Former Nigeria-U20 coach John Obuh tips Kenneth Omeruo to have the same impact at Chelsea as compatriot Victor Moses
Speaking to Own Goal Nigeria, the 56-year-old insisted that all Omeruo needed was the same kind of chance that Victor Moses got from Antonio Conte at the start of the season, to show what he can do and make his mark in this Chelsea side.
Kenneth Omeruo is currently seeing out his 5th loan spell since joining Chelsea in 2012. “All he needs is a chance just like Victor Moses, we all saw how he was sent on several loans but finally got his chance under Antonio Conte, and he is making his mark,” Obuh said.
Obuh was the 23-year-old’s coach during his time with the Nigeria-U17 team, wherein he also helped them to the final in the 2009 FIFA U17 World Cup, before they were beaten 0-1 by Switzerland, so needless to say, he has followed the defender’s growth over a period time.
He went on to praise Omeruo’s versatility, saying: “He is very good in playing several roles, due to his training as a full back before he finally settled for a central defence role, you also have to know that he is very comfortable as a defensive midfielder.”
Much like compatriot Victor Moses, who went on 3 different loan spells before breaking into Conte’s first team, Omeruo has been on sent on loan to a number of different clubs over the course of the past 5 years to gain experience, but is yet to be given a break at Chelsea.
After joining Chelsea in 2012, Omeruo has been sent out on loan to the Eredivisie with ADO Den Haag, the Championship with Middlesbrough and Turkish Super Lig with Kasımpaşa and Alanyaspor. Over the course of this time, he has made over a 110 top-flight appearances.
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He has also been a regular in the Nigerian national team, representing them at the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2014 World Cup. With Chelsea’s defence slowly ageing, youthful reinforcements will be needed and Omeruo may prove to be a bargain with his experience of playing in 3 different league and 5 different clubs.
If he can establish himself in the first team squad in the near future and be part of Conte’s 3-man defence alongside the likes of Andreas Christensen and Kurt Zouma, it would indeed prove that there is still hope for Chelsea’s much maligned youth policy.
