Nigeria defender Awaziem joins Boavista from Porto
Portuguese Primera Liga side Boavista have signed Chidozie Awaziem from FC Porto.
The 23-year-old Nigeria international will be having his second stint with a Portuguese club having started out with Porto as a youth player in 2014 before graduating to the senior team in 2016.
His last action with the Portuguese giants came that year and has since spent time on loan with various clubs. His most recent loan stint was with Leganes in La Liga.
Awaziem played 26 times for the Madrid-based club, forming a defensive partnership with his Super Eagle teammate and former Chelsea centre-back Kenneth Omeruo.
Their pairing, however, could not save the club as they got relegated, finishing in 18th place, just one point short of Celta Vigo.
Leganes conceded 51 goals in total but did keep eight clean sheets. Some of their famous shutouts were a two-legged victory over Espanyol which ended 3-0 on aggregate, as well as a 1-0 win over Valencia and 2-0 victory at Athletic Bilbao.
There was also a goalless draw away at Atletico Madrid at the iconic Wanda Metropolitano in the Spanish capital.
Awaziem got booked 10 times and as such faced a one-game suspension for an accumulation of five yellow cards twice. He also featured three times in the Copa Del Rey as Leganes reached the round of 16 and suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat to Barcelona at the Camp Nou in which he played the entire 90 minutes.
Awaziem previously played for Nantes in Ligue 1, appearing 23 times in all competitions and scoring one goal. He also had a short spell in 2019 with Rizespor in Tukey, playing 16 times.
He has been a Nigeria international since 2017, earning 12 caps and scoring one goal.
Awaziem was part of the Super Eagles contingent that went to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, however he was an unused substitute in all three Group D games with Gernot Rohr’s men finishing third behind Croatia and Argentina.
Awaziem played a greater role at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, playing 498 minutes as the three-time champions finished in third place.