Nwakali relishes long-awaited Barnsley debut

Nigeria midfielder Kelechi Nwakali is pleased with his maiden outing with new club Barnsley FC following his arrival at the Championship side in August, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The 26-year-old, who parted ways with Chaves earlier this year, played from start to finish as Barnsley succumbed 2-0 to Huddersfield Town in an EFL Trophy tie at

John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on October 8, and reflected on the game on Saturday on Instagram, posting a series of action pictures and simply stating, “Starting off.”

In a recent interview with the Yorkshire Post, the former Arsenal player underscored his intention to make the most of his second chance in England at the second time of asking.

He said, “It has been my dream to come back to England, so when the opportunity came again, it was the right time to do it.

“Of course, I had different options, such as going back to Spain, but I wanted to come back to England.

“It’s not unfinished business, but just to prove my worth again, and football is about moving around.”

Reflecting on his long-awaited debut in Tuesday’s EFL Trophy loss at Huddersfield Town that witnessed a forgettable display from the off-form Reds, the former Huesca player who joined Barnsley on a three-year contract said, “Every player understands that when you move into a new team, you have to adapt and wait for the right moment to get into the squad.

“It’s been frustrating because everyone wants to play, but at the same time, you have to keep waiting for the opportunity to come.

“Tuesday was good for me moving forward. It was a game with good intensity, and there’s enough time in the training sessions to prepare and get better to get into the league team.

“The most important thing is to help the team with my quality.”

Nwakali was tipped to be a star in the making when he linked up with Arsenal after impressing at the 2015 Under-17 World Cup, where he was named the best player in the tournament.