- Safiu Kehinde
English Premier League side, Wolverhampton Wanderers, have secured the signing of Ivorian defender, Emmanuel Agbadou, on a four-and-a-half-year deal with an additional 12-month option.
The club announced his signing in a statement on their official website.
Agbadou became the first signing under Wolves’ new manager, Vitor Pereira.
The commanding 6ft 4 defender, as described in the statement, is known for his composure on the ball.
He arrived at Molineux after two-and-a-half impressive seasons in Ligue 1 with Stade de Reims.
The Ivorian earned the National team call-up during his time in northern France.
He made five appearances in Ivory Coast’s six Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures.
Having been an ever-present for Reims this term, making 15 appearances, Agbadou bowed out with back-to-back clean sheets against Strasbourg and Monaco in December, before completing his move to Molineux.
Reacting to the signing, Wolves Chairman Jeff Shi expressed delight with Agbadou’s addition to the squad
“We’re delighted to welcome Emmanuel to the club. He’s a player our recruitment team have watched for a long time and Vitor agreed that he was the right player and the right character to strengthen our squad now.
“It was important we completed the transfer early in the window to help Vitor straight away, and, like all transfers, this one took a lot of hard work from a lot of people. I hope Emmanuel has a successful career at Wolves, and he’ll have the full support of everyone during his time here.”
Sporting director Matt Hobbs said: “Emmanuel’s a winner and he’s driven. After the journey’s had, he’s still unbelievably hungry. He’s the type of player the Wolves fans should love, because you’re going to get absolutely everything he’s got.
“On paper, he should suit the Premier League. There’s plenty of ticks there. Obviously, you’ve always got the settling in period, and it is the hardest league in the world, so it can take time, but he can fall back on his key attributes being akin to the Premier League.
“The fact that he was on ours and Vitor’s lists shows that he’s well rounded, good on the ball, physically excellent, quick and a good personality. Then being made captain of Reims has really taken his game to the next level, and you can never have enough leaders.
“When Vitor came in it’s the first conversation we had, to add one quick. There are so many games in January, so you can’t afford to waste a month. We have to use this month to be as efficient as possible, and we’re really excited about this signing.”