Jamilu Collins: Cardiff City sign Nigeria international left-back

Jamilu Collins left his homeland to join Croatian club HMK Rijeka as a teenager

Cardiff City have signed Nigeria international left-back Jamilu Collins on a two-year deal.

The 27-year-old arrives on a free transfer as his contract with German second-tier side SC Paderborn expires this summer.

Collins, who has 25 caps, played in Croatia and Slovenia before joining Paderborn in 2017.

"I'm really excited to be in Cardiff, and I can't wait to get started," he told the club website.

"The club has great history, and when I got the call to come to Cardiff, I was so excited, I couldn't resist. I'm looking forward to the challenge of the new season. The goal is to fight for the Premier League."

He becomes Cardiff manager Steve Morison's fourth signing of the close season.

The Bluebirds have also brought in goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, midfielder Ebou Adams and winger Ollie Tanner.

Collins will provide Joel Bagan with competition for the left-back spot in Morison's side, while he can also operate in midfield or central defence.

"We've been monitoring him for a long period, and we're really pleased to get him signed," Morison said.

"He's a great athlete, a really good left-back, and can play in that left wing-back position as well. I'm really pleased that we've got competition for places.

"I want to get as many bodies in for the start of pre-season, because the first 10 days of pre-season are going to be huge."

Collins helped Paderborn reach the Bundesliga thanks to successive promotions in 2017-18 and 2018-19, although they were relegated after one season in the top flight.

He made 137 appearances during five years at Paderborn.

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