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Brown Ideye: 10 facts you didn't know about Albion's new hero

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He was hours away from leaving Albion for Qatar on Deadline Day. Two weeks later, Brown Ideye is the toast of the Hawthorns.more

The flight had taken off, the bags were packed, the house empty - Brown Ideye was on his way Qatari club Al Gharafa, with the Baggies set to swallow a £6million loss.

Twelve days later, the Nigerian international was back-flipping and somersaulting in front of the Birmingham Road End after scoring his fourth goal in just three games.

Four precious Premier League points and an FA Cup quarter-final later, the £10 million record signing is starting to look like money well spent.

Here are 10 fun facts about the most surprising new hero in recent memory.

1. He began his career with Nigerian side Bayelsa United before winning the title with Ocean Boys. Ideye only made five appearances with the team (scoring one) before signing for Swiss Super League club Neuchatel Xamax

2. Albion fought off heavy competition from Newcastle United in order to land their number one target. The 26-year-old looked all set to move to St James' Park, but were gazumped at the last minute.

3. He was born on October 10, 1988 and shares his birthday with TV host Mario Lopez, Olympic gold-medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent and ex- NFL quarterback Brett Favre.

4. Married to Damka, they have two sons - Brown Ideye Junior and Andriy.

5. He is a great cook. His speciality is Egusi soup which is a thick West African dish that consists of pumpkin seeds, leaf vegetables and meat.

Brown Ideye loves cooking Egusi Soup

6. His favourite artists are Wizkid, Lil Wayne and Jay Z. Azonto by Wizkid is without doubt the biggest hit for the Nigerian rapper, receiving over 19 million views on Youtube to date.

7. His favourite holiday destination is The Bahamas. Nassau, Freeport and Andros are all popular places for tourists who want white sand and turquoise water.

8. Controversially, his favourite TV show is Desperate Housewives. Unfortunately for Brown, the eighth series ended on April 26, 2012 and has not been renewed since. But the box-sets can be watched forever.

9. He shares the same agent as ex-West Brom forward Peter Odemwingie.

10. His hero is Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Not only does Brown love the goals and ability of the Paris St Germain striker, he also enjoys his 'crazy outbursts' from time to time.

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