AS Monaco of France returnee, Henry Onyekuru will start off a afresh with other players at the club under the supervision of a new coach for the team, sequel to the appointment of former Bayern Munich of Germany boss, Niko Kovac as the French Ligue 1 club’s new manager, megasportsarena.com reports.
Onyekuru is heading back to Monaco after the club refused to sanction a full transfer to Galatasaray of Turkey, where he played on loan this season after also returning to the Istanbul-based side when he failed to mace the best of the first half of the campaign in Monte Carlo.
Back then, Onyekuru failed to convince two quickfire gaffers at Monaco that he was good enough for the team’s matchday squads, but he will now seek a new lease of life under Kovac, who was sacked by Bayern in November but has now been called upon to replace Robert Moreno, who was axed after Monaco finished ninth in the French Ligue 1’s cancelled season.
It will now be virgin ground for Onyekuru and all other players, who will aim to get better spoils in the next campaign, after this year’s run in the French top flight was called off early due to the effects and delays caused by coronavirus.
The club have also decided to make a change in their technical office, with former Tottenham Hotspur recruitment chief, Paul Mitchell taking over as sporting director at The Aristocrats, who will be hoping that Kovac can provide success in the long-term, better than what they got from the trio of Moreno, Leonardo Jardim and Thierry Henry in the last two seasons.
Moreno had only been in charge of Monaco for seven months after a spell managing Spain’s national team but he now gives way to Kovac, who won the Bundesliga and German Cup in his first season at Bayern, but came under massive pressure earlier in the current campaign; after the team fell off the pace in the title race, and he was then replaced by Hansi Flick.
Onyekuru’s new coach also won admirers for his work at Frankfurt, where he helped them win the German Cup against his future employers, Bayern and the Croatian tactician, who becomes Monaco’s fourth manager in less than two years, had his first press conference at his new base on Wednesday during which he promised to introduce ‘intense’ football.
Kovac said: “I play an intensive style of football. It requires being in good shape to be able to practice it. I have had the opportunity to participate in a lot of pre-seasons in my career and I know that it is important to be in good shape physically, of course, but also technically and tactically.
“We will have to use every day over the next five weeks to work on these aspects in an optimal way. It will take a lot of drive and hard work for our first game in August and we will do everything possible to be in the best possible shape.”
