Kelechi Nwakali has revealed the potential career threatening circumstances that followed his eye-catching performance as a budding star, at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, where he won the tournament and golden ball award.

Nwakali shut to stardom after the tournament in Chile and his exploits earned him a move to English giants, Arsenal FC, under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger.

The former Golden Eaglet star had been in and out of the game owing to injuries and performances that do not measure up to the level of talent he had displayed as a youth.

At 25, currently in Portugal with Chaves, where he seems to be enjoying a new lease of life, he described the challenges that almost crippled his young career, and expressed hope returning to the National team.

“In life, everybody has their own pace or the level they go with things or the grace that goes with them. Some people, it happens like that for them and yeah, there is no slowing down,” the youngster went philosophical.

“Well, for me, I think after under-17, I went to Arsenal and you know how that went.

“After Iheanacho (Kelechi) won the best player and everything, there’s this privilege of special talent when you win a personal award in the youth level of competitions. So you have this preference of playing in England without obtaining a work permit or without playing for the senior national team. So then after that, they stopped that process.”

“They said everybody had to go through the same channel to get a right to play in England. So, you know signing up for Arsenal going on loan to Holland and Portugal, I think it wasn’t really the best time for me because it would have been better or it would have been more easier if at all I was able to play in England, even if it wasn’t the first team, at least playing for the under 23s you know what it means from under 17.

“If I was able to play for under 23 and maybe leaving Arsenal, I might have gotten a better team also, maybe a lower club, but still in England. But I wasn’t able to play in England and so then I made the decision to leave.”

After moving from England, Nwakali sought a new life with modest Spanish side, Huesca in the Segunda Division where he made a total of 29 appearances for the team, and helped the team secure promotion into the Primeira Division.

He also revealed what transpired between him and the club after his contract situation got controversial.

“I went to Spain because I needed to get a home. I needed a place to settle in, not everything is solved by going on loan. At the time I left Arsenal, I still had two years left on my contract, but I had to leave because I needed a place where I could call my home, and where I can focus, concentrate and build myself.”

“So, I left that place and then moved to Spain’s second division. That the year we got promoted, played in the first division in Spain, went down again to the second division, then went for the AFCON.

“I had an issue with my club over contract renewal and all. They wanted me to renew. I didn’t want it. I had better offers to leave and then they said no, that they wanted me to stay until the end of my contract.

“So that was another setback for me because if at all after that AFCON I made a move to a better team and all, I think it would have been much easier for me by this time. Not agreeing to the terms with the new contract, they offered me and everything also happened to be an issue between me and the club.”

“Nobody heard from me, on social media and all. As a player, I don’t think it’s normal to always come on social media when you have issues with clubs and all, because all these clubs, they know how to relate with each other. Definitely, if the news goes around they know how to put up those things like, that you’re undisciplined, which I never wanted. So that was why I just had to go low. I didn’t want to come out.”

“I had a lot of people request for interviews then but I turned them down. I just wanted to sort out the issue with them (Huesca) peacefully, and not make any noise about it. So that was what happened.

“Yeah, since the World Cup, things have not been rosy, but I see it as one of those things that can happen in one’s career or in life. But the only thing is, like I said earlier, now I’m having a good time here, good playing moments, and all I owe is just to keep working and hopefully by the end of season, I’ll be able to make a better move, maybe to a better club where people will also, you know, get to see you more, maybe watch your games.”

With the Super Eagles preparing for the AFCON in January 2024, Kelechi Nwakali would be looking to catch the eyes of the team selectors, and get a potential invitation back into the squad.