Arsenal and Porto agree a season long loan spell for former Eaglets skipper Kelechi Nwakali

ENGLISH Premier league giants Arsenal have opened talks with Porto about the Portuguese side taking former Golden Eaglets captain Kelechi Nwakali on loan over the next season as part of a long term plan to get him playing for the Gunners.

Nwakali, 20, captained Nigeria when the Golden Eaglets won the U-17 World Cup in 2015 and was subsequently signed by Arsenal, who then loaned him out. After spending the last two seasons in Holland, Nwakali is keen to come to England but is unable to play in the Premiership due to work permit issues.

To make matters worse for Nwakali, he missed out on Nigeria's World Cup squad due to his lack of playing time in Holland. Now, however, negotiations are at an advanced stage to get him seeing action and Porto are hoping to conclude a season-long loan deal before they begin their pre-season preparations.

Nwakali's  handlers claim that the midfielder has already agreed personal terms with the 28-time Primeira Liga champions and he is now awaiting approval from the Gunners hierarchy before flying to Portugal in the next few days. Arsenal say they cannot process a work permit for Nwakali because he was omitted from Nigeria's 23-man World Cup roster, so another loan move is definitely on the cards.

Since Nwakali turned professional, he has played his best football at MVV Maastricht, scoring 7 goals in 52 appearances in two different loan spells with the Dutch club. He is contracted to Arsenal until June 30, 2021.