NEC has recorded Wilfried Bony, the people of Nijmegen report through the official channels. The 33-year-old attacker signed a contract on Wednesday that links him to the Nijmegen club until the end of the season. The Ivorian, who had actually already stopped playing professional football, immediately joins the selection of trainer Rogier Meijer after receiving his work permit.
Bony came into contact with NEC thanks to technical director Ted van Leeuwen and advisor Fred Rutten, who know the Ivorian from their time at Vitesse. In recent days, the center striker was on a trial internship in Nijmegen. “I am delighted to be joining NEC,” says Bony. “After Ted van Leeuwen, with whom I have always maintained good contact, asked me to start working in Nijmegen, I made a well-considered decision to sign for NEC. After the termination of my contract in Saudi Arabia, I was still there. not ready to quit football.”
Bony produced no less than 58 goals and 18 assists in 77 matches at Vitesse between 2011 and 2015. “I had a great time in the Netherlands and I am very happy that I will have the opportunity to play in the Eredivisie. Although I am aware that this is a sensitive transition for some, I expect that I will get a fair chance to present myself in a positive way to our supporters. I will do everything I can to get match fit as soon as possible so that I can quickly be important to the team.”
Van Leeuwen explains how Bony is attracted. “Finding a ball-resistant striker is always difficult, especially in winter,” said the technical director. “We also noticed that in 2022 many clubs are hesitant to give up players. Before you know it you have a handful of positively tested players and you are in trouble. Wilfried obviously fits that profile, but had stopped playing football. He lives in Wales and kept fit by training in his hometown with local League Two professional club Newport County. He had, at 33, felt a sense of missing out on football. It was an unfinished business and he wanted preferably back to the country where he played and lived with great pleasure, the Netherlands.”
Bony spent the last years of his career in the Middle East. He signed with Al-Arabi from Qatar in 2018 and went to work with Saudi Arabian Al-Ittihad a year later, only to leave again after a season. His last official match dates from September 9, 2020. The question is how quickly Bony can be deployed. “We have calculated that Wilfried has a considerable training delay,” says Van Leeuwen. “That can be eliminated. For someone who has been out of circulation for so long, I think he is still remarkably fit. He would prefer to play football for another year and a half and then end his impressive career with honors. In the coming months we will see what we can do.” can do for each other.”