Football
Exclusive: Meet the ‘Next Haaland’ as Europe’s Elite Clubs Track Austrian Wonderkid Adejenughure
Europe's top clubs are tracking 18-year-old Oghenetejiri Kenneth Adejenughure, dubbed the "next Erling Haaland". With an impressive goal-scoring record in the U17 European Championship, scouts from Red Devils, Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan are closely monitoring his progress in the Austrian second division. Adejenughure has drawn comparisons to Haaland and could follow a similar path to stardom.
Croatia v Austria - UEFA European Under-17 Championship 2023/24 Group B by Piaras Ó Mídheach - Sportsfile | Getty Images
A number of Europe’s biggest clubs are keeping a close eye on the wonderkid dubbed the “next Erling Haaland”.
Aged just 18, Oghenetejiri Kenneth Adejenughure has already been tipped for a huge future.
Impressed by his prolific scoring form in the U17 European Championship, where he scored four goals in as many games, Austria coach Ralf Rangnick invited the tall striker to a four-day training camp for young players in the summer.
Rangnick, who cut his two-year consultancy at Manchester United short halfway through, believes he will be a future star.
And scouts from the Red Devils, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan are following his progress closely.
Playing in the Austrian second division with Liefering, Salzburg’s reserve side, Adejenughure is gaining valuable experience of senior football as he plots his route to stardom.
After seeing how Haaland shot to stardom in recent years, a number of clubs are plotting to pounce at a bargain price if it means unearthing the next big thing.
BIG SHOES TO FILL
A tall, strong forward, Adejenughure has already been likened to Manchester City star Haaland.
The 24-year-old Norwegian ace has broken a number of records since joining the Premier League giants.
As well as back-to-back titles with Pep Guardiola’s side, Haaland broke the record for most goals in a Premier League season in his debut campaign when he netted 36 times and won his second successive golden boot last season with 27 strikes.
Like Adejunughure, who is of Nigerian descent, Haaland also started like in second team football and ironically moved from Molde to Red Bull Salzburg.
After a successful short stint at the club, where he netted 17 goals in 16 appearances, he moved to Dortmund for £18million finished the campaign with 44 goals in 40 games across the two clubs.
He was the Champions League top scorer in 2020-21 for the German club and helped them to the DFB-Pokal cup competition.
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