The Ukrainian striker, who celebrated his 20th birthday in the last few days, has been added to our squad.
Daniel Kiwinda was born on 31st August 2004 in Kharkiv, the second most populous city in Ukraine. He started playing football in his hometown, Metalist Kharkiv, before transferring to Dnipro at the age of 11, where he stayed for 8 years. The talented striker made his debut for Dnipro U19s at the age of just 16, scoring his first goal against Zoria in May 2021. In the 2020/2021 U19 championship, he scored one goal in 5 matches. In the 2021/2022 season, he scored 14 goals in 16 matches in his youth division, scoring a hatrick against Mariupol and four goals against Desna, winning the league's top scorer title in the same season. He then had a trial with Portuguese second team Benfica, but an injury forced him to return to Dnipro.
In the 2023/2024 season, he scored 6 goals in 15 games at U19 level. He also made his senior debut for Dnipro, playing 9 matches in the Ukrainian First League and once in the Ukrainian Cup. On the international scene, he featured in both matches of the Europa League tie against Slavia Praha.
Daniel Kiwinda's Ukrainian club Dnipro has been disbanded and he arrived in Székesfehérvár as a free transfer.
"My first impressions are very positive, I like the country and the club, and I hope to move to a new level in my career. I think I've come to a strong league, which is similar in many ways to the Ukrainian league. The team is having a good season, I have seen match highlights from Vidi's UEFA Conference League matches and league games from the last period, the squad is strong and I am sure I will have to fight for my place. I didn't know anyone from the team, but when the opportunity came, I got in touch with my compatriot Bohdan Melnyik, I heard good things from him and I'm sure he will be able to help me a lot in the beginning. Basically I play as a forward, but I can also play as a winger, I have played in that position before. My strengths are my goal-scoring power and my speed, and I'm confident that I can use them to help the team finish as high as possible in the league" - our new striker told our website after signing his contract.
Daniel Kiwinda will be wearing the 97 shirt. We wish him good luck in red and blue!
Author: David Rechnitzer