Henry Onyekuru: Third ‘Missionary’ Journey to Galatasaray

If news emanating from respected Greece tabloid-Sportcell is anything to go by, Super Eagles forward, Henry Onyekuru would be returning to Galatasaray for his third stint as the Turkish giants are looking to secure his services on loan this summer. If the deal works out, it would be Onyekuru’s third stint at the club, returning after he left Istanbul last January

Super Eagles forward Henry Onyekuru is set to join Galatasaray on a loan deal from Greek Champions Olympiakos this summer, after he failed to live up to expectations last season, but he would look to return to his best as a return to familiar terrain is in the offing. 

Onyekuru left Monaco for Olympiakos in a €4.5 million transfer last summer, but it turned out to be a wrong move for the 24-year-old as despite winning the league, he struggled to make an impact for the Legends.

The former Everton man struggled to get game time last season, averaging just 26 minutes on 14 league appearances. Onyekuru was also off-colour, as he had just one goal and one assist in 27 appearances across all competitions last season.

With Onyekuru’s performance, Olympiakos are willing to let him go this summer. The 24-year-old has already been linked with a return to the Turkish Super Lig.

According to Sportcell, Turkish giants Galatasaray are looking to secure his services on loan this summer.

If the deal works out, it would be Onyekuru’s third stint at the club, returning after he left Istanbul last January.

Onyekuru has a good history with Galatasaray, claiming two trophies with the club in 2019. He made 71 appearances for the former Turkish champions, notching 22 goals and 12 assists.

An exciting player who can hurt opponents in a variety of ways with his explosive, game-changing set of attributes, he’s certainly a nightmare for defenders to come up against.

Blessed with scintillating pace, acceleration and agility, these characteristics ensure he’s such a threat with and without the ball. Firstly, when embarking on his runs, he does so in a thoughtful fashion, as he times, angles and directs his run smartly to get the edge on his adversaries. So quick and aware when a teammate is in a position to pinpoint him, he gets on his bike swiftly to give himself every chance to latch onto through balls first.

The way he uses little hesitation moves, double movements, zig-zags, wicked out-to-in diagonal runs, pins markers and exploits the blindside of his marker adds to his menace.

In addition, when bursting into the box, the way he attacks the six-yard box, knows when to go to the near or far post and has the presence of mind to hold his runs as the defence collapses is a bonus.

Meanwhile, when it comes to his work with the ball at his feet, Onyekuru poses a very unpredictable and elusive proposition. On top of his aforementioned athleticism, his mazy dribbling ensures he can breeze by his man with his sheer pace, cut infield in an instant or beat his man with feints, shoulder drops, stepovers or searing changes of pace and direction. Moreover, the fact he’s so dangerous on the ball often attracts multiple markers, which has the key byproduct of freeing up space for teammates and destabilising his foes’ shape.

His close control when dribbling at speed notably places doubt in defenders minds, for if they step in he can quickly shift the ball to outfox them or draw a foul, thus making him an even more challenging adversary.

It must be said, however, that he can overdo it sometimes on the dribble, which means he gets cornered or fails to see a teammate in a better position. But all in all, any negatives are outweighed by the big positives attached to his confident and eye-catching work here.

While it’s not really his game to create chances or orchestrate passing moves, there’s been some signs of his aptitude here, as he can combine nicely in around the box, calmly recycle possession and play the odd splitting through ball if the option is there. Probably the most effective tool in this regard is how he plays some slick one-twos which help unlock deep sitting defences while allowing him to receive the return pass in a goal facing posture so he can continue his momentum.

Onyekuru’s finishing complements his intriguing game nicely, for this ever-improving area of his armoury allows him to reward all his good work. Instinctive and with a keen eye for goal, the man who finished sixth in the Turkish Super League scoring charts despite playing predominantly as a winger, can crucially score in a variety of ways.

Onyekuru began his football career with the Aspire Academy in 2010, and graduated in 2015 joining their partner club, KAS Eupen and helped the team get promotion to the Belgium First Division A in his debut season.

After a successful season in the Belgium first division, Onyekuru finished as one of the top scorers in the league, attracting the attention of various big teams in Europe. He finished the 2016/2017 season as joint top-scorer with 22 goals, but the trophy was handed to his rival as he scored more away goals than Onyekuru.

He made his senior debut for Nigeria in a 3-0 friendly win over Togo last year’s July.

Onyekuru won the Greek Super League title with Olympiakos after the Legends secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory away at PAOK.

In fact, since Onyekuru arrived in Piraeus, he has recorded only one goal and one assist in 27 appearances.

However, Onyekuru has cause to smile, as he is now a Greek Champion. Olympiakos secured a record 47th Super League title after their 2-1 victory at PAOK. And although he was not dressed for the game, he would still bask in the fact he now has a Greek title in his cabinet.