Kenneth Omeruo : A rare gem

Born on the 17th of October 1993, Kenneth Omeruo is a Nigerian defender who signed for Chelsea from Standard Liege in 2012, He was immediately sent on loan to Eredivisie club ADO Den Haag. The loan deal is for 18 months. After signing for Chelsea he was quoted saying:

“It’s a very huge step in my career and I will grab it with both hands, I will continue to work hard until I fulfill my dream to play for a massive club like Chelsea.”
Kenneth Omeruo is a classy defender who is technically sound and has already established himself in the Dutch league. He is very strong in the air and a good tackler with great fighting spirit.

He has represented Nigeria at U17 and U20 level. He made his senior team debut for Nigeria in 2012 against Cape Verde in a friendly game. He also played in Nigeria’s friendly game against Eredivisie club, Rotterdam as part of Nigeria’s build up to the 2013 AFCON. The coach of Rotterdam, Michel Vonk had this to say after the game:

“Omeruo is very good aerially and gives good cover to the keeper”.

His performance in the friendly games , his versatility to play as a central defender and right back earned him a place in the final 23 squad. After coming on as a substitute during their opening game against Burkina Faso, he played the full 90 minutes in the following five matches as Nigeria reached and won the final.

Playing regular first team football has significantly aided his development, due to his spectacular performance ADO Den Haag have expressed a desire to extend Omeruo’s loan deal from Chelsea beyond the end of the season.

“We will inform Chelsea that we want to continue with the loan deal,” Den Haag’s general director Cees Driebergen told AD/Haagsche Courant in a recent interview.

He was superb in the last AFCON tournament, playing with amazing composure and so much maturity. Against Ivory Coast in the quarter final, Omeruo displayed a 5 star performance. He held his ground against the star-studded Ivorian side that had the like of Solomon Kalou, Yaya Toure of Manchester City and Chelsea legend, Didier Drogba.

He man-marked Didier Drogba and shut him out throughout the game which Nigeria won 2-1 and Kenneth Omeruo was handed the Fair Play award after the game.

One special quality I personally admire about Omeruo is his ability to read the runs of  attacking players.This is a skill young defenders at his age often lack. Its usually developed and improved from experience and playing time at the highest level.   His tackles are timely, in fact he was not cautioned until the final game when he was booked in the 57th minute. I am of the Impression that he is one of the best teenage defenders in the world. Its not often we see defenders at his age play against the like of Didier Drogba without getting booked.  He has got that special something.

Chelsea has signed a world class defender in the making. In my opinion he is up there with the likes of Matija Nastasic of Manchester city and Raphaël Varane of Real Madrid.

I strongly believe Chelsea FC doesn’t need to sign a central defender in the nearest future. Chelsea also have Tomáš Kalas, another promising and versatile defender who is currently on loan at Vitesse FC. I believe  Kalas and Omeruo both will become world class defenders if they can continue to develop and improve their skills.

I would like to see Omeruo spend next season out on loan. I say this even though he his in my opinion good enough to fight for a place in the current Chelsea squad. Like every other upcoming youngster, Omeruo needs to play constantly to attain his full potential. You will agree with me that Romelu Lukaku’s development at West Brom has been spectacular, hence the importance of playing regularly is vital for Omeruo at the moment.