Former Birmingham City midfielder Eddy Gnahore has signed for Romanian Superliga side Dinamo Bucharest after leaving Serie B side Ascoli.
The midfielder was still under contract in Italy, but the two teams reached an agreement that saw the former Blues player, who has suffered two serious injuries in the past couple of seasons,
The French midfielder started out with his hometown club, Châteauroux, as a youth, but in 2009, Manchester City came knocking. After a single season, he moved to Birmingham City, where he penned his first professional deal in 2010. he played in the same France Under 18 side as Paul Pogba and looked destined for bigger things.
In 2012, he made his debut in the FA Cup Fourth Round, coming on against Sheffield United, and it looked like he’d made it. That came crashing down in the same month when he sustained an ACL injury, which kept him out for a year. He did make an appearance on the bench in the FA Cup against Leeds a year later, but following a failed trial with Mansfield Town, he was released.
He joined Serie C side Carrarese in 2014 and, with regular football, caught the eye of Napoli, who paid €150,000 (£128,000) for his services. He didn’t make an appearance for them but enjoyed loan spells Carpi, Crotone, and Perugia. While at Napoli, he suffered another injury, sustained in a car crash, that kept him out of the final stages of the 2017 season.
His fee went up to €1.5 million (£1.29 million) when Serie B hopeful Palermo wanted him, and they almost gave him his Serie A dream, missing out on promotion in the play-offs. Next up was a switch to French side Amiens on loan, with a fee of €500,000 (£428,000). A year later, the same club paid €2.5 million (£2.14 million) for him, but whilst on loan in China, he suffered another ACL injury. He suffered a third following a move to Ascoli in 2022 and has only appeared 13 times for the Italian side.
He joins Câinii roșii as they battle against relegation from Europe’s top tier. The one-time European Cup semi-finalists were promoted last season after spending the first campaign outside Romania’s top flight in their history, but they’re in serious danger of another relegation. They’re currently 15th and of 16 in the division and on course to qualify for the ‘play out’ round to determine which club will be relegated.
Gnahore joins a familiar face to English football fans at Stadionul Naţional de Rugby Arcul de Triumf, the 8,000-capacity home ground of his new employer. Dennis Politic, a one-time Manchester United, Bolton, and Port Vale midfielder, is also there.
Writer’s View
Gnahore was causing quite a stir in his early days. He played with Pogba and Umtiti for France’s youth team and was heavily tipped to be a big player for Birmingham. The first ACL put paid to that, but to go from Mansfield trial to Serie A (albeit without playing a game) shows the character the player has.
He’s going to need every ounce of that character to bounce back from his two most recent injuries. There’s no doubting his ability, but to come back from three career ACL injuries is a huge ask. That said, Dinamo are a big club in Romania, and if he can stay fit and help them stay up, it’s a great platform for him to end his career on.
