Chennaiyin FC ropes in Ghanaian striker Karikari

The Ghanaian footballer will be joining from Thai League side Nakhonratchasima Mazda. He scored 13 goals in 29 league matches for the club last season.

Published : Jul 02, 2022 12:32 IST

File image of Kwame Karikari.
File image of Kwame Karikari.
lightbox-info

File image of Kwame Karikari.

Indian Super League club Chennaiyin FC have bolstered its attack by signing forward Kwame Karikari ahead of the upcoming season.

The Ghanaian footballer will be joining the Marina Machans following an impressive outing in the Thai League for Nakhonratchasima Mazda. He scored 13 goals in 29 league matches for the Thai club last season.

Karikari was also the joint second highest goal scorer for Mazda in the Thai FA cup with four strikes from six games.

Karikari brings valuable experience to Chennaiyin’s attack, having played 261 games in his 11-year-long professional career with 84 goals and 13 assists to his name.

READ: ISL 2022-23: Bengaluru FC sign Amrit Gope and Faisal Ali

The striker has plied his trade for 12 clubs in eight top-tier leagues across the world.

He also has two Europa League goals to his name, which came against CSKA Moscow and PSV Eindhoven in 2012.

Talking about the club’s third foreign signing this summer, Chennaiyin FC co-owner Vita Dani said, “I would like to welcome Kwame Karikari to the Chennaiyin family. I think he’s got the technical ability and the physicality to succeed in India. We have had many great forwards at this club and I believe Kwame should be able to match those standards.”

Karikari has spent most of his time in the Swedish league, featuring for AIK Solna, for which he made his professional debut at 19 in 2011. He played 58 matches, including seven Europa League games, for them and scored 10 goals across competitions in five seasons.

READ: Igor Stimac seeks longer camp in March for Asian Cup preparation

Halmstads and Degerfors were the other Swedish clubs Karikari turned out for.

“I am very happy to join Chennaiyin FC. I cannot wait to get started with the new team and I am really looking forward to this new and exciting challenge,” said Karikari, who also represented Ghana at the U-20 Africa Cup.

It was in 2015 when Karikari made a permanent move out of Sweden and joined Turkish side, Balikesirspor.

He played 40 matches for them in two seasons, registering 12 goals and five assists. Later he turned out for clubs in countries like Norway, Qatar, Georgia and Uzbekistan.

He was part of Dinamo Tabilisi’s title-winning campaign in the 2018-19 Georgian league

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment