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By Ebenezer Bajela.
French Ligue 1 club OGC Nice have handed in-form Nigeria international Terem Moffi the No.9 jersey ahead of the second stanza of the 2022/23 season, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Moffi ended a fruitful two-and-a-half-year spell at Lorient, where he scored 35 goals in 90 matches for Les Merlus, to put pen to paper on a five-and-a-half year contract with Les Aiglons.
The striker secured a move from Lorient to Nice in a deal worth €30m after he completed his medical on Tuesday, the final day of the January transfer.
This deal came after Nice made a seventh bid to Lorient for the 23-year-old striker, who missed training on Monday after being left out of Lorient’s 2-1 win over Rennes last Friday.
Nice beat Premier League sides West Ham United, Southampton, Bournemouth and Ligue 1 rivals Olympique Marseille to the signing of the Nigerian, who has scored 12 goals in 18 Ligue 1 games.
Joining Nice had been a priority for Moffi, who rejected a move to Marseille and also turned down a move to West Ham, who are currently struggling in the Premier League.
The Hammers had offered a £20m plus £5m in add-ons for the Nigerian but the striker had opted against moving to the Premier League but to continue his development in France.
Lorient had held on to their €30m valuation of the player, which proved too much for both the Saints and the Clarets.
Moffi will be available for selection on Sunday evening, as Nice take on third-place Marseille for a high stake Ligue 1 game and will become the fifth Nigerian to play for Nice after Jero Shakpore, Victor Agali, Onyekachi Apam and Nduka Ozokwo.