The Nigerian player is the second youngest scorer in the Submarine’s history to surpass the 30-goal mark
Samu Chukwueze is in a sweet spot. At just 23 years of age and after his goal against Cartagena in the Copa del Rey Round of 32, the Nigerian striker has now scored 31 goals for Villarreal CF, making him the second youngest goalscorer in the history of the club to score more than 30 goals after Giuseppe Rossi.
Chukwueze had a great impact on the Submarine since his beginnings as a Yellows. After a brief spell in the B team, the No.11 made the jump to the first team in the 2018/2019 season in which he was already a decisive player: eight goals between LaLiga, the UEFA Europa League and the Copa del Rey attest to the key role played by the African in helping the Submarine to achieve their objectives that season.
This season, Samu Chukwueze is into his fifth year as a Villarreal CF player. In total, the winger has made 181 appearances as a first-team player and is just nine games away from breaking into the top 20 of the club’s players with the most appearances in the top flight.
A key player for Setién
Samu Chukwueze is a key player in Quique Setién’s plans. Since the arrival of the coach, the Nigerian has started nine of the 13 games that Setién has managed since his incorporation to the Villarreal CF bench.
As if that wasn’t enough, Chukwueze finished 2022 and started 2023 with a bang. The skilful winger has found the net in the Submarine’s last two games against Valencia in LaLiga and Cartagena in the Copa del Rey respectively.
Samu, who scored the heroic goal in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich that sent Villarreal through to the semi-finals, has already scored seven goals this season and is therefore close to surpassing his best goalscoring tally for Villarreal: eight goals in the 2018/2019 campaign, his first as a Villarreal player.
