Villarreal and Nigeria star Samuel Chukwueze details how his move to Arsenal failed after his success at the 2015 U17 World Cup.
The 23-year-old winger was wanted after representing Nigeria at the U17 World Cup. Arsenal was among the clubs interested in his services.
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He now admits that if a deal had been struck, he may have joined Arsenal instead of Villarreal in 2017.
Speaking to El Periodico Mediterraneo, Chukwueze said:
“From the [2015 U17] World Cup I went to Arsenal to sign a contract, but it got complicated because they didn’t reach an agreement with my academy.”
“I went through Salzburg and Porto before being lucky enough to come to Villarreal. And I signed a pre-contract at the age of 17.“
“They told me that I had to return at the age of 18 before signing the final contract as a professional.
I said: ‘Okay, no problem’. I returned to Nigeria and started training with my academy again.”