Hannover 96 announced yet another signing in this January transfer window, as they signed Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida in the fight for their Bundesliga lives.
Hannover have already recruited Hotaru Yamaguchi, Adam Szalai, Iver Fossum, and Marius Wolf.
Almeida said his move to Hannover wasn't a hard one, as he joined from Russian club FC Anzhi Makachkala, who are currently fighting relegation at the moment. He scored two goals in 13 matches for the club in the Russian Premier League. Almeida failed to make his presence felt in Russia and will be looking to do more in Germany.
“I didn’t waste much time accepting [Hannover’s] offer,” said Almeida to Bundesliga.com after the transfer.
Almeida is excited to get to going at Hannover and make an impact. It will be interesting to see what the player is all about and what impact he can have on the side.
Almeida has been a big time player for Portugal. The striker has played 57 games for his country and has scored 19 goals for the Iberian nation. He played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup and also in the 2012 European Championships. Almeida's experience on the national team should be vital to a young Hannover 96 side.
Hannover 96 fighting for relegation
Like in Russia, Almeida is going to be playing for a team fighting for survival. Hannover currently sit second to last in the table with 14 points and are only one point ahead of last place Hoffenheim. The good news is that are only three points off 14th and relegation free Eintracht Frankfurt. The bad news is that Hannover ended the 2015 year on a three game losing streak and are totally out of form. Hopefully, for Hannover, the signing of Almeida will be able to spark the team into life.
Hannover host SV Darmstadt 98 in their first Bundesliga game after the break.