Barnsley have confirmed that they will keep Kelechi Nwakali for the 2026-27 League One season in a decision that few saw coming given challenging twelve months the Super Eagles midfielder has just endured at Oakwell, Footynaija.com reports.
Nwakali, 27, joined Barnsley in the summer of 2024 on a three-year deal, arriving with genuine momentum after a consistent spell at Chaves in Portugal’s top flight. His first season showed enough promise, with 26 appearances and contributions in both halves of the pitch, but the second campaign collapsed almost before it began.
Head coach Conor Hourihane froze him out over reported disciplinary issues, and Nwakali spent the bulk of the season training with the under-21 side, invisible to first-team football and growing increasingly frustrated with his situation.
Related Post
His agent told Footy-Africa at the time that Nwakali remained committed to his profession and was open to all options, including running down his contract if necessary. A summer exit looked like the most sensible outcome for everyone involved.
Back from the cold, and now staying
The twist came in the final weeks of the season. The League One club released their retained list, and the statement revealed that the Super Eagles midfielder is among those retained ahead of the 2026-2027 season.
He came off the bench in the 72nd minute of a 1-0 defeat to Stevenage, his first senior appearance of the campaign, and showed enough despite his lack of match sharpness to suggest the quality was still there.
Barnsley have now decided to build on that by keeping him around for next season, a call that gives Nwakali the platform to rebuild what has become a stop-start career.
A player who won the Golden Ball at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, who impressed enough for Arsenal to sign him, who competed in La Liga and represented the Super Eagles at AFCON, has never quite fulfilled the promise that made the football world sit up and take notice eleven years ago.
A full pre-season with Barnsley, under whoever takes charge next, gives him the clearest runway he has had in years to change that narrative.
