Former Nigeria Under-17 World Cup MVP completes return to England

Super Eagles striker Kelechi Nwakali has completed a transfer from Chaves to English League one club Barnsley, Soccernet.ng reports.

Since he broke out at the 2015 under-17 World Cup, Nwakali has struggled to find his feet in Europe. Initially, he joined English Premier League side Arsenal, but he could not cut it there despite different loan stints at MVV Maastricht, VVV Venlo, and Porto B.

After three years at Arsenal, Nwakali moved to Spain with Huesca. However, it did not work out well, as the club got relegated in his first season. After failing to pin down a starting shirt, he moved to Alcorcon on a season-long loan deal.

Upon his return to Huesca for his third season, it seemed like things were looking up for him, as he got a lot of minutes. Unfortunately for him, he had issues with the club after the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and had to join Ponferradina afterwards.

Then, last season, Nwakali moved to Portugal Liga club Chaves. He had a good campaign with one goal and four assists in 33 appearances for the club. But it was not enough to stop the club from getting relegated from the Portuguese top flight.

At the end of the campaign, Nwakali got into trouble after he was caught using his phone during a game. That event ruptured his relationship with the club, and it was clear that he was likely to join another club this summer.

On Monday, League One side Barnsley revealed that they had acquired Nwakali’s services permanently. Nwakali signed a three-year deal with the club and is expected to join the action immediately he is cleared to play.

Barnsley have been playing in the League One for the past two seasons after getting relegated from the Championship in the 21/22 season.

Nwakali will be looking to help the club gain promotion to the Championship this season.