The pacey forward, who can also play as a winger, has scored his first ever hat-trick in his professional career.
Galatasaray forward Henry Onyekuru is proving his worth for Galatasaray who are in the midst of their long and arduous search for a reliable forward this season. The 21-year-old Nigerian international brought the Lions a crushing victory against Ankaragucu on Saturday in the Super Lig and recorded the first hat-trick of his career.
The 6-0 victory that marked the beginning of the second half of the league for Galatasaray is the latest addition to Onyekuru’s score sheet. The player scored 9 goals this season in Turkey’s top flight, equal to one fourth of the Lions’ total goals in the season. This is an impressive record for Onyekuru who joined on loan from Everton in the beginning of the season.
His performance indicates that he can handle the key task of offense for Galatasaray in the absence of fellow teammate Garry Rodrigues, who parted ways with the Lions earlier this month.
Galatasaray also gave Onyekuru his first opportunity to play in the Champions League though he failed to impress in 5 Champions League matches. His hat trick against Ankaragucu brings his streak of scores to 5 in the last two league games for Galatasaray.
The Nigerian hotshot, who made his first move to Europe in 2015 when he joined Belgium’s KAS Eupen, scored 25 goals in 41 matches in the 2016-17 season for the Belgian outfit. He then joined Premier League side Everton in 2017 before leaving for Anderlecht on loan. His performances for Anderlecht were less impressive with only 10 goals in 28 games. He joined Galatasaray in the summer of 2018 on loan for €1.2 million.
“We started out the second half with a good win and I hope we will continue like this. I am trying to do my best wherever I am assigned to on the pitch,” Onyekuru said in a post-match interview.
Galatasaray’s assistant manager Hasan Sas coached the team in the absence of Fatih Terim, who is serving out a ban imposed by the Turkish Football Federation. Sas also praised Onyekuru after the win against Ankaragucu.
“We had insisted on bringing him in during the last transfer window though he was a somewhat obscure player for Turkish spectators. We knew he would progress. He did what he is supposed to do today. He is a young player and will be better. I think he would display a far better performance once he gets stronger,” the coach said.