Onyekuru: Nigeria forward leaves Galatasaray after Monaco turn down loan extension

Henry Onyekuru has bid goodbye to Galatasaray following the expiry of his loan from Ligue 1 club Monaco.

The Nigerian forward returned to Turkey for his second loan stint with the Lions in January after struggling to cement regular playing time in his debut campaign in France.

Following his return to Fatih Terim's team, Onyekuru boosted Galatasaray's charge to defend the Super Lig crown with a contribution of an assist and a goal which sealed their 3-1 victory against archrivals Fenerbahce back in February.

He made 12 appearances across all competitions and his last outing was against league leaders Istanbul Basaksehir last Sunday where he featured for 90 minutes.

Before moving from Istanbul to Monaco to join Robert Moreno's side for their pre-season training, Onyekuru visited Galatasaray's training facilities to say his farewell to the coaching crew and his teammates on Saturday.

“Rental agreement ending. Henry Onyekuru said goodbye to our technical team and teammates. Have a nice trip,” the club tweeted.

Reports suggested Galatasaray made a move to extend the loan of the Super Eagles forward with five matches remaining after the coronavirus pandemic forced the extension of the 2019-20 Super Lig season until July 25 but both clubs were unable to reach an agreement.

The 23-year-old won the Super Lig title and the Turkish Cup with the Lions last season, and he expressed gratitude for the reception he got throughout his second stay in Istanbul.

“I can’t thank Galatasaray enough for the love during my second spell at the club. You are forever in my heart, until we meet again... Cimbom,” Onyekuru tweeted.

Galatasaray are fourth in the league table and they face second-placed Trabzonspor on Sunday in an encounter that could boost their chances of defending their league title.

Despite Onyekuru's absence, Ivory Coast's Jean-Michael Seri, Nigeria's Jesse Sekidika, DR Congo's Christian Luyindama, Morocco's Younes Belhanda, Gabon's Mario Lemina and Algeria's Sofiane Feghouli are options available for Terim to summon for the match.