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Frank Onyeka became the latest Nigerian to move to the Premier League on Tuesday when his move to Brentford was confirmed by the top flight new boys.
The Bees reached the promised land for the first time via the playoffs—and a 2-0 victory over Swansea City—and may have snared a valuable asset as they look to avoid relegation back to the Championship.
Onyeka arrives in London following three years of professional football in Denmark with heavyweights FC Midtjylland, having previously come through the ranks of the domestic giants.
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He originally moved to Europe in January 2016, via a partnership between Midtjylland and Nigerian side FC Ebedei, and has enjoyed success in the Superliga.
At the time of his departure, he had won two Danish top flight titles during his time at the club, with Midtjylland sandwiching a Danish Cup triumph in 2019 between their league successes in 2018 and 2020.
Onyeka has, however, been made to wait for his formal unveiling at Brentford, with the club only this week getting his work permit issued in order for him to be registered.
A five-year deal represents a real show of commitment by Brentford, as they aim to pin the 23-year-old down for some of the best years of his career.
He’s also a full Nigeria international, having made his debut late last year, and Onyeka’s promotion to one of the world’s biggest leagues should well help his standing with the Super Eagles.
Seye Omidiora has gone in-depth on the midfielder’s arrival in a recent episode of The Hotseat, where he describes some of the attributes—and mainly defensive qualities—that Onyeka will bring to the Bees.
Certainly, he’ll have his work cut out as Brentford prepare for what may well be a relegation-threatened campaign, although Onyeka’s experience in the Champions League should stand him in good stead.
According to Opta, only one other player in the UCL last season averaged more combined tackles and interceptions than Onyeka, who registered—on average—six in each game he played in Europe’s premier club competition.
Expect him to be doing a lot of tackling and getting firmly stuck in when the Bees pit themselves against the Prem’s big boys next term.
“I am looking forward to getting Frank in the building. We think he is a strong addition to the squad, and we are looking forward to working with him. He is a very dynamic player,” Brentford coach Thomas Frank told the club’s official website.
“Frank plays as an eight in our system, he is very good at getting from box to box and will be valuable to us when we don’t have the ball,” he added. “He has come from the Danish league and was one of the best midfield players in that league; we think he has the potential to develop further.
“All the coaches here are looking forward to working with Frank and pushing him to a higher level.”
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