Exclusive: Nigerian Talent Dubbed The New Sadio Mane Joins Gent On Three And A Half Year Deal

Published: January 03, 2017

Allnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively report that KAA Gent have beaten CSKA Moscow, Racing Genk, and host of European clubs to secure signature of one of Nigeria’s finest young attacking talents Samuel Kalu.

Belgium coach of the year Hein Vanhaezebrouck showed he has an eye for fresh talents when he recruited then little known Moses Simon from Trencin in January 2015 and he eventually played a major role in winning the title for Gent some few months later.

He has struck again. The Gent coach gave the go ahead for the immediate recruitment of Kalu after monitoring the player on several occasions.

CSKA Moscow had already agreed a concrete deal with Trencin but long serving Gent director Michel Louwagie acted quickly and used his connections to pull off a major coup in convincing the player to join the Belgium club instead.

Kalu who was rated as the best talent in Slovakia in August 2016 had representatives from elite European clubs flocking to Slovakia to scout him, including Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Rivals Racing Genk were also heavily in the race to sign the young attacker to reinforce the team’s attack following a possible departure of star player Leon Bailey but they missed out in the last minute.

Kalu is a naturally gifted winger with incredible pace and he is renowned for his long distance dribbles and ability to effortlessly ghost past players. He has the same style of play as Liverpool star Mane.

The young star joined Trencin in February 2016 and immediately showed his class. He was ranked as the best talent in Slovakia and made a big impression in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds against Legia Warsaw and Rapid Vienna.

He is a product of the famed GBS Academy in Jos which has produced top talents like Ahmed Musa and Moses Simon.

Samuel Kalu has penned a three-and-a-half year contract that will keep him at KAA Gent until the summer of 2020.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : astrencin.sk