English Premier League side Brentford has announced the signing of Nigerian U-20 defender Benjamin Fredrick on a permanent deal.
“We are pleased to announce the signing of Benjamin Fredrick on loan from Simoiben FC until the end of the 2023/24 season. The move is subject to international clearance.
There is also an option to make the signing permanent,” Brentford confirms.
The central defender will join up with Neil MacFarlane’s B team for the campaign.
Benjamin is a Nigerian youth international and featured at the Under-20 World Cup for his country earlier this summer as they reached the quarter-final stages, before exiting the competition with a 1-0 defeat to South Korea.
He has been a regular for his country in recent months having now played 11 times at U20 level, making his debut in that age group at just 17. As well as playing four times in the U20 World Cup this year, he also featured six times as Nigeria finished third in the U20 Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.
The 18-year-old defender has also had loan spells with other Nigerian clubs such as ABS FC and Nasawara United in recent seasons and he now heads to west London to continue his development under the B-team staff.
Discussing Benjamin’s arrival, Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane said: “Benjamin is a player who has been identified by our recruitment department and he’s a real prospect having impressed for Nigeria in recent tournaments.
“He’s a very tenacious player who likes to defend on the front foot. He’s somebody we will look to develop through our games programme, and we’ll see how his development progresses over the course of his loan. We look forward to welcoming Benjamin to the club.”
