SD Huesca of Spain midfielder, Kelechi Nwakali may yet have a rosy future ahead of him at Arsenal of England, following reports that The Gunners styli have the former Golden Eaglets’ captain under their spotlight for another deal in years to come, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although Nwakali failed to tie down a senior contract at Emirates Stadium after spending five years under the London-based club’s banner, in the wake of captaining Nigeria’s cadet squad to conquer the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, the youngster appears to retain some respect at the club.
The report out of Queensland indicates that, although Arsenal eventually sold him to FC Porto of Portugal last year, following spells on loan at the club as well as VV Van Venlo and MVV Maastricht of Holland, The Gunners actually retained an option of first purchase for the ld.
That was after Nwakali sealed a celebrated move to the London club in 2016 but things did not work out for him at Emirates Stadium and he could not get a British work permit, despite the product of Diamond Football Academy of Umuahia training with Arsenal’s main squad and U23 team during pre-season.
He was shipped out on loan to Maastricht, Venlo and Porto before he was finally sold in the summer of 2019, but that is apparently not the end of the story for Nwakali and the club that shot into the mentality of Nigerian players when former Super Eagles’ captain, Nwankwo Kanu joined them in 1996.
A report by allnigeriasoccer.com adds: “Arsenal were forced to part company with Nwakali due to paperwork issues and believe he is one for the future, having inserted a right of first refusal clause into the deal taking him to Huesca.
“To put it in layman’s terms, the La Liga new boys must first inform Arsenal if another club table a bid for the Nigeria U23 international before the expiration of his contract. The Gunners can re-sign Nwakali by matching the offer or give Huesca the green light to sell him to the interested club.
“In the new season, the 22-year-old has already proved he can play at a high level, having featured against Europa League teams Villarreal and Real Sociedad, and most recently against record Champions League winners Real Madrid.”
