Chelsea have left the door open for struggling Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo to leave Stamford Bridge this summer after being banished from the Blues’ first team.
The defender who had been on loan to ADO Den Haag, Middlesbrough, Kasimpasa and Alanyaspor had spoken of his frustration at not getting first team football.
“It might happen that I get to play for Chelsea but it is no longer my immediate priority,” the 23-year-old, who represented Nigeria at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, was quoted by BBC Sport as saying.
“You have no idea how frustrating it is to always go out on loan.”
Omeruo, who has been omitted from Chelsea manager Antonio Conte’s squad scheduled to travel to China on Monday for the side’s pre-season tour of Asia, suffered the indignity of playing with youngsters in the youth team on Saturday, on the same day the first team were hammering Fulham 8-2 in friendly affair.
The defender, whose place is currently under threat at the Eagles, captained a Chelsea team with an average age of 19 that battled to a 1-1 draw with Crawley Town.
Meanwhile, reports on Sunday claimed that Carl Ikeme’s club Wolves were close to signing Omeruo.
According to HITC, the Championship club, who are in dire need of defensive reinforcements, see the Nigerian as a player they can depend on as they aim to return to the English top flight in the new season.