Former Barcelona coach praises ‘extraordinary’ Super Eagles star

The Nigeria international is back to his best in the Spanish top flight and he is one of the players who could make the difference for the Yellow Submarines against the table toppers

Villarreal head coach Quique Setién has extolled the unique virtues of Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze ahead of the club’s crucial league clash against Barcelona.

A former Barcelona manager, Quique Setién leads Villarreal against his previous employers with the Yellow Submarines not in great shape.

Villarreal have won only one of their last five games in all competitions, losing three, including a shocking 3-1 defeat at lowly Elche.

It is not the best time to host league leaders Barcelona, a team that has won ten of their last 11 La Liga matches.

But in Samuel Chukwueze, Villarreal boast a potent attacking threat from the flanks.

The Nigerian winger is the fourth-best player in La Liga who makes the most incursions into the opponent’s danger area every 90 minutes – behind only the Barcelona duo of Raphinha and Ousmane Dembélé and Real Madrid’s Vinicius.

Chukwueze’s bold and creative play has been rewarded bountifully this term with the 24-year-old registering an impressive eight goals and seven assists across all competitions.

And Quique Setién confesses that, alongside Yéremy Pino and Álex Baena, Chukwueze is the man he is banking on to get Villarreal back on winning ways against Barcelona.

What has been said?

“Potentially, all three (Chukwueze, Baena, and Pino) have extraordinary qualities,” Setién said, as per Comuniate.

“They are very valid and very capable of doing many things. There are top-level footballers who make a mistake once every ten games. What remains for our footballers is to make good decisions. They know football.”

Chukwueze has a decent record against Barcelona, scoring three times in the eight games he has played against the Catalans.

However, only once has he ever celebrated a win over Barcelona – in a 2-0 away win in May last year.