During the summer transfer window which concluded some days back, defending Scottish Premiership champions Celtic have vehemently enhanced the quality of their arsenal. The Celts lured Olivier Ntcham, Kundai Benyu, Odsonne Edouard, Jonny Hayes and Patrick Roberts to the Celtic Park and looking at the names they have bagged, it goes without saying that Brendan Rodgers has been shrewd in beefing up his squad considerably.
However, one of the players who was linked heavily to Celtic was Henry Onyekuru. The Nigerian international had created quite a buzz last season as he smashed 24 goals in 41 games for KAS Eupen in Belgian football. His stocks rose rapidly after he dazzled for the Pandas, and the Glasgow giants surfaced as one of his admirers. But the striker chose to make a £7million switch to Everton instead of Celtic, which disappointed a lot of Celtic faithful.
Recently, the 20-year-old admitted that he knew that the Hoops were interested to make him sign on the dotted line, apart from Arsenal and West Ham United, but he preferred a move to the Goodison Park. Ronald Koeman has sent him out on loan to the Belgian outfit Anderlecht to brush himself properly and coincidentally, the Purple and White and Rodgers’ outfit have been slotted in the same group of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
For the Bhoys, Onyekuru was an asset they should have tried to rope into their ranks owing to the calibre he possesses. Having emerged through the youth ranks of Aspire Academy, the Nigerian has carved his name in the good books of the football fraternity after his stupendous performances ever since he moved to Eupen. Intriguingly, the starlet can operate anywhere across the front line has raw pace in his boots to offer.
He is a terrific attacker who dribbles past opposition’s defenders with relative ease, is clinical and times his runs perfectly in the final third. Onyekuru is a player who thrives on confidence and his technical understanding of the game as well as his composure is beyond most of his age. Besides, he has been a reliable goal getter so far in his career and no wonder why he was stationed on the radar of the former Liverpool boss.
Celtic have of course signed Edouard to meet their striking needs and also have Leigh Griffiths and Moussa Dembele in their books, Onyekuru could have been a fine addition to attacking setup owing to his versatility. Instead of making him play for them, Celtic would have to face him in the group stages of the elite club competition of Europe as Anderlecht prepare to outclass the Scottish side.
