Samuel Chukwueze is heading back to AC Milan after Fulham chose not to activate their purchase option, but the Super Eagles winger’s return to the San Siro is expected to be brief, with Milan ready to sell and five Premier League clubs already sizing up a move.
Fulham decided against triggering the option to sign Samuel Chukwueze permanently, despite the Nigerian producing arguably the best football of his time in Europe during the second half of the 2025/26 season. The clause, believed to be worth between €24 million and €30 million depending on the report, was judged too steep for what Fulham’s decision-makers felt was an inconsistent overall campaign. Chukwueze finishes the loan spell with three goals and four assists from 24 appearances in all competitions, logging 1,117 minutes across the season.
His return to Milan resolves nothing for either party. The Rossoneri have made clear they want to sell the 27 year old permanently as part of a wider squad overhaul that is targeting close to €100 million in player sales this summer. Chukwueze joined Milan from Villarreal in the summer of 2023 for €21.4 million, and a sale now would represent a marginal profit on that investment at best. The club spent €442 million on transfers across the last three seasons while generating only €304 million in return, a deficit that is forcing hard decisions up and down the squad list. Chukwueze is one of them.
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Everton: The Most Natural Fit
Everton are the club whose profile matches Chukwueze’s qualities most directly. They have tracked the Nigerian winger over multiple windows and are still searching for a wide attacker capable of beating defenders in one-on-one situations. Chukwueze’s ability to receive in wide areas, accelerate past opponents, and create danger with his dribbling is exactly the kind of unpredictability that Everton’s attack has lacked. At 27, he brings Premier League experience from his Fulham loan and would arrive ready to contribute immediately rather than needing time to adjust. For a club managing tight finances, the possibility of negotiating a discount from Milan’s asking price would also be attractive.
Nottingham Forest: Built for His Strengths
Few Premier League clubs exploit width and transition more effectively than Nottingham Forest. Their counter attacking approach suits Chukwueze’s profile almost perfectly. He does not need extended possession spells to influence games. Given space to run at defenders on the break, he is at his most dangerous, and Forest under Vitor Pereira have shown a consistent ability to create exactly those conditions. A move to the City Ground would also reunite him with a club that has recently worked wonders for Nigerian careers, with Taiwo Awoniyi finding his best form late in the season under Pereira’s management. Chukwueze with regular game time and a system designed around transition could be a compelling package.
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Crystal Palace: Freedom to Express
Crystal Palace have developed a reputation for giving technically gifted attackers the licence to be creative. When confident, Chukwueze can unsettle any defender in the league he draws fouls, creates chances from wide positions, and carries the ball with intent. Palace’s attacking philosophy would give him the freedom to operate instinctively, which is where he has always been most effective. The key question is whether Palace can afford the fee Milan are seeking, but the structure of a deal with add-ons could make it workable.
Brentford and Bournemouth: Smart Options With Upside
Both Brentford and Bournemouth represent alternative paths that could deliver the consistency Chukwueze has been missing since his peak years at Villarreal. Brentford’s model of recruiting undervalued players and rebuilding them through coaching has worked repeatedly, and the Nigerian’s underlying technical quality and dribbling numbers would appeal to their data-driven approach. Bournemouth, meanwhile, have evolved into one of the league’s most progressive attacking teams, playing fast football through wide areas with a willingness to give players defined roles and the confidence to play their natural game. Both clubs would offer a clearer starting position than Chukwueze has had at any point since leaving Spain, which at 27 is exactly what he needs before the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Chukwueze has 51 senior caps for Nigeria and remains central to Eric Chelle’s attacking plans. Whichever club acts quickly and offers him regular football will get a player with a significant point to prove. Fans eager to track the developments and back their picks can use the Nigeria’s top Bet9ja code as the summer market picks up pace.
📌 Did You Know?
- Samuel Chukwueze was born on May 22, 1999 in Jos, Plateau State. He began his career at the Diamond Football Academy in Jos before being scouted by Villarreal’s network in Africa, which eventually led to his move to Spain as a teenager.
- Chukwueze scored the opening goal for Nigeria against Tunisia in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final, helping the Super Eagles reach the final for the first time in over a decade. The goal came after he ran from deep and buried a low shot past the goalkeeper in the second half.
- AC Milan’s decision to sell Chukwueze is part of a broader financial reset at the club. According to reports from Italian football sources, Milan spent approximately €442 million on transfers over three seasons while generating €304 million from sales, leaving a significant deficit that the club’s hierarchy is now actively working to address.
- Chukwueze’s best period at Fulham came between late November 2025 and January 2026, when he scored two goals and assisted three others in a six-match run that briefly made him one of the Cottagers’ most dangerous attackers. That form was ultimately not sustained consistently enough over the full campaign for Fulham to justify the purchase fee.
- When Chukwueze joined Milan from Villarreal in 2023, it ended a six year association with the Spanish club where he made 192 appearances, scored 38 goals, and became one of La Liga’s most feared dribblers. His dribbling success rate at Villarreal regularly ranked among the best in Europe’s top five leagues.
- Galatasaray have also been mentioned as a potential suitor, according to Turkish football journalist Burak Eren. The Istanbul club has been linked with the winger in part because of the Osimhen connection, with Chukwueze suggested as part of the same intermediary network that facilitated Victor Osimhen’s own move to Turkey. Galatasaray are not expected to proceed, but the mention signals the breadth of interest across Europe.
- Chukwueze’s Fulham loan coincided with a spell playing alongside fellow Super Eagles stars Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey at Craven Cottage, making it one of the higher concentrations of Nigerian internationals at a single Premier League club during the 2025/26 season.
