Kelechi Nwakali

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Kelechi Nwakali is a Nigerian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Barnsley in League One. He was born on 5 June 1998 in Owerri, Nigeria, and began his career at Diamond Football Academy. His big break came at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he captained Nigeria to the title and won the tournament’s Golden Ball as the best player.

Career path
- Arsenal signed him after the U-17 World Cup. He spent several seasons on loan abroad:
- MVV Maastricht (2016–2017): 29 games, 2 goals
- VVV-Venlo (2017–2018): 9 games, 1 goal (scored on his Eredivisie debut)
- MVV Maastricht (2018): 16 games, 4 goals
- Porto B (2018–2019): 16 games, 0 goals
- Huesca (Spain) (2019–2022): 29 games, 0 goals. He also spent a loan spell at Alcorcón (2021): 18 games, 4 goals. He made his La Liga debut in September 2020 against Villarreal.
- In 2022, his contract with Huesca ended early after a contentious period, during which he publicly voiced his concerns about treatment by the club.
- Ponferradina (2022–2023): 33 games, 1 goal
- Chaves (Portugal) (2023–2024): 32 games, 1 goal
- Barnsley (England) (2024–): joined on 12 August 2024 on a three-year deal. By December 2024 he had played 6 games and scored 1 goal.

International career
- Nigeria U17: 10 caps, 4 goals; captained the team to the 2015 world title and won the Golden Ball.
- Nigeria U23: 3 caps, 1 goal
- Nigeria senior team: 4 caps (as of August 2023). He was part of the squad called up for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Notes
- He had an early visa-related delay in 2019 while moving to Porto.
- He was in the Nigeria U17 provisional squad for the 2013 World Cup but led the 2015 team as captain.