Oghenekaro Etebo joins Getafe to get career back on track

Many had questions over Oghenekaro Etebo’s decision to move to Stoke City just before the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Stoke City had just been relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, so why was a young full Nigeria international joining them at that time? No one would dare say on his decision.

Now just after a year and a half in England, the 24-year-old midfielder has made a move to Spainish side Getafe albeit on loan.

This loan deal could be the beginning of the process to correct what many considered to be a wrong career move in 2018. Etebo’s stint at Stoke City wasn’t a disaster but it did nothing for his career and the circumstances in which he is leaving is evidence that he feels he wasted his years in the English Championship.

In defence of his move in 2018, Stoke City had the ambition of quickly returning to the Premier League and playing just a year in the Championship wouldn’t have sounded like a bad idea. The scenario of helping Stoke City back to the Premier League would have put him in a nice place in the club’s history and endeared him to fans while getting to play in the English top-flight.

But despite spending nearly £50 million on players in the summer transfer window, results and performances were poor just halfway gone into the season. It was clear that Stoke City were not returning to the Premier League.

Despite the club’s failings, Etebo still delivered and individually, the quality he brought the side was undisputed. At the end of the season-Stoke City finished 16th-he was voted Fans' Player of the Year and was narrowly beaten to the club’s Player of the Year by goalkeeper Jack Butland.