Former Molde FK forward Daniel Chima Chukwu has signed a one-year contract with SC East Bengal ahead of ISL 2021-22.
Born in the city of Kano in Northern Nigeria, Chukwu spent his formative years at Nigerian clubs Festac Sport FC and Bussdor United. He joined Norwegian club FK Lyn who used to play in the Norwegian second tier early in 2010 and a few months later switched over to Molde FK.
Daniel spent the next five seasons at Molde FK in the Eliteserien – the top division in Norway. He won the league thrice and the Norwegian Cup twice during his tenure at the club. He also represented the club in UEFA Champions League qualifiers, the Europa League and Europa League qualifiers. Chima would return for a second stint with the club in 2018.
In 2015, Chukwu joined Shanghai-based Shanghai Shenxin and played in the Chinese Super League for a season and in the second tier China League One the season after. The next year he spent in the Polish Ekstraklasa with Legia Warsaw; although he only made a handful of appearances for the club, he picked up the winners’ medal as Legia won the Polish league in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
2018 saw the return of the 5’11’ striker to Molde FK. A year later, he was back in China in the China League One – first with Heilongjiang Ice City on loan and then with Taizhou Yuanda FC. Taizhou Yuanda was dissolved after the 2020 season and Daniel’s contract with the club ended in March 2021.
Overall in his professional club career spanning three countries – Norway, China and Poland, the 30-year-old has featured in 262 matches in which he scored 91 goals and assisted 44.
Chukwu’s arrival marks the fourth foreign signing East Bengal have made this year behind Croatian centre-back Franjo Prce, Australian centre-back Tomislav Mrcela and Slovenian midfielder Amir Dervišević.
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