One name that was in the news around this time last summer was that of Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze as he had what can be termed a very good breakthrough season at Spanish Laliga side Villarreal.
Chukwueze became the bride of many teams in Europe after his debut season where he scored nine goals and also picked up five assists in all competitions but beyond that it was the way he glide past his markers that caught the eyes.
He went to the African Cup of Nations and stamped his authority as a starter for Nigeria as they finished as bronze winners at the tournament held in Egypt. His return to Villarreal hasn’t quite match the same height like last season.
This season he has found it hard to really stamp his authority in the league like he did last time out but he has however made same appearances like he did last season with some games to go as the league was only halted due to the coronavirus crisis.
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So far he has three goals to his name, two short of his tally for last season after same amount of games but he is clearly on course to match or even surpass it when the league resumes after the break.
Despite having what looks like an identical season to last, top teams are not pushing for him because according to Spanish journalist Mark Andre he still hasn’t worked on some of the rough edges in his game. Also his buy out clause of €63million per his last contract extension has also made it hard for teams to push for him.
” His buyout clause was a lot cheaper then than now. His new deal took him away from clubs willing to snatch him as he is now in the premium bracket for transfer fee. Secondly some of the rough edges in his game like tracking back and efficiency in front of goal is still very much there. So it’s hard for any big team to pay that much particularly in the time that we are right now”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.
Osas Mahawi
