French Ligue 1 side, AS Monaco have agreed to pay €20 Million to Belgian club, Royale Antwerp to sign 17-year-old Nigerian-born forward, George Ilenikhena.
George Ilenikhena has attracted a series of interest from top clubs across Europe due to his pace, physicality, movement on and off the ball, and his goalscoring abilities.
Earlier in the season, Ilenikhena was heavily linked to Manchester United who were reportedly ready to pay Royale Antwerp’s asking price. However, AS Monaco was able to hijack the move as the Lagos-born footballer intends to follow in the footsteps of Kylian Mbappe.
Recall that Mbappe started his professional football career at AS Monaco before he made a historic move to Paris Saint Germain in 2017, where he shone brightly until he left for Real Madrid this summer.
George Ilenikhena, who was born in the city of Lagos before he migrated with his family at 3 years old, started his football journey at Amiens and moved to Royale Antwerp in the summer of 2023 for €6 million.
In his debut season, Ilenikhena wowed most fans of the club as he scored 14 goals in 50 games in all competitions. This left AS Monaco with no choice but to go all out for the youngster.
Transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano wrote: “AS Monaco agree deal to sign 2006-born talent George Ilenikhena, here we go!”
“Deal in place with Royal Antwerp for a fee around €20m, medical tests booked — all set to be completed this week.”
Note that George Ilenikhena who has played for France youth teams is eligible to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria and France national team.
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