Nigerian forward Emoh Ezekiel joins Al Jazira as free agent

The 26-year-old striker signs for AGL club after leaving Belgian club KV Kortrijk

Emoh Ezekiel  at the Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium after completing his move to Arabian Gulf League side Al Jazria. Courtesy Al Jazira

Emoh Ezekiel became the first new foreign singing of the season for Al Jazira, joining as a free agent after leaving Belgian club KV Kortrijk.

The Nigerian forward, 26, joins South African midfielder Thulani Serero and Serbian defender Milos Kosanovic both retained from last season as the Abu Dhabi club’s overseas players.

The Nigerian forward’s contract details were not revealed but said he was “happy” after discussions with manager Marcel Keizer and the sporting director Mads Davidson.

“They told me about the ambitions and what they are planning to do with the club and it is a very good project and I thought ‘ok, I’m going to be part of this project’,” Ezekiel said.

“Firstly, I feel so great and happy to be at this great club. It’s perfect timing for me with just one league game completed. Of course, I have to quarantine so I haven’t met my team-mates yet.

“I know that the team will help me to quickly settle into the club. I’ve played in different leagues with different players so I know how to cope with the change and how to settle down quickly because this is very important.”

Ezekiel began his career in Belgium’s Standard Liege in 2012 and spent a season on loan with European giants Anderlecht.

In-between, he had a spell at Al Arabi in Qatar from 2014-2017 before returning to Standard Liege followed by a season each in Turkey, Spain and moving to KV Kortrijk in 2018.

“I know about the [Arabian Gulf] League here and the clubs here from playing in Asian competitions,” he added. “It’s a good league where everybody loves the game so much.”

Davidson believes Ezekiel’s experience in the region and across Europe as a huge boost for manager Keizer and the team, with the Nigerian playing for top clubs and against tough oppositions.

“His style of play offers a new dimension to the way in which Marcel wants the team play and Ezekiel can play in a number of positions,” Davidson said.

“In a football team you need different skills and we have a lot of good combination players and Imoh is a clever deep runner and can really help us adding this dimension to the offensive part of our game.”

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Ezekiel has represented his country at Under-23 level and earned his one and only senior cap for the Super Eagles in 2014.