Wanderers have made Cardiff City striker Kion Etete their third January signing and first under new Head Coach Steven Schumacher.
Etete arrives at the Toughsheet Community Stadium from the Championship club on loan for the remainder season to aid the Whites in their play-off push once fully fit and firing.
The powerful 23-year-old, who stands at six feet, six inches tall, will add an extra dimension to Wanderers’ attacking options under Schumacher and follows Joel Randall and Alex Murphy in joining Wanderers since the opening of the January transfer window.
Schumacher said: “Kion is a player we’ve talked about, who the club has tracked for a number of years, given his pedigree and attributes, and someone I have also been an admirer of during his time in the Championship and on loan in the EFL.
“What’s really important, though, is that we don’t expect too much too soon of him. His game minutes at Cardiff have been limited this season and it’s important we don’t rush him but make sure he’s ready to do what we want him to when the time is right.
“We have three months left of the season and we have time to build him up further and get him fully integrated into our plans. His track record shows that he will make a big contribution when he’s ready to play and he will definitely give us another option to the way we are able to attack teams in what could be a pivotal phase during the final third of the campaign.”
Etete chalked up more than 50 appearances for Cardiff over the past two seasons – scoring eight times – and is on the way back towards a full recovery from a hamstring injury, having featured for the Bluebirds in the FA Cup earlier this month.
The Derby-born striker, who will wear squad number 29 with the Whites, previously gained League One experience on loan from Tottenham Hotspur at Cheltenham Town in the second half of the 2021/22 season.
That followed a productive loan spell at Northampton Town, which brough him half-a-dozen goals in 23 appearances for the League Two Cobblers and a total of nine goals during the 2021/22 campaign.
Etete had been signed by Tottenham from Notts County in June, 2019 and having spent three years with the Premier League club prior to moving to Cardiff in August, 2022, now gets the chance to add to his 100 career appearances and make an impact with Wanderers between now and the end of the season.
Etete said: “It’s definitely the right move at the right time. I just want to build here and get to where we want to be. I had a tough start to the season, getting injured in pre-season, but I’m coming out the other end of it and just need to build up to get 90 minutes again and then hopefully you’ll see the best of me.
“There’s a long way to go in the season and once I get back to where I know I can you’ll see the best of me and I’ll give my all.
“There’s a brand-new manager here and I’m looking forward to seeing how we can do even better than we already are. I’ve trained and seen the players that are here, so we definitely have the ability to go all the way.”
Watch Kion's first interview with the club on Wanderers TV.