Super Eagles legend Jay Jay Okocha has weighed in on Victor Boniface’s uncertain future at Bayer Leverkusen, emphasising that the striker will need to prove himself if he chooses to remain at the club, Bold Sports reports.
Boniface has been the subject of transfer speculation in recent weeks following managerial changes at Bayer Leverkusen. Xabi Alonso’s departure to Real Madrid led the Bundesliga side to appoint former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as their new manager, raising questions about Boniface’s role in the squad with reports suggesting that Ten Hag favours Czech striker Patrik Schick to lead the line next season.
In addition to Ten Hag’s reported preference, Bayer Leverkusen are believed to be open to parting ways with Boniface after a drop in his performance. The Nigerian forward registered just 12 goal contributions across all competitions last season—a significant decline from his impressive 30 goal involvements during his debut campaign.
Speaking exclusively to Pulse Sports Nigeria, Okocha came to Boniface’s defence, attributing the striker’s recent struggles to injury setbacks.
More Read
“First of all I would say he has been a good servant. He has done so well for us Nigerians in the Bundesliga. Of course his second season was not as successful as his first but we cannot forget the injury that he had. We all know that it takes time to come back from a serious injury but we are glad to have him back,” he said.
Addressing Boniface’s future, Okocha stressed that the decision ultimately lies with the player: “Concerning his future I think that would be his decision. If he stays at Bayer Leverkusen, he has to fight for his place, he has to impress the new manager, he has to show that he deserves his place in the team. If he decides to go to a new league, we hope that he would be at a better club.”
Okocha also reflected on the recently concluded Bundesliga season, applauding Bayern Munich’s title win under Vincent Kompany, despite the stiff competition.
“I think the season was exciting, Bayern won the league but they didn’t really have it their way, they fought for it, and of course it was well deserved. We must give kudos to Vincent Kompany for winning the title in his first season because it’s not easy to go to a new place and get the players to play the way you want.”
He further acknowledged the scale of Kompany’s achievement, given the challenges of building a title-winning team so quickly: “Normally it takes time to build a team, but we know the power that Bayern possesses. I think it also helped him to achieve his goal for the season.”
© Bold Media Innovations & Creative Hub Limited. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
