Bristol City have completed the loan signing of Stoke City forward Peter Odemwingie for the remainder of the campaign.
The 34-year-old Nigerian international arrives in time to join up with the squad for tomorrow’s Sky Bet Championship match at Fulham.
Head coach Lee Johnson said: “I’m delighted we’ve been able to bring someone of Peter’s quality in. He will provide us with experience and hopefully goals in one form or another.
“I’m looking forward to working with him and he’ll be available for us at Fulham tomorrow.”
Russian-born Odemwingie came through the youth ranks at CSKA Moscow before returning to Nigeria to play professional football with Bendel Insurance.
A move to Belgium followed in 2003, when he joined La Louviere and played UEFA Cup football.
His goalscoring exploits attracted the attention of Lille OSC in France and before long he became a star of Ligue 1. Odemwingie went on to play and score in the Champions League, including a famous brace against AC Milan at the San Siro.
His next stop was a return to Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow and his continued prolific nature in front of goal earned him a move to the English Premier League with West Brom in 2010.
Over three seasons the livewire forward scored 30 times in 90 appearances for the Baggies.
Then, after four months with Cardiff City, Odemwingie moved on to Stoke City in a player-exchange deal as Kenwyne Jones switched to South Wales.
Odemwingie penned an 18-month contract at the Britannia Stadium and ended his first six-month period with five goals in 15 games but then missed the majority of 2014/15 due to a knee ligament injury.
After securing a further year’s contract in Staffordshire, Odemwingie has made eight appearances this season – albeit six of them from the substitutes bench.
Internationally Odemwingie has been capped 63 times for Nigeria, scored ten goals. He represented his country at two World Cups, captained them in the 2010 African Cup of Nations and achieved a silver medal with the Super Eagles at the 2008 Olympics.
Odemwingie will be looking for more match time during his ten-game stay in Bristol, as he answers head coach Johnson’s call for an experienced forward to bolster City’s Championship survival bid.
He has been handed squad number 27. – Bristol Post.
