A new talent is beginning to emerge at Bayer Leverkusen. He has several in his reserve team, but there is one who is already beginning to stand out, who has become Xabi Alonso’s right eye and who made his debut in the Champions League against Salzburg. This is Francis Onyeka, a German with Nigerian origins from the generation of 2007 (that of Cubarsí, Lamine Yamal or Mastantuono, among others) who has just won the Fritz Walter Under 17 Gold Medal, the most prestigious individual award in youth football. German and whose winners include Toni Kroos, Antonio Rüdiger, Ter Stegen, Mario Götze, Leon Goretzka and Florian Wirtz.
Onyeka was already called up for the duel on the third day of the Champions League that Leverkusen played against Brest (1-1), although he did not have any minutes. He repeated his presence against Liverpool, with the same outcome. The final one went to the third. Last season he was also present in several squads and this time he made his debut with the first team, in the second round of the German Cup, in the 3-0 victory against SV Elversberg, becoming the eighth youngest player in the history of the club.
Francis Onyeka greets Florian Wirtz on the day of his debutGetty Images
“Francis has earned this opportunity,” said Alonso after the meeting. “We see that he has evolved a lot in the under 19 team. It is good for him to have this feeling now. You will remember it. “It was only a few minutes, but they were important for him.”
He is a fixture in the lower categories of the German team and with a relevant role. In the qualifying phase for the U17 European Championship he scored five goals in six games. This season he played the first two games of the Youth League, scoring in both games that his team won, against Feyenoord and Milan.
His football talent is indisputable. To this we must add his great willingness to work for the team and his first-class mentality.
Simon Rolfes, sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen
The club knows of his potential, as Xabi Alonso already recognized in the press conference prior to the match against Brest: “The club has a lot of hopes for him.” They want to protect him so that he does not burn out soon. Simon Rolfes, sports director , knows what they have in their ranks: “His football talent is indisputable. Added to this is his great willingness to work for the team and his first-class mentality. We are delighted to see his extraordinary development. He wants to go one step further.” .
Versatile, with dribbling and good pressure
Onyeka is a very versatile left-footed attacking midfielder, as he can play on the wing or even as a forward, which shows that he is a valuable tactical piece. Where it works best is hitching. His style is comparable to transitional midfielders like Jude Bellingham in his early stages, who combine dribbling and defensive work, although he still needs to develop his creativity to reach that level. However, this season they are mainly using it upstairs.
Onyeka Location by DRIBLAB Positions
In any case, he is not a static player. He moves around the field a lot. He likes to participate in the game and the fact that he now acts as a forward has not changed his commitment mentality. The proof is your heat map. His radius of action is more typical of what he basically is: a playmaker or interior who, in his case, moves more through the right half-space, possibly to be able to direct his left-footed strike inward.
OnyekaDRIBLAB Heatmap
He is a creative footballer, who always looks for the goal through his passes. His high rate of key passes in open play is a good sign that he has excellent vision of the game. His few turnovers show that he makes safe decisions and has solid ball control. But, above all, he looks for the goal through his drives, with which he takes advantage to advance around rivals, which suggests that he is a player focused more on quick transitions and support tasks in attack.
OnyekaDRIBLAB Performance
You have to stop at his dribbling. His completion rate defines him as a skilled player who can overcome opponents, considering that many of his attempts seem to be in high-pressure areas, which is key to breaking lines in offensive situations. It draws attention where he tries them because players with this gift tend to play closer to the extremes. This is not the case of Onyeka, who uses his resource to penetrate the central lane towards the area.
Location of OnyekaDRIBLAB dribbles
Without the ball it also offers positive things. In fact, possibly one of the reasons why he has switched to playing as a striker is his good physical condition and his ability to apply pressure. His physical and technical profile gives him great potential in intense pressure systems or quick transitions.
Onyeka stands out for his high volume of quick recoveries in the opposite field and for his interceptions. Also for his aggressive actions and tackles, many of them successful, which makes him a fairly skilled player for his team to recover the ball quickly and who does not shy away from the duel to be the one to carry it out. Furthermore, with less than one foul per 90 minutes (0.96), he seems to be a player who knows how to calculate his interventions well.
OnyekaDRIBLAB Defensive Performance
Interceptions (1.03) and successful tackles (1.76) suggest that he could refine his reading of the game and the precision in his interventions. This is also related to quick recoveries (0.72), where an improvement in reaction speed after a loss would be key.
A ‘worker’ from the beginning
Onyeka joined ‘Die Werkself’ (‘The Working Team’, as Bayer is known) in 2014, at the age of seven. He signed a long-term contract that does not expire until 2027 and there are, of course, clubs interested in him, including several from the Premier such as Chelsea or Tottenham.
Francis is a ‘son’ of the club, he has been with us since the under 8 category, he is closely linked to society and has Bayer in his heart
Simon Rolfes, sporting director of Bayer Leverkusen
However, it won’t be easy to get him out of Leverkusen anytime soon. The policy of the aspirin club, with fewer financial possibilities than the greats in Europe, leads it to bet on attracting and then training and retaining its best young talents. A strategic vision focused on youth. “That’s why it’s important to train good players in our own youth academy or sign them at 16, like Florian Wirtz,” argues Rolfes.
Furthermore, in Onyeka’s case there is a special bond. “Francis is a ‘son’ of the club, he has been with us since the under 8 category, he is closely linked to society and has Bayer in his heart. We are firmly convinced that he will continue his successful career with us,” says the Leverkusen sporting director.
The German pearl is beginning to take her first steps in professional football. And it looks like he’s going to be part of the elite in not too long.
