Mfon Udoh says he left Enyimba because he “needed a new challenge” and chose to return to former club Akwa United because of “the style of game they play”.
Udoh spent a season at Akwa United as a 20-year-old scoring sixteen goals in 34 appearances in the 2013/2014 season before transferring to Enyimba at the end of that season.
In his first season with the Peoples Elephant, Udoh set the record for the most goals scored in a single NPFL season netting 23 times for the Aba-based side.
He would go on to spend five seasons in total with Enyimba winning the league title in 2015 and emerging top scorer in the CAF Champions League in 2016 a feat which earned him a nomination for the CAF African Player of the Year award.
He was made captain in 2017 but injury problems meant he never quite hit the heights of previous years and following a public dispute with the club, Udoh departed under a cloud before the end of the 2017/2018 season.
With suitors aplenty following his departure from Enyimba, Udoh told busybuddiesng.com that he settled for the Promise Keepers after a careful evaluation as they ticked a number of boxes he considered important.
“With the offers I had at hand and I hadn’t played competitive football for a very long time due to injury and I played just three matches for Enyimba before I left so I felt I needed some playing time,” he said.
“One of the reasons why I left Enyimba was that I needed a new challenge and I think didn’t have any challenge at Enyimba anymore so I had to leave and secondly, another choice that influenced my coming to Akwa United was the style of game they play.
“I took time to study the teams that play in Nigeria and I saw that the pattern of play at Akwa United was the one I liked they played football on the floor they played good football and I felt if I could come in here, it would be better for me.”
Udoh returns to a club that is much changed from his first stint. Where previously they might have been satisfied with a mid-table place and a Cup run, today’s Akwa United are genuine title contenders backed by incredible government resources and a fantastic stadium which is by far the best in the league.
With a first NPFL title yet to materialise following heavy investment, Udoh says his target is to help the club who recently appointed Brazilian Rafael Everton as manager ahead of this season, win a maiden league title.
“For my club Akwa United, I want to help my team achieve the feat of winning the NPFL, which we have not won before, and for personal target, I always go into every game with the objective of winning the game and also scoring so my objective in coming to Akwa United is score in every game I play.”
Akwa United kickoff the 2018/2019 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) at home to El Kanemi Warriors today.
