There’s been another update regarding Henry Onyekuru and his strike after his club, KAS Eupen, refused Celtic’s €1m+ offer in January.
The 19-year-old decided to go AWOL when he found out the Belgian side had stood in his way of a transfer to Celtic Park, only to see a replacement come in on loan and no transfer materialise on deadline day.
Reported on Thursday as having made contact with the club and ready to hold a meeting with the board about his behaviour, the player, who will undoubtedly maintain a desire to move to Brendan Rodgers’ side, has been excused for his behaviour, according to L’Avenir.
The Belgium media outlet explain the player had ‘apologised’ to the squad and the staff, and the general understanding is that the player has not received any kind of ‘ban’ for his actions.
In fact, L’Avenir have published a statement released by Eupen regarding the Celtic target’s behaviour, which we translated below:
“Henry Onyekuru took part in Friday morning’s first-team training session. Before the session, the young Nigerian apologised to the staff and the team for his absence. The team discussed the subject internally and decided to accept Henry Onyekuru’s apology. Following this positive development, he will be a part of the squad for Saturday evening’s crucial game against Waasland-Beveren. All other details regarding this incident will be discussed and sorted out internally.”
The last sentence of that statement seems to suggest the player could still be fined for his behaviour, but, as we expected on Thursday, KAS Eupen cannot really afford letting their star rot in the reserves for six months if they hope to sell him for a profit in the summer.
Celtic will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on his development over the coming months. Rodgers will retain his interest in the player but the coming months will be key in deciding whether Celtic place a further bid.
