Joshua Akpudje Gets Jersey Number At New Club BFC Daugavpils, Poised For Debut

By
Azu Umeh
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BFC Daugavpils team photo
BFC Daugavpils team photo

Joshua Akpudje has swiftly settled into new club BFC Daugavpils and has selected a squad number ahead of his expected debut this weekend.

The defender joined the rest of his new teammates including compatriots David Idowu and in a photoshoot as preparations ramped up ahead of the start of the Latvian Higher League this weekend.

The 21-year-old central defender will wear the No. 44 jersey at the Latvian Higher League side this season but confessed to busybuddiesng.com that it wasn’t his first choice.

Akpudje who signed a multi-year deal with the Latvian Higher League side on Tuesday following a short trial said he wanted the more familiar No. 4 he wore at former club MFM FC and grassroots club Femmak Football Academy.

But with that jersey already in use, he plumped for No. 44 and confessed to already taking a liking to his new jersey.

“I chose number 44 because someone had already picked number 4 and I actually like the number,” he told busybuddiesng.com.

It has been a meteoric and magical rise for the defender who only made his professional football debut last season in the Nigeria Professional Football League.

His prodigious talent earned him a call up to the U23 national side last season even though he had barely featured for MFM FC in the league.

He truly announced himself on the domestic scene this season with barnstorming performance at home against Jigawa Golden Stars in a Matchday 15 encounter where he atoned for an own goal with two excellent strikes to win the game for the MFM FC.

Long-touted for great things, he told busybuddiesng.com he rejected a summer move to 4-time league champions Kano Pillars to remain with MFM. 

That foresight has now paid off with his foray into European football with BFC Daugavpils which he hopes will be a pathway to even greater things.

Overwhelmed by how far he has come in so short a time, the imposing centre-back took to Twitter to pen heartfelt tributes to grassroots club Femmak Football Academy where he cut his teeth and MFM FC where he made his professional bow and came into prominence.

The national U23 team player also confirmed he is in line to make his debut for his new club when they welcome Liepāja in their season opener this weekend at the 3,980-capacity Celtnieks Stadium in Daugavpils.

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