Newly signed Maccabi Haifa Nigerian defender Ikouwem Udoh Utin had offers from Tunisian giants Esperance and Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk before settling for a move to the Israeli side, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
The highly rated 19-year-old was odds on to join Shakhtar Donetsk with various bookmakers and betting companies rating Shakhtar Donetsk as the clear favourites for the signature of the highly rated star.
Per documents in possession of our editorial team,Enyimba received an offer from the Tunisian giants who were willing to pay as high as $350,000 for the captain of the Nigeria U23 but the club and the player decided against a move to the North African side.
Champions of Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk submitted their offer of $300,000 via a player agency who were given mandate to deliver the 19 year old but the club didn’t follow it up with a firm bid after the first offer.
Israeli side Maccabi Haifa won the race for his signing with a bid close but not up to the $300,000 Shakhtar offered via proxy but they followed up their interest unlike the Ukrainians who only made first contact.
Although the issue of a seven days trial almost rocked the deal as it was contained in their first official bid, Enyimba rejected the proposal outrightly and they later returned with another proposal substituting the word trial with physical conditioning and test for a week.
Enyimba allowed the player to travel to Israel and after two days of training, the NPFL giants ordered him out of the camp of the team as Maccabi Haifa were not forthcoming with any offer after the first two days.
A medical was arranged the day before he left but the contract signing was held up by Enyimba after he passed his medicals with the Nigerian side insisting on part payment before signing the club to club agreement.
That dragged on for a while with Enyimba also studying the contract of the player who returned back to the Nigeria U20 camp in Germany ahead of their campaign at the World Youth Championship in Poland.
His return to the Nigeria U20 camp had an immediate effect on the pace of the deal with Maccabi Haifa forced to make sure the deal is sealed before he captains Nigeria at the tournament. Their move was done because a strong showing at the tournament could lead to a move to a club bigger than them and it could possibly lead to an increased in his valuation.
The five year deal is signed with all parties involved and from next season, Ikouwem will defend the colors of the Israeli side that once had Super Eagles forward Yakubu Aiyegbeni as their top marksman and he now works for them as scout in charge of their recruitment in Africa.
Daniel Martins
