Olanrewaju Kayode: Nigeria striker joins Sivasspor on loan

Sivasspor have announced the signing of Olanrewaju Kayode on loan from Shakhtar Donetsk for the 2020-21 season.

The 27-year-old Nigeria international moves to the Sivas Stadium in what is his second career stint in Turkey.

Kayode spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Gaziantep, scoring 10 goals and providing six assists in 27 Super Lig appearances with GFK finishing eighth on the log. Six of Kayode’s goals were braces which came in victories against Genclerbirligi, Kayserispor and Kasimpasa all ending 4-1, 3-0 and 4-3 respectively.

He also received two red cards in the space of five games which earned him a two-game suspension for each.

Olarenwaju Kayode Demir Grup Sivasspor’umuzda Demir Grup Sivasspor’umuz, Olarenwaju Kayode’yi renklerine bağladı. Yeni sezon öncesi transfer çalışmalarını sürdüren Demir Grup Sivasspor’umuz, Olarenwaju Kayode’nin 2020-2021 sezonunun sonuna kadar kiralanması konusunda Shakhtar Donetsk ile anlaşmaya vardı. Forvet olarak görev yapan Kayode, bugün Sivas’a gelerek, Başkanvekilimiz Erdal Sarılar’ın katıldığı imza töreninde resmi sözleşmeye imza attı. 8 Mayıs 1993’te Nijerya’nın Ibadan şehrinde dünyaya gelen Tobi Olarenwaju Ayobami Kayode, ülkesinin Marvellous takımında futbola başladı. Ardından Fildişi Sahili ekibi ASEC Mimosas’a transfer olan Kayode sırasıyla; AFAD Djekanou, Luzern, Heartland, Maccabi Netanya, Austria Wien, Manchester City, Girona ve Shakhtar Donetsk forması giydi. Kayode, geçtiğimiz sezon ise ligimizde Gaziantep FK forması giydi. Kayode, Gaziantep forması ile 27 maçta 10 gol atıp, 6 asist yaptı. Olarenwaju Kayode’ye Demir Grup Sivasspor’umuza hoş geldin der, kırmızı-beyazlı formamız altında başarılar dileriz.

A post shared by Demir Grup Sivasspor (@sivassporsk) on Sep 17, 2020 at 4:40am PDT

Sivasspor meanwhile finished in fourth place last season, booking the final European qualification berth ahead of Alanyaspor, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce. Kayode will be joined by a host of Africans at Sivasspor that include Malian goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa, Gabon centre-back Aaron Appindangoye, Franco-Malian defender Samba Camara, Morocco midfielder Faycal Fajr, Ghanaian midfielder Isaac Cofie, Ivory Coast winger Max Gradel, Chad winger Casimir Ninga, Burkina Faso forward Abdou Traore, Mali forward Mustapha Yatabare and Ivory Coast veteran Arouna Kone.

The move to Sivasspor is Kayode’s second temporary move away from Shakhtar Donetsk. The Ibadan-born forward has struggled to establish himself with the Miners, first joining them on loan from Manchester City in 2018 before it was made permanent in that same year. Overall, he has been involved in six goals (four goals, two assists) for the Ukrainian giants.

Kayode previously had a loan spell at Girona while at City and made 12 appearances, providing two assists and scoring no goals.

The most productive stints of his career were at Austria Vienna where he was a fan favourite, scoring 37 goals in 85 competitive outings. He also scored 24 goals in 63 games for Israeli outfit Maccabi Netanya between 2013 and 2015, helping them to top-flight promotion in 2014.

Kayode has been capped three times for the Nigeria national team, last playing in a 4-2 friendly win over intercontinental foes Argentina on November 14, 2017 in Krasnodar.