CD Leganes of Spain defender, Kenneth Omeruo is back on the summer transfer radar of Trabzonspor of Turkey, as the Turkish Super Lig side reignite the interest they first expressed in him during his time with two of their rivals, Kasimpasa and Alanyaspor.
The former Sunshine Stars of Akure, Standard Liege of Belgium, ADO Den Haag of Holland and Middlesbrough of England star had also been linked with Trabzonspor early this month and, while the Trabzon-based side appeared to be dragging their feet on making a concrete move, the latest report from Turkey shows that the club which once had John Mikel Obi and Eddy Ogenyi Onazi on their cards are showing real intent this time.
The report by popular Turkish sports publication, Fanatik indicates that the club that still has Anthony Nwakaeme in their squad for the new season have stepped up its efforts to lure Omeruo back to Turkey, based on recommendations from their head coach, Eddie Ikem Newton choice, who worked with him during their time together at Chelsea of England.
Although Omeruo never got to play any competitive match for Chelsea after signing for The Blues in 2012, the Super Eagles’ ace centre back was often seen training with the main squad during pre-season activities and he appeared to have caught the eye of Nigerian-born Newton.
That affinity is now bound to evolve into a summer transfer for Omeruo, who was injured in the penultimate match of the season in the Spanish LaLiga but was cleared to commence training at Deportiva Burtaque on Thursday.
His health status was also declared top-notch, following COVID-19 tests conducted by Leganes doctors for all the players on Tuesday, but the Nigeria 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup silver medalist and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations bronze winner could be heading to Turkey this month, rather than follow the Spanish club to relegation; as he bids to keep his place in the national team.
He is now bound to cut short the five-year contract he signed with Leganes after excelling in 31 appearances while on loan from Chelsea, as Trabzonspor aim to hook the dark-skinned defender that returned to Kasimpasa in 2017 after first playing for them in the 2015/16 campaign.
His experience of Turkish football includes a total of 26 appearances at Kasimpasa, in between which he joined Alanyaspor on loan in 2016 and a fourth spell in Turkey is looming large for him, should Trabzonspor’s deal go through for Omeruo, who scored once in 51 games for Leganes.
