NFF working hard to get Kelechi Nwakali back to Portugal

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Apr 23, 2019. 10:00

Nigerian youth international Kelechi Nwakali will hopefully be able to return to his Portuguese club soon, according to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

The 20-year-old midfielder, who is on loan at Porto from Arsenal, has been stranded in Nigeria for a month after playing for the country’s U-23 team in a 2020 Olympic Games qualifier.

According to the BBC, officials have confirmed that Nwakali was in Portugal on a single-entry visa and now needs a renewal to return after he played on 25 March. However, the process is taking longer than they hoped.

"The federation has been working hard to get his visa sorted as quickly as possible, but it's taken longer than expected," NFF's director of communications Ademola Olajire told BBC Sport.

"We hope it will come out after the Easter break to enable Nwakali return to Portugal."

Nwakali was one of the stars of Nigeria’s 2015 U-17 World Cup winning team and he was signed by Arsenal the following year.

He has been on loan in the Netherlands and joined Porto’s B side earlier this season, making 16 appearances in the second tier of Portuguese football.