The Chicago Fire announced their first signing of the offseason on Tuesday, confirming 25-year-old Nigerian-born striker Kennedy Igboananike will join the club as a Designated Player.
Igboananike, who will turn 26 in February, has played in Sweden since 2007 for Vasalunds, Djurgårdens and AIK. He has dual citizenship in both Nigeria and Sweden.
“Kennedy is a dynamic goal scorer with a track record of producing,” Fire head coach Frank Yallop said in a club statement. “He’s young and exciting, a player with incredible pace, and we look forward to adding him to our roster to bolster our attack.”
A product of Dynamos Football Academy in Nigeria, Igboananike made his professional debut with Djurgårdens of the Swedish Allsvenskan on June 19, 2007. The next year proved to be Igboananike’s breakout season, when he transferred to lower-division club Vasalunds and scored a league-high 18 goals, garnering the Division 1 golden boot in 2008.
After scoring 12 goals in 2009, Igboananike returned to Djurgårdens in 2010 and later departed for fellow Stockholm-area side AIK in 2013. He scored 14 goals that season and five goals in 26 matches during the 2014 Allsvenskan campaign.
The Nri-Igbo, Nigeria native also scored two goals in five Svenska Cupen matches and scored the first goal in 2-0 UEFA Europa League qualifying victory against Northern Irish side Linfield on July 24, 2014.
