POWERHOUSE Alfreton Town fans' favourite Emeka Nwadike has become Worcester City's first summer signing.

The all-action 6ft 2ins central midfielder, 28, has been pursued by manager Andy Preece since the end of the Conference North campaign and was a target for previous City boss John Barton.

Nwadike skippered Alfreton to 14th in the table and swept the board at their presentation night, winning the player-of-the-year awards from his manager, supporters and team-mates.

City chairman Dave Boddy travelled to Derbyshire last night to seal the deal for Nwadike who was out of contract.

Preece said: "I've been looking to strengthen the midfield for a while now. He's definitely going to come and do what I think we lacked last season.

"He's strong, aggressive, wins headers and can break things up for us.

"I'm delighted to get him. He won player-of-the-season awards at Alfreton but the most important thing was he wanted to come here.

"From the first contact I made with him, he was really enthusiastic about signing."

London-born Nwadike started at Wolves but moved on to Shrewsbury Town where he made his Football League debut among four first-team appearances over a year-and-a-half.

Switches to Grantham Town and King's Lynn, where he caught Barton's attention, followed before he became a key figure in the Ilkeston Town midfield from 2001 to 2003.

Derby-based Nwadike's transfer to Alfreton in June 2003 proved a highly successful one and he racked up more than 150 appearances.

Their supporters are sure to be disappointed by his departure to St George's Lane but new boss Nicky Law is currently rebuilding the squad.

Nwadike impressed for Alfreton in last season's 0-0 draw at City but injury forced his withdrawal after just eight minutes of April's return match which ended 2-0 to Worcester.

He was a mainstay of their line-up during the campaign, starting 41 league and cup matches and scoring four goals.

After his release from the professional game, Nwadike mirrored his determination on the pitch by studying for a degree in IT and business from the Open University.

He said: "I feel as if I'm at the age now where I'm reaching my peak and want to be pushing to win the league.

"I'm looking to move forward and aim for the play-offs with Worcester as a minimum.

"I'm very happy. It's the right decision for me football-wise to join a big club going in the right direction."