By Jon Essien
Samuel Chukwueze will hope to clinch his first silverware with Villareal having recovered from a muscle damage in time to face Manchester United in Gdansk, Poland for their Europa League final tonight.
There were initial fears that Chukwueze would miss the final after picking up an injury in the second leg of the semifinal clash against Arsenal. But his recovery seemed to have come at the right time after he was spotted at training last week.
The 22-year-old played no part in his side’s final matchday squad as Villarreal suffered a 2-1 home loss to Real Madrid last week.
However, reports already suggests that the fleet-footed forward could make the bench for tonight’s encounter.
The Nigeria international has been key to their run to the final, providing four assists and scoring one goal in 11 games. And will hope to continue in similar fashion if given the opportunity to proof his mettle.
Villarreal boss Unai Emery will seek to continue his dominance at the competition as he eyes a fourth Europa League title since 2014.
Apparently, the Spaniard is no stranger when it comes to winning the Europa League after landing it three years in a row (2014, 2015, 2016) at Sevilla.
The 49-year-old has only failed at this stage with Arsenal in 2019 when they were hammered 4-1 by Chelsea.
A win in this game will see Villarreal secure a place in the UEFA Champions League next season, while Chukwueze would have his name etched into history books as one of Nigeria’s exports to lift the trophy – with the likes of Taribo West, Chidi Odiah, Mikel Obi and Victor Moses already recipients of the winners medal with their respective clubs.
