Nigerian duo of Simmy Nwankwo and Stanley Awurum were yesterday unveiled by ambitious Portuguese second division side Portimonense as part of their summer recruitment.
Portimonense missed out on promotion to the top division in Portugal on the final day of last season and with pre season looming they have pulled off what many see as a major transfer coup by snapping up the Nigerian duo to fortify their goal shy attack of last season.
The experienced duo of Simmy, 24, and Awurum, 25, were plucked from fellow Portuguese second division side Gil Vicente and Varzim respectively after a fantastic season where Simmy finished as top scorer in the division while Awurum was joint third top scorer on the scorer’s chart.
Between them they scored a total of 34 goals last season with Simmy finishing the season with 20 goals while Awurum found the back of the net 14 times.
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The length of their deal varies with Awurum who has been on loan to Varzim the last two seasons from Mozambique second division side Clube do Chibuto signing on a year deal with the option for another three years based on success.
Simmy on his part is returning to the team he first turned out for in Europe when he arrived in 2011 on a two year deal hoping for better fortunes than his previous three seasons at the club where he spent one year as an amateur playing for their reserve side and two season as a professional with the main team.
Last season Portimonense had two Nigerians on their books in Fidelis Irhene and Musa Yahaya both players came on a season long with Irhene joining from FC Porto while Yahaya spent the second half of last season on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.
*Daniel Martins.