Elvis Manu joins Ludogorets

Dutch-born Ghanaian striker Elvis Manu has transferred to Bulgarian giants Ludogorets, the club has announced.

The 27-year-old sealed a switch on Sunday, leaving Beijing Renhe after just one year, the club having been relegated from the Chinese Super League last season.

No contract duration nor financial details of the deal was stated in Ludogorets’ transfer publication on their official website.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is the second Ghanaian to join The Eagles this summer, following the loan arrival of Schalke 04 attacker Bernard Tekpetey.

“Another new player joined Ludogorets. Elvis Manu is a Dutch player with Ghanaian origins. The contract has been signed and Manu passed all medical and physical examinations. He will join the club’s training regime next week after his official introduction on August 17 (Monday) at noon,” the Bulgarian outfit has announced.

“Manu is very experienced: he was part of Feyenoord between 2012 and 2015. He was transferred to Brighton and Huddersfield after that before he returned to his homeland to join Go Ahead Eagles. The midfielder became a part of Gencerbirgili in 2017 and later joined another Turkish team – Akhisar Belediespor. The last team Manu played for was the Chinese Peking Rene.

“The Dordrecht-born player was included in three different national football team formations.

“Manu is the fourth player to join the club after [Alex] Santana, Tekpetey, and [Higinio] Marin.”

Ludogorets are Manu’s 10th club in the last 10 years.

After a breakthrough season at Dutch club Feyenoord in 2011-12, Manu headed out on loan to lower-division outfit Excelsior the following term where he scored eight times in 20 league appearances.

The Dordrecht-born player then spent the 2013-14 campaign on loan at Cambuur, netting five times in 15 Dutch top-flight matches. He spent the next season with Feyenoord before being sold to English Premier League fold Brighton and Hove Albion in the summer of 2015.

Limited first-team opportunities at Falmer Stadium saw the striker pursue successive loan spells with English Championship club Huddersfield Town and Dutch Eredivisie outfit Go Ahead Eagles before being sold to Genclerbirligi in Turkey in 2017.

Manu left for Arkhisarspor after just one year with Genclerbirligi. One year on, he was on the move again, joining Beijing Renhe last summer.

A Dutch youth star, Manu switched international allegiance to Ghana in 2015 but he is yet to receive a call-up to the Black Stars since filing his application. He qualified to play for Ghana through his parents.