Official: Udinese complete signing of 2020 Super Eagles invitee on long-term deal

The Zebras’ love for players of Nigerian descent is showing no signs of waning any time soon following the addition of the former FC Cologne ace

Udinese have, with a statement on their official website, announced the permanent signing of Kingsley Ehizibue from FC Cologne.

Ehizibue has put pen to paper on a four-year contract that will keep him with the Little Zebras until the summer of 2026. There is an option to extend for another year, though.

Udinese did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, but the Italians are reported to have paid €1.5 million for Ehizibue.

With the transfer, Ehizibue ends his three-year stay at FC Cologne, having joined the German Bundesliga side in 2019 from Dutch club PEC Zwolle for €2 million.

Predominantly a right full-back, Ehizibue is blessed with excellent technique and a great athletic build making it comfortable for him to also play as a right winger.

The 27-year-old made a total of 76 appearances for Cologne across all competitions.

This season, he has featured once each in the Bundesliga, the UEFA Conference League qualifiers, and the DFB-Pokal.

Born in Munich, Germany, and raised in the Netherlands, Ehizibue has one cap for the Dutch under-21 national team.

The versatile defender, however, earned a first call-up to the Nigerian national team in March 2020 alongside Belgian-born forward Cyriel Dessers. Gernot Rohr, the Super Eagles coach then, wanted Ehizibue to be a part of the team players to trade tackles with Sierra Leone in a Nations Cup qualifier.

While Dessers has gone on to play and score for the Super Eagles, Ehizibue is yet to feature for the three-time African champions.

At Udinese, Ehizibue will team up with Nigerian forward Isaac Success and Nigerian descent Destiny Udogie, who is on loan from Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.