Arsenal set to ship out Nwakali on loan

English Premier League side, Arsenal will ship out Nigeria U-20 skipper, Kelechi Nwakali overseas on loan, AfricanFootball.com has exclusively gathered.

Nwakali turned 18 last month and he will sign a five-year professional contract with the London Gunners after he would have led the Flying Eagles to qualify for the 2017 U-20 AFCON later this month.

“Nwakali is not in (Arsene) Wenger’s immediate plans and it will take some time before his application for a work permit is processed and so it is most likely he will be sent out on loan possibly to a club in Belgium,” a top source told AfricanFootball.com.

Nwakali was the MVP when Nigeria won a record fifth FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile in November 2015.

Nigeria’s U-17 team-mate, Samuel Chukwueze’s proposed move to join Nwakali at The Emirates has fallen through.

Meanwhile,  the Flying Eagles which defeated  Burundi 3-1 on aggregate in the previous round must negotiate their way past the north Africans to qualify for the competition billed for Zambia in 2017.

Meanwhile, the first leg of the U-20 AFCON qualifiers against Sudan will hold on Sunday and Nwakali was among the players who departed for Omdurman on Thursday for the cliff hanger.

Full list:

Goalkeepers: Akpan Udoh, Chiaha Chisom.

Defenders: Halilu Zakari, Tobechukwu Ike, Anas Mohammed, Ikwu Ejike, Douglas Uzama, Udochukwu Anumudu, Ebuka Okoroji.

Midfielders: Kelechi Nwakali, Orji Okonkwo, Mustapha Abdullahi, Gavi Thompson, Kingsley Micheal, Agor Chukwudi.