West Brom: £2.5m game-changer made deadline day headlines with failed exit

West Brom has historically been a tiny but powerful force in the season of transactions, scouting astute, low-budget recruits that have surpassed their price tags, despite the financial constraints that have chained the club in previous transfer windows. Peter Odemwingie, a £2.5 million summer acquisition for West Brom in 2010, is one of the best examples of this success.

The Uzbek-born forward joined The Hawthorns at a critical juncture in the team’s history, when the newly promoted second-tier team was eager to establish themselves in the top division and establish themselves as one of its mainstays—something the team had not accomplished since the Black Country Baggies managed to stay in the division for two seasons in 2004.

However, the team would need to score more than the meager 36 goals that saw them drop back to the second division as the 2008–09 season’s stragglers if they wanted to maintain a Premier League spot. But the solution to that issue was contained in the £2.50 million package that West Brom paid to Lokomotiv Moscow.

After scoring on his debut in the blue and white stripes, the Super Eagle striker went on to contribute 15 goals and nine assists, which helped the team coast to safety with plenty of time to spare and, as a bonus, earn their highest-ever Premier League finish at 11th for the season. By placing fifth in the season’s scoring statistics, Odemwingie also earned his own honor. With the support of the entire Hawthorns, Odemwingie swiftly rose to prominence as a fan favorite. This helped the Baggies remain patient when the Nigerian’s stats somewhat declined the next season.

Three of the forward’s goals came in Albion’s historic 5-1 thumping of bitter Black Country rivals Wolves, a moment that will live on in Albion memories forever. Despite the forward’s slight slump in 2011–12, when he only managed to score 11 goals and dish out four assists in a blue and white shirt, supporters swiftly forgiven the decline in form.The Baggies were bouncing as the team improved on their previously mentioned 11th-place performance, breaking the top half of the table in 10th, and Odemwingie solidified his status as the team’s bright spot and a modern-day hero. But all of that would alter in the course of a now-famous night.

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