- Peter Odemwingie arrived at QPR on deadline day but move didn’t go through
- The 43-year-old has reflected on the incident having recently moved into golf
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Premier League cult hero Peter Odemwingie has opened up on his infamous failed deadline day move to QPR.
In January 2013, the London club were secretly battling to secure the West Brom striker’s signature and Harry Redknapp told him to stay hidden in a hotel near the stadium in case the deal was completed in time.
Everyone was left baffled, then, when Odemwingie rocked up at QPR’s Loftus Road stadium uninvited in a gross misunderstanding of the situation.
‘It’s a new chapter to start in my life,’ he declared from his car. ‘I love West Brom and always will. I think every football fan is interested to see if we’re going to make it. or not. I’m very optimistic about it.’
Odemwingie had arrived believing that the two clubs had agreed a fee, but that wasn’t the case.
After making the 125-mile trip from West Brom to QPR in 2013, Odemwingie was refused access by the west London club, who had yet to secure an agreement with the Baggies.
The Nigerian was left waiting around in the car park alongside reporters for the final moments of the deadline and ultimately never completed his move to Redknapp’s side.
In an interview with the Guardian this week, Odemwingie reflected on the incident saying: ‘He (Roy Hodgson) made a few comments that I couldn’t accept and they behaved childishly as a football club.
‘When it came to QPR, everybody else’s reputation was more important than mine. They set out terms for how the deal could happen. I accepted the terms and went to London. That’s it.’
Asked what it felt driving back to West Brom after the moved failed to materialise: he added: ‘I’m a guy with pride but I have a good heart so I knew that it would pass.
‘It was hard because I was angry and it was a really tough period to go through. It was very embarrassing in many ways. But then I saw people for what they are.’
Now 43, Odemwingie has turned his attention to golf and recently played on the Clutch Pro Tour.
‘It’s unbelievable. I never thought I could get so obsessed with this game,’ he told the same publisher.
‘I didn’t like golf initially because I thought it was a bit slow – I was a striker who liked to sprint and score goals
‘But what attracted me was the challenge and trying to master it. The mental side of things is probably the hardest part.’
