Manuel Onwu – Odisha FC’s style suits me better

Odisha FC succumbed to a 3-1 defeat to ATK on Saturday in what was their third straight defeat of the 2019-20 Indian Super League (ISL) season.

Josep Gombau chose to rope in Manuel Onwu from Bengaluru FC on loan until the end of the season after striker Aridane Santana suffered an injury which ruled him out for the rest of the campaign.

Onwu didn’t have the best of times at Bengaluru FC where he failed to score even once despite 371 minutes of football. Odisha’s decision to sign the former Lorca striker was hard to digest given his struggling form in the league.

However, Onwu has done well to prove his detractors wrong with three goals in his first two outings for Odisha FC.

“I think I am getting more chances here. The type of football is different. Here I had a lot of chances. I scored three goals but that doesn’t matter because we didn’t win the game.

“Yes, the style is suiting me. This type of football is better for me because we have a lot of crosses, a lot of chases. We have the ball too many times and so I think it is better for me and the strikers,” said Onwu.

The former Osasuna forward suffered an injury which saw him miss out several games for Bengaluru FC.

“I started the pre-season with an injury and after that when I started playing in just the second game, I had another injury. I was out for seven weeks without playing and so that was my disappointment in Bengaluru. Now I am trying to play well, to score goals, to help my teammates,” he explained.

Onwu heaped praise on the standard of football at the ISL and backed the Indian players to improve with more experience.

“I think this is a good league. It is improving and it is good for Indian players because now it is at a very good level. So it is good for everybody,” signed off Onwu.