AfriPulse
Kelechi Nwakali’s time at Barnsley appears to be coming to an abrupt end after manager Conor Hourihane confirmed that the Nigerian midfielder is unlikely to feature for the first team again this season.
Speaking with the Barnsley Chronicle, Hourihane said the 27-year-old had been dropped from the senior squad due to disciplinary reasons and would remain with the under-21s for the foreseeable future.
“Do I see him breaking back in? Probably not if I am being totally honest,” Hourihane admitted. “It’s the same message from the summer. We’re looking for the best scenario for the club and the player. I probably don’t see him fitting into the way we want to play, being really energetic, aggressive and high-tempo.”
Naija News reports that Kelechi Nwakali joined Barnsley two summers ago on a three-year deal and made 26 appearances in his debut season.
Since then, however, things have gone downhill. He has yet to make a single appearance this campaign and has spent the past few months training and playing with the youth side.
Naija News recalls that Kelechi Nwakali was once hailed as one of Nigeria’s brightest young stars.
Arsenal signed him in 2016 after captaining Nigeria to victory at the FIFA U-17 World Cup and winning the tournament’s Golden Ball award. The deal was brokered with the help of Arsenal legend Nwankwo Kanu, but the move never truly materialised for him.
Due to work permit complications, Nwakali never featured for Arsenal’s senior team and was instead sent out on multiple loan spells before leaving permanently for Spanish side SD Huesca.
His stint at Barnsley, which began with optimism, has followed a familiar pattern. The club reportedly tried to move him on during the summer but couldn’t reach an agreement with potential suitors. He has since been confined to the under-21s, where he’s been playing regularly.
For a player once touted as a future Super Eagles star, Nwakali’s journey has been turbulent. Barnsley is now his eighth club since leaving Arsenal, with five of those being loan moves.
Nwakali still has less than two seasons left on his contract with the League One side. However, he is expected to exit the club in January if a suitor makes an acceptable offer for his services.
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