Bremen, Jan 6 :Werder Bremen have signed defender Issa Kabore on loan from Manchester City until the end of the season. The 23-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at Benfica and has now joined SVW until the summer.

'I'm really looking forward to my new challenge at Werder and in the Bundesliga. Werder have had a very good season so far. I want to play my part in us building on a strong first half of the campaign, and to get to know the club, the fans and the city,' said Kabore.

Werder head coach Ole Werner is equally pleased with the new arrival. 'I'm very happy that we've managed to bring in Issa so quickly and at short notice. Issa is a technically good player, is physically strong and also has a good pace. His arrival gives us more options for how we want to play. We're positive that he'll fit into our team perfectly.'

Issa Kabore began his career at Rahimo FC in his native Burkina Faso and joined Belgian side KV Mechelen in 2019, before moving to Manchester City in 2021. He has had a number of loan moves since then, including at Marseille, Luton Town, and most recently Benfica. He has been capped over 40 times by his national team and has so far made 53 appearances in the French Ligue 1, 28 in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, and 24 in the Premier League. He has also featured six times in the Champions League.

'Issa is a very exciting player who's got experience in a number of different leagues in different countries despite his young age. Due to Olivier Deman's imminent transfer and Felix Agu's injury, the opportunity has opened up at short notice for us to sign Issa on loan until the end of the season.

'He fits the profile we wanted perfectly, as he's flexible and can play on both sides. We want to make sure that we have multiple options for every position. We're very happy that we've been able to complete this loan signing in such a short time,' said Werder's head of professional football, Peter Niemeyer.

/IANS