Frank Onyeka has opened up on his decision to join Sky Bet Championship club Coventry City, reports Completesports.com.
Onyeka linked up with the Sky Blues on loan on deadline day earlier this month.
Birmingham City and Sheffield United were also reportedly interested in the Nigeria international.
The 28-year-old however opted for a move to Coventry City.
Read Also:Onyeka Ready For Coventry City Debut — Lampard
Onyeka On Lampard’s Influence
“My agent told me about it [the interest] in early January, but I was just focusing on AFCON, so we didn’t speak much about it,” he told Coventry Live.
“And then, I think two weeks before the deadline, I had a call with Frank Lampard, and that’s when everything started.
“I spoke to him and could see that the club is going in the right direction, the club is going up, and it was something I wanted. Also, for family reasons, I want to stay close to them, and a lot of challenges like this.
“So that was the reason I chose Coventry over other clubs.”
Partnership With Grimes
Onyeka further said a prospective partnership with captain Matt Grimes also influenced his decision.
“We are different kinds of players,” he explained. “We bring different things to the team. He has qualities, I have my own qualities, and I think we can complement each other,” added the defensive midfielder.
By Adeboye Amosu
1 Comment
It was sometime in the late 1990s and I was in a Bus Stop in Oshodi, waiting for a disheveled molue to take me to Obalende CMS, when, from a cassette selling emporium (Gen Zs no go know cassette o!), I heard this tune by Plantation Boys: “If Life”. Part of the lyrics went: “A living dog is better than a dead lion.”
Thinking about Onyeka’s move to Coventry the other day just brought this track into my mind. And I was, ah! It is true o!
Why waste away, dead on the bench of the Premier League Lion whilst you can thrive and be alive, week in week out, on the pitch of the Championship Dog?
Needless to say I am thrilled that Onyeka moved to the English Championship. Sometimes in life, you have to take one step back to make 2 leaps forward.
Onyeka is far to valuable to be rotting away on any bench. He is a key cog of the Super Eagles who needs that sort of lubrication that regular playing time bestows.
In the Afcon, well, I valued his hard work immensely but I was upset that his inclusion on the team rubbed us of the opportunity to see what Fisayo Dele-Bashiru could have produced in a tournament environment if he (Fisayo) was afforded the sort of minutes that Chelle granted Onyeka.
But, hey, Onyeka played his part, quietly professional, quietly effective though not entirely exceptional.
“I spoke to Coach Frank Lampard and could see that the Coventry is going in the right direction, the club is going up,” said Frank as to why he ditched the Premier League for Coventry.
Onyeka’s career, for me, is going in the right direction. Should he play regularly and the club gains promotion, it would all have been worth it. If not, perhaps another club in another Premier League will come calling for his services.
Either way, Onyeka will not lose. He is way too hard working to be overlooked by serious clubs.