Queens Park Rangers are set to auction the only shirt ever made for Peter Odemwingie ahead of his infamous failed transfer from West Brom in January 2013, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Nigerian forward believed he had completed a deadline-day move to QPR and even arrived at Loftus Road expecting to finalise the deal. However, Sky Sports noted that “QPR auctioned the only shirt ever made for Peter Odemwingie on Wednesday, which had been prepared ahead of his failed transfer from West Brom in January 2013.”
The move collapsed dramatically after both clubs confirmed that no transfer fee had been agreed, leaving Odemwingie sitting in his car outside the stadium as the saga unfolded. In anticipation of the deal, QPR’s head of retail, Francis Atkinson, had already prepared a shirt with Odemwingie’s name and squad number.
The attempted switch generated major headlines at the time. Odemwingie, who won three Premier League Player of the Month awards with West Brom, had travelled to London without the Baggies’ permission—an act that became one of the most memorable moments in Premier League transfer history.
Although he stayed at West Brom for the remainder of the season, he went on to join Cardiff City in the summer of 2013. During his spell at The Hawthorns, he scored 31 goals and registered 14 assists in 90 appearances, including two seasons with double-digit Premier League goals. His £2.5 million arrival from Lokomotiv Moscow is still regarded as a bargain in today’s inflated market.
The auction of the shirt gives collectors a rare piece of football memorabilia, marking one of the Premier League’s most notorious and dramatic transfer stories.
Meanwhile, West Brom continue their search for attacking reinforcements, with former stars like Odemwingie still seen as examples of the quality needed to reclaim top-flight success.
