Crystal Palace have confirmed the signing of Shola Ameobi on a free and Jordon Mutch from Queens Park Rangers (QPR) for an undisclosed fee.
Ameobi, 33, who became a free agent after leaving Turkish side Gaziantep last month, has signed a short-term deal with the ‘Eagles’ until the end of the season.
He reunites with his former manager Alan Pardew, having played under him for four years at Newcastle, where he spent 14 years; scoring 79 goals in 379 appearances in all competitions.
“I’m very excited to be here, I wanted to get back in the Premier League and having worked with the manager before it’s been great to come back and hopefully help us avoid the relegation battle,” he told the club’s website.
Ameobi Will Wear Jersey No. 23 at Crystal Palace, The Same No. He Wears on International Duty. Image: AP.
“I had a couple of other clubs interested but I think my relationship with Alan [Pardew] and how much I enjoyed working with him was one of the big factor in my decision.
“He instills confidence in players and he always seems to get the best out of them, certainly he did that at Newcastle and hopefully he can do that for me and the rest of the lads here.”
Ameobi scored four goals in 11 appearances for Gaziantep before returning to England in December.
He has been capped ten times by Nigeria and represented the Super Eagles at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil, having featured for England U21.
He becomes Pardew’s third signing of the winter transfer window following the arrival of Yaya Sanogo on loan from Arsenal and the confirmation of Mutch’s transfer hours earlier.
Mutch, 23, has penned a four-and-a-half-year deal at Palace four months after joining QPR from Cardiff City.
The midfielder made 11 appearances in all competitions for the R’s.
The former England U21 international began his career at Birmingham and moved to Cardiff in 2012, featuring 60 times for the Welsh outfit.