Why Everton, Anderlecht Fans Should Be Excited About Nigeria's Henry

Henry Onyekuru has been impressive for his Anderlecht side so far and he might prove to be a thorn in the flesh as the Parisians come to town.

Everton had not started off their campaign the best possible way they would have cherished but if the form of Henry Onyekuru is anything to go by now, then there is good news aplenty for the Toffees faithfuls to be excited about.

After their Nigerian capture had finalised his move from Eupen back in June, the sub-plot that surrounded his arrival was that of him been guaranteed reasonable game time at the Merseyside club, and soon enough, the fears were made evident.

He was, however, farmed out on loan to continue his development with the Belgian giants and he had wasted little time in taking to his new surroundings as a duck would to the waters — his latest class act last weekend to put Mechelen to the sword succinctly depicted that.

That one tallied his strikes to a simply impressive six and all garnered in just nine games.

In aptness,those numbers are pleasing; anomaly statistics for a 20-year-old who is still learning his trade and it is little wonder why PSG should particularly be wary of him.

Presumably, he would get a chance to start against the French giants on Wednesday evening and with his side going into that game in dire need of a win, the onus would thoroughly fall on Onyekuru to deliver a top-drawer performance and further bolster his rapidly burgeoning reputation.

But then, it is such weight of expectation which might yet undo the talented attacker,after all,the star-studded French side would be no easy nut to crack.

This, then might go down as one of the toughest group matches they would play but it is on these adverse caveats that Onyekuru and his side would thrive.

On the back of his impressive exploits in the Belgian topflight, the Nigerian last weekend, had echoed his sentiments on the hope of an early Everton return — one borne out of sheer hunger and desire to showcase his impeccable quality at the grandest of stages in domestic football that is the English Premier League.

A sterling outing this evening might just do the trick and further swing the odds in his avour but Onyekuru and his team mates would certainly have their hands filled in measuring up with the quality opposition they would come up against.

However, there is no doubting the problems the Nigerian can cause should PSG prove any defensive naivety.

For all his talents,Onyekuru undoubtedly boasts an overwhelming acceleration,can race past his markers without batting an eye lid and is unerringly decisive when shooting at goal just as he showed with his predatory finishes last Friday.

So,there is so much more to admire about the youngster and such games like this one would be beneficial, yet unforgiving — beneficial in the sense that it would thrust him straight into the limelight and a brilliant showing would more than help further his cause.

Then unforgiving it would be, if in any way,he contrived to put up anything such as a woeful display.

While it may pass on a harsh judgement in the face of a rude awakening given the quality of opposition, it is
precisely the sort of games his talent calls for even as Neymar and Co. dictate the pace of a game which promises to be a thrilling affair.

Emmanuel Chinaza

Photo Credit : rsca.be