TheCable

West Bromwich Albion manager, Alan Irvine, has revealed that he did not watch record-signing Brown Ideye live before the transfer was completed.

The Baggies are believed to have spent as much as £10m to bring the Nigerian forward to The Hawthorns from Dynamo Kyiv, but Irvine was forced to rely on video footage and will be praying his faith comes off after putting his trust in the club’s scouts and technical director Terry Burton to make sure the deal was right for the club.

Irvine – heading into his first Premier League season as a coach following his appointment in June – is hopeful the 25-year-old can reach the lofty heights of countryman Peter Osaze Odemwingie, who netted 30 goals prior to his move to Cardiff City in 2013.

“I don’t know much about Brown Ideye,” the Baggies boss told reporters. “I’ve not seen him live, but people we trust have done,” he said.

“It’s not necessarily something that is detrimental to me not to have seen him live, though ideally I would like to because that’s how I like to do my work, but we’ve done our research on him and what we have done is found decent players in the past in this way.

“It would be great if he had a similar impact to that which Peter made.”

Ideye scored 33 goals in 74 games during his time in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, former West Brom player, Nwankwo Kanu, has advised Brown Ideye to stay focused and work hard if he wants to succeed in England.

“First I have called him to congratulate him. I wished him all the best in his new challenge,” Kanu told KickOffNigeria.com.

“He should be focused and work hard to make a mark. The fans will love him if he works very hard and scores goals.”

And the former Super Eagles captain is confident Ideye will be loved in the Midlands.

“He is very hardworking and humble, and he always tries to put the team first,” he added.

“I’m sure West Brom will be very happy about the player they have signed.”