Chidera Ejuke’s future at Sevilla looked uncertain for much of the summer after the Nigerian winger was linked with an exit, but his strong start to the new season has now given him another reason to stay and fight for a bigger role under Luis Garcia Plaza, Footynaija.com reports.
Ejuke has only one year left on his Sevilla contract and was widely expected to leave before the new La Liga campaign began. However, the proposed move failed to materialise, leaving the former CSKA Moscow winger in Spain as Sevilla began the season.
He has responded well to the situation. Ejuke came off the bench to score in Sevilla’s 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao last weekend, then produced another lively display against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.
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The Nigerian was introduced in the 55th minute and immediately caused problems for the Atletico defence. He finished with six successful dribbles, the most by any player in the game, while also winning eight of his 11 ground duels and creating one chance.
His display came despite starting on the bench again, with Garcia Plaza explaining after the match why he chose a different option from the start.
Garcia Plaza backs Ejuke after Atletico display
Garcia Plaza made it clear that Ejuke remains part of his plans at Sevilla, pointing to the amount of football the Nigerian has played since his arrival at the club.
“Yes, of course. Of course I see it for more. And I, since I’ve been here, I’ve used Chidera Ejuke a lot. I don’t know the numbers with other coaches,” the Sevilla coach said.
“When I arrived I had, if I remember correctly, when I put it on the first day against Real Sociedad at home, a huge amount of games without being a starter. With me he has played all three League matches. Last year he participated, I put him in the headline.”
Garcia Plaza also explained that Ejuke’s latest substitute appearance was a tactical decision rather than a sign that he had fallen out of favour.
“I mean, I like Chidera Ejuke and I can play in principle. What happens is that it is true that, I have explained, we had a game plan that changes us a day before. Then we believed that the one who best adapted to how we had prepared the game was Julio Díaz,” he added.
