Enyimba Sporting Director and ex-international, Ifeanyi Ekwueme, has revealed how the club wielded its influence to secure the signing of 2013 AFCON winner Brown Ideye, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Ekwueme confirmed that Ideye had joined nine-time Nigerian champions in a short-term deal until the end of the 2024/25 season after he was linked with Rivers United.
“Yes, the talks have been going on for a while and we completed it yesterday,” Ekwueme told The PUNCH.
“He will be with us until the end of the season and we believe he will bolster our team’s attack as we compete in the league and the continent.”
The Sporting Director noted that the influence of club chairman and two-time African Player of The Year, Kanu Nwankwo was crucial to sealing the deal.
“That is Enyimba for you. We are not just a club but an entity that is synonymous with club football in Nigeria. He was training with Rivers United where our former coach Finidi George was with him and we were able to bring him here. That’s the power of Enyimba.
“Thanks to our chairman, Kanu Nwankwo and the management who made it happen, he just gives us the direction and we follow and this signing is one of the results of such direction.”
According to Ekwueme, Ideye will be unveiled soon by the club as he is expected to resume training next Tuesday.
It is however unclear whether the club will be able to register him in the CAF Confederation Cup where they are currently third in Group D after just a draw in two matches. They lost their first game 2-0 against Al Masry and drew 2-2 at home against reigning champions Zamalek.
Ideye, 36, has been without a club since leaving Kuwaiti side Al Yarmouk in 2022 but he is now set to stage a return to Nigeria’s top flight, taking after former international teammates Ahmed Musa and Abdullahi Shehu who are currently playing for Kano Pillars.
The move will also mark the return of Ideye to the domestic scene 17 years after he left Ocean Boys in 2006.
Enyimba have two matches crucial to their domestic and continental aspirations in the next five days as they play Sunshine Stars on Wednesday in a rescheduled NPFL game before travelling to Maputo, Mozambique for their third group game in the CAF Confederation Cup against Black Bulls.
