By Daily Sports Nigeria on December 27, 2023

Ahead of the January transfer window, Spanish La Liga club Villarreal are interested in signing Super Eagles forward Samuel Chukwueze on loan a few months after he left the club, but UEFA regulations stand in their way, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nigeria international joined Serie A giants AC Milan from Villarreal last summer following protracted talks between both clubs.

The negotiation process took a long time as Villarreal wanted €35m, but they eventually accepted €20m plus another €8m in add-ons from the Italian giants.

Chukwueze had an impressive 2022/23 season with Villarreal scoring 13 goals and registering 11 assists and was expected to take the Italian league by storm.

However, despite showing glimpses of brilliance, the 24-year-old had struggled to replicate the same form that earned him the move to San Siro and has only scored two goals in 17 appearances.

Since Chukwueze’s departure from the Estadi de la Ceràmica, the Yellow Submarine have been struggling Spanish top flight and currently find themselves in 13th position on the log.

Manager, Marcelino, is keen on strengthening the squad in January and while Chukwueze has emerged as his primary target, a UEFA regulation prevents the Nigerian from returning to the Spanish club.

“Villarreal needs to strengthen its team in this winter market, an option that currently focuses on signing a central defender and an unbalanced right winger. The club is working on market possibilities, with both positions being priorities for Marcelino. In the case of the right winger, one of the possibilities could have been the return of the Nigerian Samu Chukwueze, since he knows the house perfectly, adding that it would be an immediate performance reinforcement,” as.com wrote.

“But that possibility has been ruled out from the first moment since the player cannot return on loan to the team he left before his contract expired. It should be remembered that Villarreal transferred Chukwueze this summer to Milan for around €28m, leaving the player with one more year on his contract. For this reason, UEFA considers that the winger has two federative licenses this season: that of Milan and that of Villarreal.”

Source Punch Ng

Posted December 27, 2023

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