Indian Super League side Bengaluru FC has confirmed the signing of Venezuelan striker Nicolás Ladislao Fedor Flores, more commonly known as Miku, on a two-year deal.
Miku joins a long list of new faces in the squad of the Federation Cup champions. The Blues have added the likes of Toni Dovale, Braulio Nóbrega, Erik Paartalu and Dimas Delgado ahead of their maiden ISL campaign.
The 32-year-old forward makes the switch to India after lengthy stints in Spain, mainly with the Valencia youth team, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe.
His four-year spell with the Madrid-based Getafe saw him amass 26 La Liga goals in 90-plus appearances. Miku also had a short loan spell with Glasgow-based Celtic FC in 2012-13 where he won the Scottish League and Cup double.
Miku's next big stage would arrive at Rayo Vallecano, another Madrid-based club. In the 2015/16 season, Miku netted nine times and assisted four goals in 22 appearances for Rayo in the La Liga, ending a season in which he had also secured the La Liga Player of the Month award once, as their joint second-highest top-scorer in the league.
At the continental level, Miku has represented Celtic in the UEFA Champions League while playing in the UEFA Europa League for Getafe and Valencia, also scoring a hat-trick in the competition for the latter.
A full international since 2006, Miku has 51 caps for Venezuela and has scored 11 times, most notably against Brazil in the during the 2015 Copa America in Chile.
Head Coach Albert Roca was delighted with the newest addition to the squad and said, “I’m extremely happy to have secured the services of Miku. He is an exciting player with some great skills and his playing style will help us a lot. Miku has played for several top clubs for a number of years now, and the experience he brings in will be very crucial for us this season.”
Having completed formalities, an excited Miku said, “I have heard a lot about the club and the city. We have some great players in the club who always fight for titles, so I hope it will be a good season for every one of us in Bengaluru. I spoke to Albert Roca about the club, the league and the team. He’s a very good and experienced coach and explained to me what he wants from me for this season. I can’t wait to join my teammates and begin training.”
The 6’ 1” attacker will team up with Spaniard Braulio Nobrega at the front and becomes the Blues’ seventh foreign signing for the season and the first ever South American player at the club.