Daryl Dike Signs 4.5 Year Deal to Join West Bromwich Albion

The former UVA men's soccer star leaves Orlando City after two seasons to play for West Brom in the English Football League Championship

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Jan 2, 2022 2:03 PM EST

Former UVA men's soccer star Daryl Dike was signed by West Bromwich Albion, an English Championship club, on Saturday.

Dike, who has played for Orlando City in MLS for the last two seasons, signed a four-and-a-half year deal worth reportedly $9.5 million in transfer fees.

"I am extremely grateful to everyone at Orlando City for believing in me and for giving me the opportunity to play for this incredible club," Dike said. "This was a great place for me to start my career and I am thankful to the club for helping me toward this next step of my journey."

Dike played for Barnsley on a loan last season, scoring nine goals in 22 appearances to help the club reach the Premier League postseason. During that period, he played for Valerien Ismael, who is now the manager of West Brom.

"Dike has everything we need from the No. 9 position," Ismael said. "He has energy, strength; he challenges defenders and he scores goals. I worked with him at Barnsley and I know him very well."

After an accomplished two-year collegiate career at Virginia, Dike was selected with the 5th overall pick in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft and scored 19 goals in 41 matches over the last two seasons. Dike has also scored three goals in eight matches for the US Men's National Team since his professional career began.

West Brom is in the hunt for promotion from the English Football League Championship, the 24-team division that makes up the second tier of English football. The top three teams in the EFL automatically qualify for promotion to the Premier League and West Brom currently sits in fourth place.

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