Physically strong and with an eye for goal, Arouna Kone arrived at the DW Stadium in the scoring form of his life, netting 15 times in 34 La Liga games for Levante.
Born in Anyama, Ivory Coast, Kone began his career at his local club Rio Sport D’Anyama before moving to Belgian side Lierse in 2002.
Kone has also played in the Netherlands with Roda JC and Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven who he left in 2007 to move to Spain with Sevilla.
Kone unusually wore the number two shirt for Levante last season despite being a striker.
One of his stand-out goals of the season came early on in the season as he scored the only goal in Levante’s 1-0 victory over eventual champions Real Madrid in September 2011.
He made his international debut in 2004 against Tunisia and has since gone on to earn 35 caps, scoring nine goals and also featured in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Arouna isn’t the only Kone of Ivorian football, as his older brother and fellow international Bakari currently plays for Qatar SC after spending most of his career in France with clubs such as Lorient, Nice and Marseille.