Jordon Ibe, a former winger for Liverpool and Bournemouth, has joined National League team Ebbsfleet United.
Ibe made 58 first-team games for the Reds, the majority of which he did while still a teenager, scoring four goals in total before sealing a £15 million transfer to the Cherries in 2016. He spent time at Derby and Birmingham before joining the South Coast club, where he made 92 appearances.
The winger’s future, however, did not go as planned, as he has only appeared in a few games since the 2018–19 season. The former England Under-21 international has spoken out about his prior issues with mental illness as he attempted to deal with his professional difficulties.
Ibe played a very small part for Bournemouth in the 2019–20 season before joining Derby in the Championship the following year, however his time with the first team was only three minutes. Later, he signed with Turkish club Adanaspor, although he did not play for the team and was released last year.
He is presently a member of fifth-tier club Ebbsfleet and will play Slough Town on Saturday in the FA Cup qualification round. He is looking to restart his career at Ebbsfleet at the age of 27.
Ibe said, “I just want to get back out there, show people what I can do again, and play football,” according to the club’s website. I’ve put a lot of effort into getting to the point where I can concentrate on football and have confidence in my ability to contribute on the pitch.
“I enjoy being outside and am happiest when I’m there, but I needed to be in good health and be ready to take that chance on myself. It has been incredibly encouraging how Ebbsfleet has supported me and set up a process so I can be ready.
“I had to support myself and demonstrate that I was here to achieve in order to earn my chance. I’m really happy to be able to focus on my game while at the same time feeling like I’m being tremendously supported by the gaffer and staff who have improved my fitness to the point where I’m ready to go with a ball.
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