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By Ebenezer Bajela.
Nigeria international Samuel Chukwueze has denied knowledge of interest from Real Madrid following speculations linking the forward to the Spanish giants, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Chukwueze enjoyed his best season yet with Villarreal last season scoring 13 goals and assisting 11 across 50 matches, the highlight of which was a brace and an assist in a 3-2 win over Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Madrid have been the side most closely linked with Chukwueze, with Diario AS claiming that Milan are also looking at the Nigerian winger after missing out on Brahim Diaz.
The 24-year-old has a year left on his current deal with the Yellow Submarines and there is no surprise that rumours about his future are becoming ever more frequent.
Recently, Villarreal manager Quique Setien admitted that the Super Eagles forward could leave this summer and a figure of around €40m has been quoted for the player.
However, Chukwueze himself has said that he doubts the veracity of those reports.
“People are always going to talk. I only think about Villarreal. I don’t read what they put on social media. That doesn’t matter. What matters is the moment,” Chukwueze told Panenka.
“What if it’s a lie? What if it’s not real? I don’t know. For now, I don’t think it’s true. The only thing that is real is Villarreal.”
Among players in Europe’s top five leagues, only Vinicius Junior, Lionel Messi, Jeremy Doku and Lee Kang-In completed more take-ons than the Nigerian, and midfield maestro Dani Parejo was the sole player in Villarreal’s squad to create more chances than Chukwueze.
Villarreal will hope to keep one of their most prized assets and may offer an improved deal to ward off interests from other clubs.