The 22-year-old endured a nightmarish time in France with Monaco, but he believes everything could have turned out differently if he had been allowed to make his decisions in the summer.
Former Eupen star Henry Onyekuru admits that moving to Monaco from Everton was not his decision and that Galatasaray were always his first choice, even in the summer.
Onyekuru became a club icon at Belgium side Eupen after scoring 22 league goals in 38 games during the 2016/17 season.
His exploits that season earned him a move to Everton with the Toffees paying up to €8 million to take him to Goodison Park.
Work permit issues stopped Onyekuru’s dream of starring in the Premier League, and he was sent on loan first to Anderlecht and later to Galatasaray.
It was at the Turkish club that he found a new home, scoring the winning goal as the Lions claimed the Super Lig title on the last day of last season.
All was set for the young forward to make his move to the Türk Telekom Stadı permanent when Monaco emerged out of the blues to complete the £12 million signing of the Nigerian forward.
Onyekuru admits he only agreed to the move to avoid a crisis with the directors at Everton.
“I knew they wanted me to go to Monaco. There was no other choice but to go. I didn’t want to force it, cause a crisis,” Onyekuru told Sporx.
“I could return to Everton and practice alone, and I didn’t want that. It was not my decision to go to Monaco. I wanted to return to Galatasaray.”
Four Ligue 1 games in six months showed he was not in coach Jardim’s plans at Monaco, and it was no surprise when he headed back to Turkey during the January transfer window.
“Things did not go as planned in Monaco. I had problems with Jardim. He told me that after my 2nd match, he switched to a system with double strikers and no winger.
“My normal position, the left-wing, was no longer needed. He asked me to keep calm and work.
“I agreed to work without playing for a few months and didn’t tell me anything. We started having problems since then.
Onyekuru has scored once and provided two assists in four matches since he rejoined the Yellow-Reds.
This post was last modified on April 10, 2020 2:59 pm
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