Super Eagles star Oghenekaro Etebo gets Premier League opportunity with Watford move

Many in Nigerian football was shocked at Oghenekaro Etebo’s move to Stoke City in 2018, just before the FIFA World Cup in Russia. 

Etebo was a full Nigeria international who had shone in a six-month stint at Las Palmas in the La Liga.

And just ahead of the FIFA World Cup, where his stock could rise with fine performances, the midfielder’s Stoke City move-a relegated Premier League team handed him the short end of the stick, at least to many. 

Etebo career has not gone according to plan since that move. A robust midfielder with an eye for goal, he does possess the talent, but he has failed to be consistently good. 

At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, he was arguably Nigeria’s best player in totality and in his first season with Stoke City, he delivered value for the Championship side. At some point, it did look like Etebo was playing at another level above every one of his teammates and was duly voted Stoke City’s 2018/2019 Player of the Season. 

The following season was a disaster, he was constantly injured and was once dropped from the squad after a fallout with the manager. 

He left in the middle of the season to Getafe in 2020 before joining Galatasaray for an entire season on loan. 

Now, three years after that first move to England, Etebo has gotten his chance at the topflight with Watford. 

The Hornets have signed the Nigerian to a two-year loan deal with an option to buy. 

He will join his compatriots William Troost-Ekong, Isaac Success, Emmanuel Dennis and Tom Dele-Bashiru.