Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United are battling Premier League rivals Watford to bring former Arsenal youngster Kelechi Nwakali back to England this summer, as reported by The Athletic.
You could make one hell of a team out of the talented up-and-comers who have bid farewell to life at London Colney in recent years; Glen Kamara and Ismael Bennacer in midfield, Serge Gnabry and Yunus Musah providing the ammunition for a free-scoring Donyell Malen.
While it would be too soon to label Nwakali another ‘one that got away’ – the 23-year-old was playing in the second tier of Spanish football last season rather than lifting Ol’ Big Ears in the colours of Bayern Munich – Arsenal certainly knew that they were losing a potentially special talent when Nwakali walked out the door in 2019.
“They didn’t want me to leave but at the same time I was giving them reasons why I should leave Arsenal,” a man who captained Nigeria to U17 World Cup glory in 2015, winning the Golden Ball along the way, said recently.
“I went on loan three times. It’s better I go to a place where I can settle instead of going to a place where after one year I leave. It was difficult moving around.”
Is ex-Arsenal youngster Kelechi Nwakali returning to the Premier League?
Ironically enough, Nwakali’s globetrotting days are far from over yet.
He may be on the move yet again before the transfer window shuts, with the Athletic reporting that both Leeds and Watford have expressed their interest.
Nwakali has just one year left on his contract at SD Huesca and would welcome the chance to make his mark in England while proving a point to old employers Arsenal.
“He is a really quick, inventive striker with a killer finish,” said former Gunners teammate Kaylen Hinds of a man who has blossomed in a deeper, midfield role since arriving at the Emirates.
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