Stopping Henry Onyekuru from joining Celtic in January might have been the best thing KAS Eupen ever did for themselves and the 19-year-old Nigerian. And, by extension, a good twist of fortune for Arsenal.
Reports suggested the Scottish Premiership champions had made a bid for the forward, which the Belgian side deemed inadequate and rejected, forcing the player to go on strike, only to come back a few days later with his tail between his legs, bearing an apology for the staff and his teammates.
Once he returned to the first-team, Onyekuru didn’t mess around, knowing this was his chance to get a big move away from Belgium, and boy did he deliver.
Scoring 12 goals and picking up three assists in his last 16 games for the club, the youngster put his name on the map, and started to attract attention from Premier League clubs.
Everton, Southampton and West Ham were all said to be scouting him, with the latter of the three even putting in a bid, but when Arsenal came knocking, there was only one club Onyekuru was going to consider.
After all, it’s no coincidence the 19-year-old wears ‘HENRY’ on the back of his shirt, and not ‘ONYEKURU’.
His idol is the one and only Thierry Henry, and if there’s one club he’d love to join more than any other, it’s the Gunners.
Last summer, Onyekuru was the subject of a profile by DH in Belgium, and he said: “I hope to find myself one day in a top club in Europe and to play for my national team. The shirt I dream of wearing is Arsenal’s because I’ve always had Thierry Henry as a role model since I was little.”
As things stand, Sky Sports are reporting that a fee of £6.8m has been agreed with KAS Eupen, but there are still a few things to work out.
Personal terms were said to still be the subject of negotiation, but we find it hard to believe Onyekuru would hold the club he so dearly wants to join to ransom.
OwnGoalNigeria, who appear to have been a bit ahead of the game reporting on this whole operation, have an article on Wednesday explaining that Arsenal have already set a date for a medical, which will take place after the player returns from international duty with Nigeria on the 10th of June.
Furthermore, they claim, relaying SoccerNigeria, that Arsenal have offered him £38k/week, with speculation that this would be a five-year deal.
While some of the details are still a bit hazy, it seems Arsenal are the frontrunners in this one, but what would they be getting?
Honestly? They’d be getting a very, very quick forward.
A left-winger by trade, Onyekuru, who turns 20 on the 5th of June, is primarily right-footed and has a tendency to cut inside, but his ability to find the back of the net from such positions meant that KAS Eupen, on occasion, used him in a more central role.
Scoring 24 goals in 41 appearances, the Nigeria international was key in helping his side avoid relegation, which is why they were so reluctant to let him go in January.
His versatility to play anywhere across the front three has made him a very valuable asset to his team, with manager Jordi Condom moving him around a fair bit, which rarely affected his performance as he seemed to be given a free role in attack regardless of his position on the team sheet.
Before Arsenal fans get too excited, however, there’s a lot Onyekuru needs to work on.
Facing Premier League full-backs and centre-backs is going to be a big change to him, and some of the things he could get away with against the likes of Lokeren and Oostende won’t be possible in England, especially the amount of time he’s allowed on the ball.
Also, a few of his goals this season came from defensive mistakes, which, quite frankly, are on a level you very rarely see in Premier League games.
And while we’re on the ‘bad news’ section, if you want to call it that, there’s also the problem of the work permit.
Arsenal know all about this, having had to deal with it when they bought Elneny from Basel.
At the time, we looked at it and wrote: “The hold up is likely to be over a work permit, with Elneny failing the automatic test in the new rules. Previously Elneny would have been fine, being a regular for a FIFA top 70 ranked country.
However, the new rules limit automatic qualification to the top 50 ranked countries by FIFA. It’s averaged over 2 years, with Egypt up to 57th this year from 60th last year.
Without an appeal, Elneny doesn’t get a work permit. The 23 year old and Arsenal will have to navigate through a new points based system which judges on transfer fee, wages paid, and the European success of the player’s club over the past year.
The following explanation is from the excellent Daniel Geey football law website and details the first appeals hurdle.
- The value of the transfer fee being paid for the player is in the top 25% of all transfers to Premier League clubs in the previous 2 windows – 3 points
- The value of the transfer fee being paid for the player is between the 50th and 75th% of all transfers to Premier League clubs in the previous 2 windows – 2 points
- The wages being paid to the player by the applicant club is in the top 25% of the top 30 earners at the club – 3 points
- The wages being paid to the player by the applicant club are between the 50th and 75th% of all the top 30 earners at the club – 2 points
- The player’s current club is in a Top League and the player has played in 30% or more of the available domestic league minutes – 1 point
- The player’s current club has played in the group stages or onwards of the Champions League, Europa League or the Copa Libertadores within the last 12 months and the player has played in 30% or more of the available domestic league minutes – 1 point”
Looking at that list, there are few criteria Onyekuru would meet, meaning it would have to go to a pleading appeal.
The player himself admitted to Sport/Foot last week that the work permit could be an issue, saying: “I want to be the first player from Aspire (his former club) to sign in a big club. My absolute dream is the English league. I know there could be issues because I’ll struggle to get the work permit, since I don’t have any caps with Nigeria. Yet…
“But if a club is really interested, they will find a solution. They’ll spend more money if they have to! I’m also getting offers from Germany, Russia, Spain and Scotland. I don’t want to rush.”
Still, if the Gunners do manage to work they way around it, he would be a very valuable asset coming off the bench if things aren’t going their way, bringing in the extra bit of pace to stretch defences, and causing a few headaches with his off the ball movement.
While Arsenal rarely play long ball football, being able to thump it over the top of a defence knowing Onyekuru can get on the end of it with his speed is always a good alternative to trying to pass your way through stubborn defences.
Far from the finished product, Onyekuru would be a good signing for Arsenal, one Arsène Wenger, fresh from his new two-year deal at the Emirates, can develop and shape into a proper striker if he so wishes.
A bit like that bloke he bought from Juventus on the 3rd of August 1999.
He ended up doing alright, didn’t he?
