ISL 2020: Nigerian international Stephen Eze joins Jamshedpur FC

Current Nigerian international Stephen Eze has put pen to paper for Jamshedpur Football Club, the team said in a statement on Thursday.

This becomes the club’s sixth foreign signing and the second foreign centre-back along with the recently announced Peter Hartley.

The 26-year-old player has represented the Nigerian national team 13 times since his debut in 2016.

In May 2018, he was named in Nigeria’s preliminary 30-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, held in Russia. But he did not make it to the final 23. His Super Eagles side finished runner-up in the African Nations Championship in 2018 with Eze playing all six games.

The defender has been playing with Lokomotiv Plovidiv in the Bulgarian top division for the past three seasons and comes off the back of a runner up finish in the 2019-20 football season. He won the Bulgarian Cup in the 2018-19 season with Lokomotiv and represented them in the Europa League 2019-20 in four games.

The right-footed Eze is excellent in positioning and anticipation and calm while distributing the ball.

His dominance in the air in defence as well as in the attacking third will be an asset for Jamshedpur. He is of high utility in attacking set pieces, which reflects in his three goals last season for Lokomotiv.

Head coach Owen Coyle lauded the defender. “Eze will be crucial in making our defence mean and miserly. He comes with a solid reputation and representing a World Cup playing nation like Nigeria requires some serious talent. His towering personality and unyielding attitude towards the game could make him one of the best center-backs in the ISL,” he said.

“Eze’s presence in the dressing room will be absolutely uplifting for the squad. He is an outstanding young man and a real team player with a huge future for him domestically as well as internationally.”

Eze was thrilled with the move to Jamshedpur FC. “I have been following the ISL closely and it is one of the most exciting and competitive leagues. I have seen the passion of the fans of Jamshedpur, which is why I’m excited and cannot wait to get started. My aim is simple, and it is to win. There have been some exciting signings with the club in the past few weeks, and I look forward to work with my teammates and end the season with silverware,” he said.