The powerful forward, who scored 33 goals in 74 appearances in his three-year spell with the Ukrainian club, becomes the fifth Nigerian after Nwankwo Kanu, Osaze Odemwingie, Ifeanyi Udeze and Victor Anichebe to play for the Baggies.
But before he attracted interest from West Brom Ideye was dealt a cruel blow when he was surprisingly omitted from Nigeria’s final 23-man squad for the just-ended World Cup in Brazil by the Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi.
Ideye just couldn’t believe what he had heard. The much-maligned striker was rumoured to be one of Keshi’s favourite players – and was tipped for a place in the Brazil 2014 squad.
Keshi had picked him for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations won by Nigeria, the World Cup qualifiers and the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil last year, in spite of plenty criticism from fans and pundits.
When many thought his place in the squad had been sealed, Ideye was sensationally dropped by Keshi from his provisional 30-man squad for the football’s showpiece.
Reports claimed that the former Ocean Boys striker had attracted interest from some Premier League clubs including Stoke City and West Ham, and that they would firm up their interest in him after watching him closely at the World Cup. The clubs were forced to direct their attention to other targets when the player was not picked by Nigeria for the tournament.
The 25-year-old couldn’t hide his disappointment at being omitted from World Cup squad, voicing his frustration at the decision.
“So disappointed, but life does not end here. Life goes on,” he tweeted.
Ideye is laughing again after forcing West Brom to smash their transfer record to secure his services for a three-year deal. His transfer fee (£10m) rubbished the £6m the Baggies paid Sunderland for Benin forward Stephane Sessegnon last year.
Ideye has become the first African player to command a significant transfer fee to join a European side in the summer transfer market.
“It’s a little difficult to believe that it has happened and I’m still in shock right now,” Ideye was quoted as saying after finalising the move.
“Things were a little difficult with my former club because they didn’t want to let me go, but I’m so happy that everything came through eventually.
“It even sounds better for me because I was dropped from Nigeria’s team to the last World Cup and I continued to tell myself that I had to work hard for my career,” the former Sochaux player, who scored 17 goals in 52 appearances for the French outfit in his one-year stint at Stade Auguste Bonal, told naijafootball.com.
“I didn’t just work hard, I believed in myself and I must say I am very excited. It’s really a dream come true for me.
“I will give my best in every game I play for the club and leave the fans with stuff to dream of every time I play for the club.”
West Brom kick off their Premier League campaign against Sunderland at The Hawthorns on August 16 and the Baggies manager Alan Irvine is chomping at the bit to prove that he made the right decision to force the club to break their transfer record by investing in a player who has yet to prove himself at the top level.
Although Ideye played in all games for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa last year, he managed to hit the back of the net once – in the 4-1 defeat of Mali in the semifinal.
The forward, who began his professional career at Swiss side Neuchatel Xamax failed to get on the scoresheet during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Ideye has played in both the Champions League and Europa League with Dynamo Kiev but he hardly boasts an enviable goalscoring record in both tournaments.
But West Brom manager Irvine is impressed with his new signing and is excited at the prospect of strikeforce of Sessegnon, Victor Anichebe and Ideye in the upcoming season.
“Brown is a quality striker and I’m looking forward to working with him,” he told the club’s official website during the week.
“He’s a strong, quick, powerful player who likes to get in behind defences and has plenty of Champions League and international experience.”
“It is a fantastic signing because of the quality and the potential of the player,” he added.
“I can see that he really wants to be here and that he really wants to be playing in the Premier League.
“He’s a dynamic player who likes to get in behind defenders and he has the pace to do so.
“He gets himself into good scoring positions in the box and if there are opportunities then he will get on the end of them.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him play for the club and scoring goals.”
Moses Kpakor, who is a huge admirer of the player, who emerged as one of the revelations of the Canada 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, is backing Ideye to succeed in the Premier League.
Former Nigeria midfielder Kpakor had clamoured for Ideye to make the roster for the World Cup “because he is a technical player”.
The Algiers 1990 Africa Cup of Nations silver medallist added, “Having played football at the highest level and as I coach, I know that you need a player with technical abilities when your team is under pressure. Keshi is an experienced coach – he knows that Ideye’s a player who knows how to respond when there is pressure.
“When Nigeria played Spain in the Confederations Cup, the Spaniards had at least four players marking him each time he was in possession of the ball.
“They knew that he’s a technical player and ensured he wasn’t given the space to face their defence. He came close to scoring a goal on one or two occasions but Spain stopped him. I don’t think a top team like Spain would bother about a player who lacks quality.”
Kpakor insists Ideye would have made an impact if Keshi had taken him to Brazil where Nigeria was sent packing in the second round after a 2-0 defeat by former world champions France.
“I think Keshi was under pressure to drop him from the World Cup squad,” the former BCC Lions star told our correspondent on the telephone during the week.
“I’m happy West Brom have signed him. I don’t think they would have paid so much for his services If he’s not a quality player.
“He’s the kind of player that can succeed in the Premier League. He’s strong and has great pace and good striking ability.
“Yes, many people called for his omission from the World Cup squad saying he was not scoring goals for the national team.
“I prefer a striker who plays for the team to one who can only score goals. We saw what the likes of Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben did at the World Cup.
“They worked for their teams and scored goals when they were in the position to strike.
“Ideye will be celebrated in England. West Brom won’t regret buying him.”
For China ’85 FIFA Under-17 World Cup winner Jonathan Akpoborie, Ideye has proved himself to be a quality player to command the highest ever transfer fee at West Brom.
“His transfer tells a lot about his quality and a lot of things that are under the table regarding Nigeria’s squad going to the World Cup. Ideye missed out of the squad and a lot of questions will go around on why he is moving to a better club while others are staying put,” Akpoborie told Goal.
“It is a very good move for him and I hope at West Brom he will be able to show everybody the talent in him.
“Ideye now knows that he is in the eyes of all Nigerians because in every game he plays, he will be seen and judged by close to about 160 million viewers in Nigeria.
“But at the end of the day, it boils down to pressure. He has shown in his last club that he can score goals, though the English Premier League is a little bit higher than what is obtained in Eastern Europe.”
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