Baggies seal two deals in a day

20 August 2010 18:30

West Brom made it two signings for the day with the capture of powerful midfielder Somen Tchoyi from Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg for an undisclosed fee.

The Baggies earlier on Friday confirmed the signing of forward Peter Odemwingie from Lokomotiv Moscow, also for an undisclosed fee, and Tchoyi's arrival after signing a two-year contract represents the end of another lengthy pursuit.

The 27-year-old Cameroon international has been on West Brom's radar for two seasons and he was finally given the green light to move to England by a review panel at the Football Association, who granted him a work permit on appeal.

Unlike Odemwingie, Tchoyi will not be available for Saturday's Barclays Premier League clash against Sunderland at The Hawthorns.

West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo said: "It's been a drawn-out process due to circumstances out of the club's control but all the hard work has paid off and I'm delighted to welcome Somen to the club.

"He is a powerful midfielder who will bring a physical presence to our team and also be a real threat at set-pieces.

"Somen has all the attributes to play in the Barclays Premier League but I think it is important we don't expect too much too soon from him as he will need a little time to adapt to English football.

"He also won't be sharp enough to be involved tomorrow as he has had to do a lot of travelling in the past few weeks which means he hasn't been able to train regularly."

Source: PA