ISL champs Chennaiyin FC rope in Nigeria's Dudu Omagbemi

Indian Super League champions Chennaiyin FC on Thursday announced the signing of Nigerian forward Dudu Macpherlin Omagbemi for the upcoming third edition of the ISL.

The 31-year-old joins Chennaiyin on a free transfer after the expiry of his contract with Finland second division outfit FC Haka.

Dudu has played in both seasons of the ISL with FC Pune City (2014) and FC Goa (2015) and is joint sixth in the all-time highest scorers of the competition with seven goals in 15 starts.

Jubilant with his appointment, Dudu said, "I am delighted to join champions Chennaiyin FC and would like to thank the club and especially the legendary Materazzi for putting faith in me. India is like a second home for me and I have always enjoyed playing and staying there. I am looking forward to this new project with Chennaiyin FC and will give my very best to help them keep the trophy in Chennai."

"Dudu is a player I have admired from the very first season of the ISL. His quality and experience in front of goal further strengthens our attack," said Chennaiyin FC manager Marco Materazzi.

The Nigerian is also one of seven players to have scored a hattrick in the ISL with his treble coming in FC Goa's record 7-0 victory over Mumbai City FC last year. Even before ISL, Dudu had plenty of experience playing in India with stints at Sporting Clube de Goa, Dempo and Salgaocar.

In Europe, he has had spells in the top tiers of Poland, Hungary and Finland. During his time with Hungary's Debrecen he also played in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League.

Dudu, who has also played for both Kolkata giants East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, joined FC Haka in the Finland second tier after helping FC Goa finish runners-up in ISL 2015. He scored 6 goals in 13 appearances for FC Haka.