The 29-year-old passed a medical and agreed terms last Friday and the deal was finalised the next day but the player then had to secure a work permit and visa. Odemwingie, who has signed a two-year deal with the option of a further year, arrived back in England last night and could make his debut against Sunderland tomorrow if the club receive international clearance in time. The Baggies are looking to bounce back after marking their return to the Premier League last weekend with a 6-0 thrashing by Chelsea. Di Matteo told the club's official website: "I'm delighted to welcome Peter to the club. "He is an exciting international, has a great CV and I'm sure seeing a player of his calibre coming into the club will give everyone a lift. "Peter has got great pace, is two-footed, scores goals and has good experience at a very high level. "We've brought him in as a striker but he can also play out wide, which gives me options." Odemwingie was born in Uzbekistan and has dual Russian and Nigerian citizenship having lived in both countries as a boy. He chose to play international football for the African nation and has scored nine times in 47 appearances, including Nigeria's only goal in their 2-1 defeat by South Korea last week. The striker spent the last four seasons with Lokomotiv, netting 21 times in 70 starts, having previously played for Belgians La Louviere and French side Lille, with whom he gained Champions League experience. Odemwingie is Di Matteo's sixth permanent signing of the summer, following Steven Reid, Gabriel Tamas, Pablo Ibanez, Boaz Myhill and Nicky Shorey to The Hawthorns. The Italian gave debuts to Tamas and Ibanez last weekend, and he will resist the temptation to make wholesale changes tomorrow despite their sobering experience at Stamford Bridge. Di Matteo, who has already confirmed captain Scott Carson will keep his place in goal, said: "There might be a couple of changes but not many. "Scott knows he made a mistake and he is disappointed about it. But I have confidence in him and I would like him to show tomorrow that he can win us some points." The Baggies boss, meanwhile, is hoping his side can take advantage of the absence of Sunderland captain Lee Cattermole, who is suspended after picking up the first red card of the new Premier League season in their 2-2 draw with Birmingham last weekend. He continued: "It's going to be a tough game, but any team we face will be difficult to play. If we manage to cut out a few little mistakes that we made last weekend, we will give ourselves a chance. "Cattermole seems to be an influential player so let's hope we can exploit that situation." Midfielder James Morrison admits confidence in the squad was hit by last weekend's baptism of fire and he knows they must do better tomorrow. "We definitely have to put it behind us and get some confidence back into us because it did knock us a bit," he said. "It wasn't nice but all the lads have been looking sharp and looking forward to putting it right. "We're not looking at tomorrow as a 'must-win' game as it is only the second game of the season. But we've identified this as a game we can win, and that's what we're all fighting towards. "If we can get that first win under our belt it will ease a bit of pressure on us." Two players who will definitely not be available tomorrow are striker Ishmael Miller (thigh) and defender Joe Mattock (ankle), who have both been ruled out for up to a month after picking up injuries in training this week.
