It’s not too unfair to describe Henry Onyekuru’s transfer situation over the past 6 months as a mess. Wanting to go to Celtic during the winter transfer window, Onyekuru went AWOL when denied his move, and then had to return to Eupen with his tail between his legs.
Whilst Eupen have appointed a single agent to sell the player, that hasn’t made things any less murkier, and Monday is a good example of that.
Het Belang van Limburg and Het Nieuwsblad report that West Ham are trying to force forward their attempts to sign Onyekuru. It’s even stated the Hammers would be pushing for a medical, in England, sooner rather than later.
After claims of a West Ham offer in the region of €8m, another Belgian newspaper, HLN, says that Eupen would be looking to sell to a more prestigious club, which gives Anderlecht renewed hope.
Eh? Yes, if the claims are correct, Eupen are said to see Anderlecht, average attendance 18,000, as a more prestigious club, which could help them get more money in the long run. If Onyekuru impresses with Anderlecht in European competition, the idea is he’d get a bigger fee and Eupen could get a higher amount from a sell-on percentage.
If Onyekuru impressed with West Ham in the Premier League, it would almost certainly do more for his value than impressing in any competition for Anderlecht.
This is a club which has just sold Youri Tielemans, impressing for Anderlecht for years and considered one of the most talented players in his age range around Europe, wanted by some of the world’s biggest clubs, for €25m. If the youngster had been impressing to a similar level for West Ham, you could probably add €10m, €20m… ah, double it.
It doesn’t make sense. The only way Onyekuru’s future value could be better served by an Anderlecht move is if it’s not thought he’d get into West Ham’s team, which would kill the prestige slant.
