Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

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Bigpokey24
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Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by Bigpokey24 »

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Nigeria striker Henry Onyekuru says he is determined to prove his doubters wrong after a stuttering start to his professional career.

Now at French club AS Monaco, work permit issues meant that he did not play a single competitive game for his previous club Everton.

Despite that setback he is still determined to fulfil his 'boyhood dream' of playing in the English premier league.

"We have our plans but then life brings its own plans, but I am still working on it, and hopefully I will be back soon, maybe not with Everton but surely in the Premier League," he insisted.

Onyekuru first hit the headlines in the 2016-17 season when aged 20 as he scored 22 goals for Belgian top-flight team KAS Eupen.

Since then the 23-year-old has signed two long-term deals, firstly with English side Everton in 2017 and then last year at French club AS Monaco, with both teams sending him out on loan.

In January he was loaned, for a second time, to Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he spent the 2018-19 season while on the books of Everton.

With his second spell at Galatasaray now at an end Onyekuru is now looking forward to taking his chances at Monaco alongside the likes of Senegal's Keita Balde and Spanish World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas.

"I have been with players like Keita Balde from my days at the Aspire Academy, Cesc Fabregas is a top guy, who welcomed me when I arrived at the club, it's like going back home," he said.

"Monaco are a big club they know how to work with their players when it comes to transfers, just look at Anthony Martial.

"I hope to make a good season or two and hopefully the future will be bright."

However Onyekuru also admits that playing well with his club is no guarantee of a call-up to the Super Eagles.

"I don't think the national team is based just on performances at the club, the coach knows his first eleven," he explained.

"He (Gernot Rohr) is the type of coach who doesn't change when everything is going well. I'm there to contribute but hopefully I will get the chance someday."

He also insisted that his move to Everton in 2017, which came as he decided not to join French giants Paris St-Germain despite completing a medical, did not come too early in his career.

The English club immediately loaned him to Belgian club Anderlecht, where his time was interrupted by injury.

"It didn't work out because of the work permit, we African players need 75% appearances in the national team to play in the Premier League," he explained.

"A lot of people might think I am not good enough (to earn enough caps), and don't know it had a lot to do with my injury, but that's what it is, I just have to keep working hard."

The winger was called up to the Nigeria team in 2017 by coach Gernot Rohr and he looked set to be part of the Super Eagles team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

That in turn would have boosted his chances of securing his permit to work in the United Kingdom and play for Everton.

However the knee injury he suffered while on loan at Anderlecht meant he was unable to prove his fitness in time for the World Cup and ultimately meant he did not make the required appearances for a UK work permit.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/53497890
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

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Bigpokey24 wrote:Image
Nigeria striker Henry Onyekuru says he is determined to prove his doubters wrong after a stuttering start to his professional career.

Now at French club AS Monaco, work permit issues meant that he did not play a single competitive game for his previous club Everton.

Despite that setback he is still determined to fulfil his 'boyhood dream' of playing in the English premier league.

"We have our plans but then life brings its own plans, but I am still working on it, and hopefully I will be back soon, maybe not with Everton but surely in the Premier League," he insisted.

Onyekuru first hit the headlines in the 2016-17 season when aged 20 as he scored 22 goals for Belgian top-flight team KAS Eupen.

Since then the 23-year-old has signed two long-term deals, firstly with English side Everton in 2017 and then last year at French club AS Monaco, with both teams sending him out on loan.

In January he was loaned, for a second time, to Turkish giants Galatasaray, where he spent the 2018-19 season while on the books of Everton.

With his second spell at Galatasaray now at an end Onyekuru is now looking forward to taking his chances at Monaco alongside the likes of Senegal's Keita Balde and Spanish World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas.

"I have been with players like Keita Balde from my days at the Aspire Academy, Cesc Fabregas is a top guy, who welcomed me when I arrived at the club, it's like going back home," he said.

"Monaco are a big club they know how to work with their players when it comes to transfers, just look at Anthony Martial.

"I hope to make a good season or two and hopefully the future will be bright."

However Onyekuru also admits that playing well with his club is no guarantee of a call-up to the Super Eagles.

"I don't think the national team is based just on performances at the club, the coach knows his first eleven," he explained.

"He (Gernot Rohr) is the type of coach who doesn't change when everything is going well. I'm there to contribute but hopefully I will get the chance someday."

He also insisted that his move to Everton in 2017, which came as he decided not to join French giants Paris St-Germain despite completing a medical, did not come too early in his career.

The English club immediately loaned him to Belgian club Anderlecht, where his time was interrupted by injury.

"It didn't work out because of the work permit, we African players need 75% appearances in the national team to play in the Premier League," he explained.

"A lot of people might think I am not good enough (to earn enough caps), and don't know it had a lot to do with my injury, but that's what it is, I just have to keep working hard."

The winger was called up to the Nigeria team in 2017 by coach Gernot Rohr and he looked set to be part of the Super Eagles team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

That in turn would have boosted his chances of securing his permit to work in the United Kingdom and play for Everton.

However the knee injury he suffered while on loan at Anderlecht meant he was unable to prove his fitness in time for the World Cup and ultimately meant he did not make the required appearances for a UK work permit.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/53497890
So he knew that he would not qualify for a work permit in England, yet went ahead to sign the deal with Everton.
What does that say about him?
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by Flex Swift »

He could have learnt so much from Nemar had he choosen PSG instead of Everton.......now he is still struggling to get a foot hold in the game.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by maceo4 »

Flex Swift wrote:He could have learnt so much from Nemar had he choosen PSG instead of Everton.......now he is still struggling to get a foot hold in the game.
Yea if true that was not a good decision in hindsight. The glamour of EPL is too much for these guys, I hope Osimhen doesn’t fall for it too soon.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by gochino »

The question should be why wasn't he given an equal chance to compete at the national team? As he said, there are other "factors"...He had confidence and backed it up with top performance, Nothing wrong with that! So I won't blame him for signing the contract. For crying out loud, he was the leagues top scorer with 22 goals in Belgium and then scored 15 goals to help Galatasaray win the league but still at the ANC Rohr benched him for Musa, who was being benched in Saudi Arabia and also ended up having a poor performance in that tournament! That was really unfair. If he had played as many matches as Musa, he would have been at Everton today.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

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gochino wrote:The question should be why wasn't he given an equal chance to compete at the national team? As he said, there are other "factors"...He had confidence and backed it up with top performance, Nothing wrong with that! So I won't blame him for signing the contract. For crying out loud, he was the leagues top scorer with 22 goals in Belgium and then scored 15 goals to help Galatasaray win the league but still at the ANC Rohr benched him for Musa, who was being benched in Saudi Arabia and also ended up having a poor performance in that tournament! That was really unfair. If he had played as many matches as Musa, he would have been at Everton today.
gochino,

But club soccer performance does not always correlate with the NT. Without watching the boys train, you cannot make a claim as to who should and should not get minutes at SE. You seem down on Musa. Where was Musa playing when he came in as a sub and became a dominant Nigerian player at the last World Cup? Things are not simply add 1 + 1 together and it sums up to 2. Football is not that simple. The player's club matters little when you get to the NT. It depends on what that player actually does in competition with other players in camp, regardless of their clubs. We have seen Onyekuru's appearances for Nigeria and apart from a few (e.g. v Liberia) he has not ever looked like a player that should be starting let alone ahead of Musa. Contrast that with Chukwueze whose training performance was regaled and in just one half of football on is debut for SE, he left little doubt that he was destined for a starting position. Same story with Samuel Kalu. You cannot state the same for Onyekuru after watching him play for the SE.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by vancity eagle »

Onyekuru has been a big disappointment for SE.

Rohr was right to not trust the hype. He is way behind in the pecking order now

Ejuke, Lookman, Dennis, all firmly ahead of him.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by maceo4 »

vancity eagle wrote:Onyekuru has been a big disappointment for SE.

Rohr was right to not trust the hype. He is way behind in the pecking order now

Ejuke, Lookman, Dennis, all firmly ahead of him.
He really needs to improve his game, but he definitely would have been better than Musa at the ANC...
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by kalani JR »

Flex Swift wrote:He could have learnt so much from Nemar had he choosen PSG instead of Everton.......now he is still struggling to get a foot hold in the game.
Learned what? How to party in Rio every March?
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by Polly »

vancity eagle wrote:Onyekuru has been a big disappointment for SE.

Rohr was right to not trust the hype. He is way behind in the pecking order now

Ejuke, Lookman, Dennis, all firmly ahead of him.

I fully agree with you. Time to let his legs do the talking. So far, they have been pretty quiet each time in the SE.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by The YeyeMan »

Enugu II wrote:You seem down on Musa. Where was Musa playing when he came in as a sub and became a dominant Nigerian player at the last World Cup?
Leicester City or Moscow. He wasn't in some Arabian backwater.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by King Futcha »

kalani JR wrote:
Flex Swift wrote:He could have learnt so much from Nemar had he choosen PSG instead of Everton.......now he is still struggling to get a foot hold in the game.
Learned what? How to party in Rio every March?
you've been off your game lately but you hit this one out of the park... brilliant
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by Damunk »

However Onyekuru also admits that playing well with his club is no guarantee of a call-up to the Super Eagles.

"I don't think the national team is based just on performances at the club, the coach knows his first eleven," he explained.

"He (Gernot Rohr) is the type of coach who doesn't change when everything is going well. I'm there to contribute but hopefully I will get the chance someday."

https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/53497890
Story.
Onyekru hasn't justified the hype.
He should keep working hard to get a recall, like Nacho did.
Right now the competition for his position is fierce and nobody has a right to believe they are a shoo-in to the SE.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by Dammy »

Enugu II wrote:
gochino wrote:The question should be why wasn't he given an equal chance to compete at the national team? As he said, there are other "factors"...He had confidence and backed it up with top performance, Nothing wrong with that! So I won't blame him for signing the contract. For crying out loud, he was the leagues top scorer with 22 goals in Belgium and then scored 15 goals to help Galatasaray win the league but still at the ANC Rohr benched him for Musa, who was being benched in Saudi Arabia and also ended up having a poor performance in that tournament! That was really unfair. If he had played as many matches as Musa, he would have been at Everton today.
gochino,

But club soccer performance does not always correlate with the NT. Without watching the boys train, you cannot make a claim as to who should and should not get minutes at SE. You seem down on Musa. Where was Musa playing when he came in as a sub and became a dominant Nigerian player at the last World Cup? Things are not simply add 1 + 1 together and it sums up to 2. Football is not that simple. The player's club matters little when you get to the NT. It depends on what that player actually does in competition with other players in camp, regardless of their clubs. We have seen Onyekuru's appearances for Nigeria and apart from a few (e.g. v Liberia) he has not ever looked like a player that should be starting let alone ahead of Musa. Contrast that with Chukwueze whose training performance was regaled and in just one half of football on is debut for SE, he left little doubt that he was destined for a starting position. Same story with Samuel Kalu. You cannot state the same for Onyekuru after watching him play for the SE.
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Re: Onyekuru out to prove doubters wrong

Post by gochino »

Enugu II wrote:
gochino wrote:The question should be why wasn't he given an equal chance to compete at the national team? As he said, there are other "factors"...He had confidence and backed it up with top performance, Nothing wrong with that! So I won't blame him for signing the contract. For crying out loud, he was the leagues top scorer with 22 goals in Belgium and then scored 15 goals to help Galatasaray win the league but still at the ANC Rohr benched him for Musa, who was being benched in Saudi Arabia and also ended up having a poor performance in that tournament! That was really unfair. If he had played as many matches as Musa, he would have been at Everton today.
gochino,

But club soccer performance does not always correlate with the NT. Without watching the boys train, you cannot make a claim as to who should and should not get minutes at SE. You seem down on Musa. Where was Musa playing when he came in as a sub and became a dominant Nigerian player at the last World Cup? Things are not simply add 1 + 1 together and it sums up to 2. Football is not that simple. The player's club matters little when you get to the NT. It depends on what that player actually does in competition with other players in camp, regardless of their clubs. We have seen Onyekuru's appearances for Nigeria and apart from a few (e.g. v Liberia) he has not ever looked like a player that should be starting let alone ahead of Musa. Contrast that with Chukwueze whose training performance was regaled and in just one half of football on is debut for SE, he left little doubt that he was destined for a starting position. Same story with Samuel Kalu. You cannot state the same for Onyekuru after watching him play for the SE.
Understand your point, but remember Igahlo for instance went like 10 games without scoring but he was given multiple chances to redeem himself, same thing with Musa even when he was with Leicester U23 he was still played.

If I recall Onyekuru has started in just one game so far for Nigeria and has 1 goal and assist,which is not bad!

Also,its a fact that players adapt differently in the national team, Paul Onuachu is a good example; how has he done since his remarkable debut against Egypt? I feel the Journalist should have asked more questions when he stated that the coach has his own players and other factors are involved. What exactly does that mean? If a player knows that he won't get into the team even if he scores on the moon, won't that affect his mentality in training?

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