Doncaster Rovers: Darren Moore on former Premier League striker training with club

Former Everton striker Victor Anichebe is training with Doncaster Rovers, boss Darren Moore has confirmed.
Victor AnichebeVictor Anichebe
Victor Anichebe

Anichebe has been without a club for 18 months after a move to Chinese club Beijing Enterprises turned sour.

Moore invited his former West Bromwich Albion club mate to train with Rovers but insists there has been no talk of signing the Nigeria international at this stage.

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“Victor is in training with us,” said Moore, who was a coach at West Brom during Anichebe’s time at the Hawthorns.

“He has come back here, I’ve spoken to him and we both feel it is good for him to come in to train.

“Victor has a wonderful level of conditioning but what is is probably lacking is the game, training, match day, rubbing shoulders with the boys, getting the ball moving, twisting, turning and getting the football dynamic.

“We feel it’s a good fit for him to come over and train and work with us.

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“He’s doing it. He’s enjoying it and he’s lending experience to all the boys in the squad.

“He’s been a wonderful breath of fresh air coming in.

“He’ll continue to train with us, work with us and build up his fitness and volume which is what he needs.”

Anichebe joined Beijing Enterprises in June 2017 but made only ten appearances, scoring two goals, before speaking out on social media about ‘unethical practices’ at the Chinese second tier club.

His contract was subsequently terminated and he has since been searching for a route back into the game.

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Whether that could be with Rovers is not something that has been discussed, according to Moore – who continues to hunt for an experienced striker.

“At the moment we've both just agreed for him to come and have a look,” he said.

“He’s just coming in to get some training.

“He’s been overseas and he's just come back. We’ve both agreed for him to come back and it's not something we've spoken about at any length.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for him to come in and training and a good opportunity for us to supply the platform for him to do that.

“He's a good player, a solid player.

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“At the moment, we're helping him get to a level of fitness and training that he’s not had for a little while.”

Anichibe began his professional career with Everton and went on to score 26 goals in 168 appearances for the Toffees.

He switched to West Brom in 2013 for a fee up to £6m, scoring nine goals in 63 appearances.

He then played a season with Sunderland, scoring three goals in 19 appearances before his move to China.

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