West Brom spent €12.5m to acquire the striker from Dinamo Kiev last month but he has not received his work permit and admits he is unlikely to face Sunderland on August 16
West Brom’s record signing Brown Ideye hopes to fly to England in the next couple of days after being held up by visa and work permit issues.
The Nigeria international joined Albion from Dynamo Kiev last month for a fee believed to be in the region of €12.5 million, but has not yet been able to join up with his new team-mates for pre-season.
Ideye has been stuck in his homeland as he awaits clearance for the relevant documents, though he is hopeful that he will be given the green light to travel in the near future.
“Officials at the British High Commission in Nigeria are still working on it,” he told BBC Sport.
“The club has fulfilled all the necessary requirements, but I have been told that the British High Commission require up to 15 days to sort this, which is preventing my ability to travel.
“The public holiday in Nigeria last week [Eid holiday] slowed things down a little bit on this side.
“I hope to get it sorted in the next couple of days because I can’t wait to join my new team-mates in England.”
Ideye does not expect to feature in Albion’s Premier League opener against Sunderland on August 16 after missing out on pre-season.
“I need to join the team first then train with the squad in front of the manager and so far I have not been able to do that.” he added.
“It all depends on how quickly the paperwork can be done, but realistically it will be difficult to target the first league game of the season for my debut.”