Transfer Rumour: Arsenal and Chelsea join the race to sign Henry Onyekuru

Arsenal and Chelsea are among the several clubs that are keeping an eye on highly rated Nigerian starlet Henry Onyekuru, as per reports.

The Daily Mail have reported that Arsenal and Chelsea have joined the queue of clubs who have run the rule over highly rated teenage Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru. The likes of Sevilla, Lille, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach also tailing the 19-year-old starlet.

Henry Onyekuru is a 19-year-old striker plying his trade for Jupiler Pro League side KAS Eupen in Belgium, ever since moving to the club’s Aspire Academy from Senegal on a free transfer in 2011.

The academy is the club’s Qatari developmental base, which was established with the aim to recruit some of the most promising youngsters from Africa. Joining the academy as a 14-year-old, he made rapid strides with the youth division before making his senior debut last season.

This season, Onyekuru has been on fire for the Belgian club, and has shown signs of prolific promise in front of goal. Numbers do tell the tale, with the striker scoring 12 goals in 26 games in all competitions this season – impressive numbers for a 19-year-old.

And it’s not just his numbers that have managed to make an impression on scouts around Europe. His underlying abilities and skills have also attracted interest, with Onyekuru possessing an electric burst of pace, while also having a deadly eye for goal and the versatility to play across all the positions in attack.

Here’s exactly why Onyekuru is attracting interest from across Europe:

Needless to say, he is a player who has attracted a lot of interest from clubs across Europe. Onyekuru was the subject of a £1 million bid from Celtic in the January transfer window, which was later rejected by Eupen.

The teenager subsequently failed to turn up for training in order to force Eupen’s hand, before the move scuppered. Onyekuru has since returned to action after getting reassurances that he can leave the club in the summer.

In the meantime, the 19-year-old has continued to attract interest from several clubs, with Liverpool being one of the first big outfits to register an interest in him in January. The Reds did not make a move for Onyekuru in the winter transfer window and have since been joined by more clubs in the attacker’s pursuit.

Chelsea and Arsenal are among those who have shown the most concrete of interests in him. The two London rivals are on the lookout for attacking reinforcements in the summer, and Onyekuru, with his undoubted potential makes himself a viable long-term solution for these.

However, the two clubs are likely to be joined by more suitors in pursuit of Onyekuru, with the likes of Sevilla, Lille, Borussia Dortmund and Borussia Monchengladbach already having the teenager scouted. Eupen are expected to quote a fee of £6 million for Onyekuru and it remains to be seen where he heads off to in the summer.