Arsenal Hold The Right Of First Refusal On Former Nigeria U17 Captain

Published: November 02, 2020

English Premier League club Arsenal are believed to be keeping tabs on SD Huesca central midfielder Kelechi Nwakali.

Touted as one of the brightest young talents in Nigeria after captaining the Golden Eaglets to win the 2015 U17 World Cup, Nwakali sealed a celebrated move to the Gunners in 2016 but things didn't work out for him at the Emirates Stadium because he couldn't sort out his work permit.

Though the Diamond Academy product trained with Arsenal's main squad and U23 team during pre-season, he was shipped out on loan to MVV Maastricht, VVV Venlo and Porto before he departed the north London club in the summer of 2019.

Allnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively report that Arsenal were forced to part company with Nwakali due to paperwork issues and believe he is one for the future, having inserted a right of first refusal clause into the deal taking him to Huesca.

To put it in layman's terms, the La Liga new boys must first inform Arsenal if another club table a bid for the Nigeria U23 international before the expiration of his contract.

The Gunners can re-sign Nwakali by matching the offer or give Huesca the green light to sell him to the interested club.

In the new season, the 22-year-old has already proved he can play at a high level, having featured against Europa League teams Villarreal and Real Sociedad, and most recently against record Champions League winners Real Madrid.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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