Former Golden Eagletsโ FIFA U-17ย World Cup- winning captain Kelechi Nwakaliย hasย took his tradeย toย the United Kingdom after signingย forย Englishย third-tierย side, Barnsley FC fromย Portuguese side, from G.D Chaves for an undisclosed fee subject to visa and international clearance.
ย Theย club announcedย thatย theย 26-year-oldย at Oakwell on a three-year deal from the Portuguese side after making 32 appearances in the Primeira Liga last season.
Kelechi said, โI am very happy to sign for Barnsley Football Club. I spoke to Mladen and the Head Coach Darrell earlier in the summer and I knew that this was an exciting opportunity for me, I know I can bring a lot to the team. I am looking forward to being back in England and making Oakwell my home for the next three years,โ Nwakali told the clubโs website.
Kelechi started his career at Arsenal after impressing the Gunners at the 2015 U17 World Cup where he won the Golden Ball award as the best player in the tournament.
After various loan spells across Europe, Nwakali joined La Liga side Huesca in 2019 and went on to play for Alcorcรณn and Ponferradina in Spain before joining Chaves in 2023.
The skilful midfield player represented Nigeria at various youth levels before gaining his first full cap in 2022 at the African Cup of Nations. Kelechi came off the bench for The Super Eagles in wins against Egypt and Sudan in the group stages before starting the final game against Guinea-Bissau with Nigerian side running out 2-0 winners.
Barnsleyโs Sporting Director Mladen Sormaz saidย the club cashedย on Nwakaliโs desireย to return to England, addingย his experience acrossย playing in Europe would bolster the fortune of the team as well.
He said: โThere is no doubt that Kelechi is a really talented player who can offer Darrell something different. We knew that the player wanted to return to England and that gave us an opportunity to bring him to Oakwell and we believe his experience playing in some of Europeโs top leagues will benefit us over the coming years. He has had a shortened pre-season and weโll ease him into first team action over the coming weeks. โ