Crystal Palace have
completed the signing of
free agent Shola Ameobi
on a deal until the end of
the season.
The Nigeria striker has
been searching for a new club since cancelling his
contract with Turkish side Gaziantep at the end
of last month.
Ameobi was linked with a move to West Brom,
but he has instead opted for a reunion with
Palace boss Alan Pardew, with whom he worked
at Newcastle.
The 33-year-old came through the youth ranks
at St James' Park and went on to score 79 goals
in 397 first-team games for the club.
Upon leaving at the end of his contract last
season, Ameobi plumped for a move abroad but
he made just 11 appearances, scoring four goals,
before deciding to return to England.
Speaking on his move, Ameobi told Palace's
official website: "I'm very excited to be here, I
wanted to get back in the Premier League and
having worked with the manager before it's been
great to come back and hopefully help us avoid
the relegation battle.
"I had a couple of other clubs interested but I
think my relationship with Alan and how much I
enjoyed working with him was one of the big
factors in my decision.
"He instils confidence in players and he always
seems to get the best out of them, certainly he
did that at Newcastle and hopefully he can do
that for me and the rest of the lads here."
Ameobi follows Jordon Mutch to Selhurst Park
after the midfielder also joined on a permanent
deal from QPR earlier on Thursday.