Assani Lukimya has left Werder Bremen for Liaoning Hongyun, the German club have announced, for a reported fee of €2 million.
Journeyman career while in Germany
The DR Congo defender leaves after spending three full seasons at the Weserstadion, following his move from Fortuna Düsseldorf.
He has also had spells with Hertha BSC, Hansa Rostock and Carl Zeiss Jena in Germany, meaning this is his first venture abroad.
All in all, Lukimya made over 150 appearances while in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga.
Solid spell with Werder
The 29-year-old found home in Bremen, in comparison to other teams, and featured 83 times for the Green-Whites.
He has been a regular in their defence for the past three seasons after in impressive time in Düsseldorf, though he failed to emulate the success he had there.
Lukimya was often error-prone and came in for criticism due to his mistakes leading to goals for the opposition.
However, his efforts are no doubt appreciated by all at the club and will be sad to see his physical presence depart after three-and-a-half years at the club.
A chance to make a big difference
Liaoning Hongyun fans will most definitely be keen for Lukimya to show why he was sought out by the club, in a bid to fix their leaky defence.
They finished just two points above the relegation zone last year, conceding 46 goals in the process.
At the same time, they were a mere four points from a top-half finish and Lukimya could be the key to making that happen.
Eichin explains the transfer
Chief Executive Thomas Eichin detailed the deal, "Talks with Liaoning began last week and we reached an agreement over a transfer fee in the last days." He was quick to assure the Werder faithful that signing would be made to make up for Lukimya's departure.
"Rest assured, we've been looking at the market and will present a new centre back should Assani Lukimya's transfer be confirmed," he said.