It seems that no matter what Henry Onyekuru does under Hein Vanhaezebrouck, the Everton loanee cannot escape criticism.
A couple of days ago, the Anderlecht manager, who took over from René Weiler mid-season, dressed down the Nigerian starlet publicly, telling him he needed to be more efficient with his dribbling, and that he wouldn’t be playing as a striker.
Now, a few days later, the Belgian head coach once again talked about the 20-year-old, and stood by his criticism, explaining that was the way he handled things.
Relayed by Het Nieuwsblad, he said: “I am a manager who remains critical when others are already satisfied. Henry still has room to progress and we have to help him take those steps.
“Fortunately, he is mentally strong and realises that he can still improve. He must become smarter in his link-up, and the sum of his actions must be positive.”
It seems Vanhaezebrouck sees the Everton starlet’s talent as a double-edged sword, because ‘if Henry has the ball, the whole team will join in because everyone expects him to create danger’.
This means that ‘if he loses the ball, he puts the team at risk’.
Only turning 20 in June, the Nigeria international certainly has time on his hands to rectify his mistakes, and Everton fans will be hoping a lot of them will be gone by the time Onyekuru returns to Goodison Park.
After all, that’s what loans are for, and, while he might come across as harsh at times, it seems the Anderlecht manager has the youngster’s best intentions at heart.
