Experienced Defender Arrives for City
City agree deal for experienced defender on a one year deal.
Lincoln City signing, Tendayi Darikwa, photographed at the club’s LNER Stadium, Lincoln. Picture: Chris Vaughan Photography for Lincoln City FC Date: July 4, 2024
Tendayi Darikwa has joined Lincoln City on a one year deal, with an option to extend by a further year.
The 32-year-old has enjoyed a successful EFL career, spending time with Chesterfield, Burnley, Nottingham Forest and Wigan Athletic. Most recently he’s spent time with Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol.
An attacking full-back, Darikwa has over 300 professional appearances within English, and captained Wigan to the Sky Bet League One title in the 2020/21. He’s also won promotion to the Premier League with Burnley under Sean Dyche.
He said: “I’m delighted to be here and have the deal done. The ambition of the football club stood out to me and it’s a club with great values.
“The club was so close to getting in the play-offs last season, and I feel we can build on that. I want to be a part of it, I want to help and hopefully we can do that together. I can pass my experiences over the years onto a young squad with plenty of talent. I can have an influence in the dressing room as we learn about each other on and off the pitch.”
Head coach Michael Skubala said: “Tendayi is a player of real calibre and a person with exceptional human qualities, which combined will be a real addition to our squad. We needed to look at the position differently and in Tendayi we have identified and recruited someone with different strengths but still the physical attributes a Lincoln City right wing-back requires. He will be a massive influence for us on and off the pitch.”
Director of football Jez George added: “This is obviously a signing outside our usual recruitment model but we talk a lot about number of games played rather than age being the determining factor when signing senior players, and therefore the same should be true when the player is 32 rather than 23. The key is fitness, hunger to achieve and character.
“In meeting him, Michael and I know the latter two are two huge ticks and in passing a thorough medical, including a battery of physical testing, we know that Tendayi will be among the fittest in our squad. His recent playing record also shows that. We are really excited by Tendayi joining the club, turning down other League One clubs in the process, and look forward to his impact on the pitch as well as around the Soper of Lincoln Elite Performance Centre.”
