FORMER IRELAND U21 international Noe Baba has agreed to join German fourth-tier side Fortuna Köln.
The 23-year-old has spent part of this summer on trial with the club and this week signed an official deal with the Regionalliga West outfit, who were relegated from the third-tier last season.
Baba started his career with Castlebar Celtic before being snapped up by Fulham back in 2013, where he spent two-and-a-half years playing with the Cottagers’ U18s and U23s.
He moved to Birmingham in 2015 and also spent time on the books at Macclesfield Town, before returning home to Ireland with Waterford FC in the SSE Airtricity League 12 months ago.
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The defender, who has been capped from U16 up to U21 level for Ireland, moved to Germany at the start of this year with USI Lupo-Martini Wolfsburg, who play in the country’s fourth tier.
“We have had Noe Baba in training for a long time and he has done well,” Köln manager Thomas Stratos said speaking about his new recruit.
“He knows what we want and what we need. He is flexible in defence but he can also play [in midfield], which was important to me.
“It’s good to have a solid player who has played in England before. He has the rigor and aggressiveness we need.”
Baba will follow in the footsteps of former Ireland international Noel Campbell, who played for Fortuna Köln as the club famously secured promotion to the Bundesliga in 1974.
The42 Rugby Weekly is back as we get ready for next month’s World Cup. Murray, Gavan and Bernard Jackman get us started by looking ahead to this weekend’s opening warm-up game against Italy.
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Ex-Ireland U21 international Noe Baba joins Fortuna Köln in German fourth-tier
FORMER IRELAND U21 international Noe Baba has agreed to join German fourth-tier side Fortuna Köln.
The 23-year-old has spent part of this summer on trial with the club and this week signed an official deal with the Regionalliga West outfit, who were relegated from the third-tier last season.
Baba started his career with Castlebar Celtic before being snapped up by Fulham back in 2013, where he spent two-and-a-half years playing with the Cottagers’ U18s and U23s.
He moved to Birmingham in 2015 and also spent time on the books at Macclesfield Town, before returning home to Ireland with Waterford FC in the SSE Airtricity League 12 months ago.
The defender, who has been capped from U16 up to U21 level for Ireland, moved to Germany at the start of this year with USI Lupo-Martini Wolfsburg, who play in the country’s fourth tier.
“We have had Noe Baba in training for a long time and he has done well,” Köln manager Thomas Stratos said speaking about his new recruit.
“He knows what we want and what we need. He is flexible in defence but he can also play [in midfield], which was important to me.
“It’s good to have a solid player who has played in England before. He has the rigor and aggressiveness we need.”
Baba will follow in the footsteps of former Ireland international Noel Campbell, who played for Fortuna Köln as the club famously secured promotion to the Bundesliga in 1974.
The42 Rugby Weekly is back as we get ready for next month’s World Cup. Murray, Gavan and Bernard Jackman get us started by looking ahead to this weekend’s opening warm-up game against Italy.
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