Kelechi Nwakali
Kelechi Nwakali (born 5 June 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club AD Alcorcón, on loan from SD Huesca.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kelechi Nwakali | ||
| Date of birth | 5 June 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Owerri, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team |
Alcorcón (on loan from Huesca) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Diamond Football Academy | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2016–2019 | Arsenal | 0 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | → MVV Maastricht (loan) | 29 | (2) |
| 2017 | → VVV-Venlo (loan) | 9 | (1) |
| 2018 | → MVV Maastricht (loan) | 16 | (4) |
| 2018–2019 | → Porto B (loan) | 16 | (0) |
| 2019– | Huesca | 10 | (0) |
| 2021– | → Alcorcón (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2015 | Nigeria U17 | 7 | (3) |
| 2016– | Nigeria U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2018– | Nigeria | 1 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 November 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 July 2018 | |||
Club career
Arsenal
Nwakali started his career at the Diamond Football Academy and after his performances at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, in which he won the Golden Ball Award,[1] he signed with English Premier League side Arsenal.[2]
MVV Maastricht (loan)
On 16 September 2016 it was announced that Nwakali had signed for Eerste Divisie side MVV Maastricht on loan for the season.[3] He then made his professional debut for the side the same day against Jong Ajax. He came on as a 92nd-minute substitute for Thomas Verheijdt as MVV won 1–0.[4]
VVV-Venlo (loan)
On 29 August 2017, Nwakali joined Dutch side VVV-Venlo on loan for the first 6 months of the 2017–18 Eredivisie season.[5] On 10 September 2017 Nwakali scored on his Eredivisie debut against FC Groningen, scoring a stoppage time equaliser in a 1-1 draw. After the initial 6-month loan deal expired, Nwakali elected to leave Venlo and return to MVV Maastricht for the second half of the season.[5]
Return to MVV Maastricht (loan)
On 24 January 2018, Nwakali returned to Maastricht on loan for the second half of the 2017-2018 Eerste Divisie season, having played just 380 minutes of Eredivisie football with Venlo.[6]
Porto B (loan)
Nwakali signed on loan for FC Porto on 18 July 2018, and was assigned to Porto B ahead of the 2018-19 LigaPro season.
In March 2019 he was stuck in Nigeria due to issues with his visa.[7]
Huesca
On 2 September 2019, Nwakali joined Spanish Segunda División side SD Huesca on a three-year deal.[8] After leaving the club he thanked Arsenal for his time with them, despite not making a first-team appearance.[9]
Nwakali made his La Liga debut on 13 September 2020, in a 1–1 away draw against Villarreal CF. On 31 January of the following year, he was loaned to AD Alcorcón in the second division, for the remainder of the season.[10]
International career
Nwakali was named in the provisional squad for the Nigeria U17 side before the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup but did not make the final squad.[1] However, coming into the 2015 U-17 World Cup he was named captain as he led his country to the title, winning the Golden Ball Award along the way.[1]
Career statistics
- As of match played 20 July 2020 [11]
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Arsenal | 2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| MVV Maastricht (loan) | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 34 | 3 |
| VVV Venlo (loan) | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 1 |
| MVV Maastricht (loan) | 2017–18 | Eerste Divisie | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 18 | 4 |
| Porto B (loan) | 2018–19 | LigaPro | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| Huesca | 2019–20 | Segunda División | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 |
| Career total | 75 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 84 | 8 | ||
- Appearances in the Eerste Divisie promotion play-offs
References
- "Osimhen and Nigeria the big winners". FIFA. 9 November 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "Kelechi Nwakali completes Arsenal move with five-year deal". ESPN FC. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "Arsenal's Kelechi Nwakali joins MVV Maastricht on loan for season". ESPN FC. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- "MVV 1-0 Jong Ajax". Soccerway.
- Einchcomb, Jamie (27 January 2018). "Nwakali not recalled but rejected VVV Venlo loan extension".
- editor (9 August 2019). "Taiwo Awoniyi: Future at Anfield in Doubt?". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 24 May 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- Okeleji, Oluwashina (22 April 2019). "Nigeria Football Federation helping Kelechi Nwakali sort visa issue". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
- "Kelechi Nwakali, talento joven y versatilidad" [Kelechi Nwakali, young talent and versatility] (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- "Kelechi Nwakali: Nigerian thanks Arsenal despite no appearances". 3 September 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "Kelechi Nwakali, cedido a la AD Alcorcón" [Kelechi Nwakali, loaned to AD Alcorcón] (in Spanish). SD Huesca. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- Kelechi Nwakali at Soccerway. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
External links
- Kelechi Nwakali at BDFutbol