Barnsley Sporting Director, Mladen Sormaz has said that the football talent of Kelechi Nwakali offers the club something different.
Sormaz made this statement after Barnsley confirmed the signing of Nwakali on Monday.
“Barnsley Football Club are delighted to confirm the signing of Nigerian International midfielder, Kelechi Nwakali from G.D Chaves for an undisclosed fee subject to visa and international clearance,” the club wrote.
The 26-year-old arrives at Oakwell on a three-year deal from the Portuguese side after making 32 appearances in the Primeira Liga last season.
Barnsley Sporting Director, Sormaz said: “There is no doubt that Kelechi is a really talented player who can offer Darrell something different.
“We knew that the player wanted to return to England and that gave us an opportunity to bring him to Oakwell and we believe his experience playing in some of Europe’s top leagues will benefit us over the coming years.
“He has had a shortened pre-season and we will ease him into first team action over the coming weeks.“
Nwakali started his career at Arsenal after impressing the Gunners at the 2015 Under-17 World Cup where he won the Golden Ball award as the best player in the tournament.
After various loan spells across Europe, Nwakali joined La Liga side, Huesca in 2019 and went on to play for Alcorcón and Ponferradina in Spain before joining Chaves of Portugal in 2023.
The skilful midfielder represented Nigeria at various youth levels before gaining his first full cap in 2022 at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).
He came off the bench for the Super Eagles in wins against Egypt and Sudan in the group stages before starting the final game against Guinea-Bissau with Nigeria winning 2-0.
