Arsenal Hoping Kelechi Nwakali Can Buck The Trend

Arsenal have reportedly officially signed Nigerian U17 World Cup hero Kelechi Nwakali, but is he as surefire a signing as everyone makes him out to be?

When you compare your style to Yaya Toure, you put yourself up against the wall. At 17, Kelechi Nwakali has done that, along with bringing home a U17 World Cup for the Super Eagles of Nigeria, the club he captained to glory. If that doesn’t get every top club in football on your case, I don’t know what will.

Arsenal was quickest on the draw. The Sun is reporting that after months of saying it was a done deal, it finally is a done deal, as Arsenal have locked him into a five year deal.

On the surface, there are very few reasons to be against the signing. He clearly has talent, leadership and raw natural ability. He has a winner’s mentality and Bayern Munich and Barcelona were also keen on him. Plus, it’s not like he is going to drain Arsenal’s mass of funds.

But he may not be the surefire signing everyone expects.

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In fact, his exploits may make him a bit of a panic buy. Wenger has been loading up on young talents recently, most of them from obscure origins (Vlad Dragomir) or from France (Jeff Reine-Adelaide). To see a high-profile young signing come to Arsenal is actually a bit strange. Not to mention the negative stigma that comes with so much success at a young age.

These ‘surefire’ talents rarely pan out. There have been other youth World Cup stars, believe it or not. Philip Osondu, also from Nigeria, was a hot shot in the 1987 U16 World Cup in Canada. He was given the Golden Ball for best player in the tournament. But Osondu never panned out. He played in Belgium and never emerged in any higher competition.

Another one that may hit more close to home is James Will. The Scottish keeper was fantastic in the 1989 U16 World Cup, winning player of the tournament and only surrendering three goals the entire competition. He went on to sign for Arsenal before disappearing after zero appearances.

Perhaps the greatest example is Nii Lamptey. The Ghanaian lead his club to the U17 World Cup in 1991 and won the best player of the tournament as well. But his professional career was an enigma. He would go on to play for 11 club teams, never able to latch onto any bit of consistency.