Wilfried Bony: Ivory Coast striker signs for NEC Nijmegen

Wilfried Bony signs for NEC Nijmegen
Wilfried Bony (left) won the most recent of his 56 caps for Ivory Coast in July 2019

Wilfried Bony is back in football after a year without a club.

NEC Nijmegen has signed an ex-Manchester City andSwansea City player.

He left Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia in November of 2020 and has been training with Newport County in Wales.

Bony had a lot of success when he last played in the Eredivisie.

He was the top scorer in the league with 31 goals.

Not everyone has welcomed his return to the Dutch top flight because of his association with Arnhem.

Angry fans attached banners to the stadium declaring their opposition to the move, with two messages declaring "Bony never in our colours" and "Bony not welcome".

In an interview with his new club, the strikers shrugged off the opposition and said that he had not played for the Elephants since July.

Wilfried Bony in action for Ivory Coast
Bony missed a penalty in Ivory Coast's quarter-final shoot-out defeat by Algeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations

He signed a deal until the end of the season and said that it was normal.

This is part of football. I'm coming here to play football. I want them to support the team.

He wanted to be given a chance to prove himself to NEC supporters and was aware of the sensitivity of the move for some.

Bony scored 34 goals in 70 appearances for the Welsh club after moving from the Eredivisie for 12 million dollars.

He moved to Manchester City in a deal worth up to 28 million dollars in January 2015, but he only made a limited impact and went on to loan.

He ended his contract with Al Ittihad in November 2020 after his second stint with the Swans was less successful.

Bony thanks Newport

Bony had been out of the game for more than a year and was not yet ready to play a full 90 minutes.

He said he was in good shape after training with Newport County.

He told NEC's website that he wanted to thank them.

It was important for me to stay fit until I could play again. I am not able to play 90 minutes for the time being, but I will be ready very soon.

Ted van Leeuwen is the technical director of NEC and he says that Bony had unfinished business in the Netherlands.

He said that Bony appeared to be highly motivated.