Barnsley FC will hope to unlock Arsenal, U17 World Cup potential after eye-catching display | OneFootball

Kelechi Nwakali was voted the best player at the U17 World Cup almost ten years ago, can he finally realise his potential with the Reds?

Cesc Fàbregas, Toni Kroos, Phil Foden. The U17 World Cup golden ball award has been awarded to some of the game's biggest names.

However, one of the less recognisable recipients of this coveted individual award is Barnsley's recent midfield acquisition, Kelechi Nwakali.

In 2015, the Nigeria international captained his country to a record fifth-title in FIFA's flagship youth tournament.

Having failed to break through at Arsenal, middling spells at eight different clubs across the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal have seen the now 26-year-old plying his trade in League One.

Entering what would usually be a player's prime, can Barnsley unlock Nwakali's once-thought elite potential?

Nwakali was once thought better than Victor Osimhen

For one reason or another, those who excel at youth level representing African nations tend to fade into obscurity more often than their European or South American counterparts.

Having said this, the Nigeria U17 side that lifted the trophy in 2015 contained a duet of retrospective household names, Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen.

Having come through Villarreal's academy, right-sided winger Chukwueze played over 200 times for the Yellow Submarine, and is currently at AC Milan.

Victor Osimhen is a Serie A champion and golden boot winner. As of November, he is believed to be the sixth most valuable centre forward in world football, winning African player of the year in 2023.

That fact that Nwakali beat this pair to the best player award is exemplified further when you realise that Osimhen scored ten goals across the tournament, with at least one strike in each of their seven games, and still wasn't viewed as the best player.

This begs the question, just how good Nwakali must have been?

From central midfield, Kelechi Nwakali recorded three goals, three assists, not to mention relentless, metronomic control in the middle of the park.

This dominant box-to-box profile earned the youngster comparisons to Patrick Vieira, as he secured a move to Arsenal the following year.

Barnsley must unlock the talent

Nwakali failed to make a single appearance for the Gunners, being quickly loaned out to Dutch second-tier side MVV Maastricht, one of many underwhelming short-term tenures across Europe.

Barnsley fans will likely be unsure of what to conclude from their new midfielder's footballing CV.

Nwakali has spent the majority of the past five years towards the lower end of the Spanish second-tier, the Segunda División.

This implies proficiency at League One level, but as the English lower leagues tend to be stronger than their European counterparts, by no means is this level of football below him.

His full league debut for the Tykes was a promising one. Replacing an injured Max Watters in the eighth minute, the Nigerian won four tackles out of an attempted four, completing 56 out of 63 attempted passes.

These kinds of numbers are exactly what Darrell Clarke might have expected when bringing in the former Porto B man. It has taken a while for Nwakali to get going in Yorkshire. Barnsley fans should look on with great intrigue, as somewhere within their 26-year-old midfielder lies dormant an international-class footballer waiting to return.