Henry Onyekuru has said he doesn’t want to be a bench player at his next club.

• Onyekuru has interest from several clubs but values playing time over money
• Lack of guaranteed playing time could be reason for Arsenal u-turn
• Onyekuru denies speaking with Alex Iwobi about Arsenal

The Nigerian forward looks guaranteed to leave KAS Eupen this summer, but his destination is far from certain. He was reportedly on the verge of joining Arsenal, but recent reports from Sky Sports claim West Ham are now favourites to sign him.

Speaking to ESPN, Onyekuru made it clear that wherever he goes, he wants to be playing regularly. “The first and most important thing for a player is to get playing time,” he said.

“I’m still young and I still have a long career to pursue but now I need to play.”

“It’s not just about going to a big club and sitting on the bench. It’s not good for me, or being loaned to a club where I won’t play or where I will struggle to play.”

“The money can come later but for now, I just want to play to improve, not just to play for a big club.”

A lack of guaranteed first-team football could be the reason why the reports of a move to Arsenal have cooled. With the players Arsenal at looking at, coupled with their existing forwards Olivier Giroud and Danny Welbeck, the 19-year-old wouldn’t get many games at the Emirates.

Onyekuru also denied that he had spoken with Nigeria teammate Alex Iwobi about the club.

“I saw that in the news and I was surprised. I didn’t talk to Iwobi about anything.”