one of the goals in the team’s 2-0
victory. Interestingly he may have to work with the same Siasia, who is
been touted as the next Eagles coach.

Born in Tashkent city of Uzbekistan, in
the former Soviet Union, Odemwingie is not likely to enjoy a luxury of
talents at West Brom yet he needs to perform to enhance his chances of
staying in the Premier League for long.