A lot has been said on the transfer of Chidera Ejuke from Heerenveen to Russian side CSKA Moscow as many expected him to move to a league higher in terms of rating than that of the Russia.
Owngoalnigeria.com senior editor Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman takes a look at five reasons why the talented 22 year old who was linked with a move to Ligue 1 side Marseille and also Serie A side ended up in Russia .
1. Covid 19 Pandemic – The pandemic affected the finances of many teams and that in effect affected the spending powers of some teams linked with the dashing wing forward.
On the other hand , Heerenveen refused to bulk on their asking price as they also need to raise cash from his sale to balance their books. Their asking fee of €12 million was only met by the Russian side with 20% of that fee going to Norwegian side Valerenga as part of the further sale agreement in the deal that brought him to the Dutch side .
2. Chance To Play In Europa League – The fact that the Russian side is a regular in European cup competitions put them on a higher pedestal than Heerenveen. A strong showing in the competition will no doubt catch the attention of the top teams faster than the interest he got for his exploits in the Dutch Eredivisie.
3. CSKA Will Pay Him Six Times More Than What He Earned At Heerenveen – In fairness to some footballers who will turn down big money move in order to stay in leagues viewed by many as competitive. Money is still by far the primary essence of the game.
Ejuke’s move to the Russian side will see him earn six times more than what he was earning in the Netherlands with Heerenveen.
4. CSKA New Exciting Project – The Russian side have been busy in the transfer window making big money signing as part of the start of a new project they aim will help them compete favorably with teams from other leagues . The signing of Ejuke is seen as a statement of how they intend to take the rest of Europe by storm.
5. Russian League Rated Above Dutch League – Per UEFA coefficient, the Dutch league is three places below the Russian league which is rated 7th by the European football governing body. Base on the above rating it’s safe to say it’s a step up for the former Gombe United teen sensation
