The AC Milan midfielder, while everyone was focused on the 2022 FIFA World Cup, became a hero for the Italian giants. score a winning goal in their first friendly before the restart of the Serie A season.
Here is everything you need to know about this 17-year-old.
player profile
Full name: Victor Ehuwa Eletu
Years: 17 (born April 1, 2005)
Hailing from the Prince Kazeem Eletu Academy in Lagos, Nigeria, Eletu is currently ranked among the best teenage midfielders not only in Italy, but also in Europe.
The 17-year-old, in 2018, received a scholarship to pursue his dream of playing professional soccer at the AC Milan soccer school and has since risen through the ranks, reaching the point of playing for the senior team under Stefano Pioli.
In July, the midfielder, after having participated in the first team’s pre-season, was named captain of the AC Milan Under-19 squad for the 2022/23 season.
He had previously played for Milan’s senior teams in the UEFA Youth League, the Italian Primavera, the Coppa Italia Primavera, the Campionato Nazionale and the Viareggio Cup.
He continued to celebrate by scoring the first team’s winning goal in a 3–2 mid-season friendly over Serie D side Lumazzane.
Eletu, who will play for the 19-time Scudetto winners until 2025, is expected to be recruited by Pioli for the Coppa Italia games as he continues his development with the youth team.
What is your style?
The 17-year-old is a defensive midfielder/deep playmaker and at other times plays as a box-to-box midfielder.
His strengths include long balls, dribbling in tight spaces, vision, pace, stamina and physicality in 1v1 duels. Eletu also has a strong left foot that he often uses to make deep passes.
With a bright future ahead of him, Eletu’s trajectory could see him match the achievements of the likes of John Mikel Obi, Sunday Oliseh and Mutiu Adepoju, or better yet, surpass them.
