Posted: Apr 06, 2011
Peter Odemwingie’s reputation has become so impressive at West Brom that the Premier League managers recently named him among the top three of the best new signings in the top flight.
The Nigeria international was only behind Spurs schemer Rafael van der Vaart and level with Manchester City’s David Silva in a poll conducted by Barclays, title sponsor of the League Managers Association (LMA),
And those two players cost substantially more than the £2.5 million required by Albion to prise Odemwingie out of Lokomotiv Moscow last summer.
When Odemwingie arrived in August as West Brom’s sixth summer signing, his reputation didn’t exactly precede him. Despite appearing at the World Cup Finals with Nigeria, Albion fans had seen enough foreign duds over the years at the Hawthorns to be excited about another little-known new recruit.
Remember Iffy Udeze, Sekou Berthe and Williams Martinez? No? Not many others do either.
But Odemwingie has emerged as a key player in Albion’s battle to beat relegation and once again proved just how vital the role of Dan shworth, the Sporting & Technical Director, has proved for the Baggies.
It was Ashworth - not the manager at the time, Roberto Di Matteo - who did all the ground work on Odemwingie and paved the way for his rrival. After that, though, the success has all been down to the player known as ‘Osaze’, meaning ‘God chooses (for you)’.
The 29-year-old already has ten goals this season, occupying a lone striker role for much of the campaign but still possessing the threat and ability to frighten defences both at the top and bottom of the league.
Playing up front alone is difficult enough in such an unforgiving division, but to manage it with a team struggling at the lower reaches really says something about Odemwingie’s talent.
Of course, being named as an outstanding new signing by other Premier League managers raises the possibility of interest in the summer.
He could easily play at a club with loftier ambitions than West Brom but attempting to pinch players from Albion chairman Jeremy Peace has been like pushing water uphill over the years.
This is a chairman who managed to take nearly £10 million from Aston Villa for Curtis Davies not so long ago, so you can imagine him relishing the challenge to keep Albion’s latest prized asset.
If Albion stay up, which is now looking increasingly likely, the chances of Odemwingie leaving will be minimal anyway. He has seven games to achieve his own 15-goal target but he has already done enough.
He may not be deemed the signing of the season but certainly he is the shrewdest.
The Nigeria international was only behind Spurs schemer Rafael van der Vaart and level with Manchester City’s David Silva in a poll conducted by Barclays, title sponsor of the League Managers Association (LMA),
And those two players cost substantially more than the £2.5 million required by Albion to prise Odemwingie out of Lokomotiv Moscow last summer.
When Odemwingie arrived in August as West Brom’s sixth summer signing, his reputation didn’t exactly precede him. Despite appearing at the World Cup Finals with Nigeria, Albion fans had seen enough foreign duds over the years at the Hawthorns to be excited about another little-known new recruit.
Remember Iffy Udeze, Sekou Berthe and Williams Martinez? No? Not many others do either.
But Odemwingie has emerged as a key player in Albion’s battle to beat relegation and once again proved just how vital the role of Dan shworth, the Sporting & Technical Director, has proved for the Baggies.
It was Ashworth - not the manager at the time, Roberto Di Matteo - who did all the ground work on Odemwingie and paved the way for his rrival. After that, though, the success has all been down to the player known as ‘Osaze’, meaning ‘God chooses (for you)’.
The 29-year-old already has ten goals this season, occupying a lone striker role for much of the campaign but still possessing the threat and ability to frighten defences both at the top and bottom of the league.
Playing up front alone is difficult enough in such an unforgiving division, but to manage it with a team struggling at the lower reaches really says something about Odemwingie’s talent.
Of course, being named as an outstanding new signing by other Premier League managers raises the possibility of interest in the summer.
He could easily play at a club with loftier ambitions than West Brom but attempting to pinch players from Albion chairman Jeremy Peace has been like pushing water uphill over the years.
This is a chairman who managed to take nearly £10 million from Aston Villa for Curtis Davies not so long ago, so you can imagine him relishing the challenge to keep Albion’s latest prized asset.
If Albion stay up, which is now looking increasingly likely, the chances of Odemwingie leaving will be minimal anyway. He has seven games to achieve his own 15-goal target but he has already done enough.
He may not be deemed the signing of the season but certainly he is the shrewdest.
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