I was stupid - Premiership-winning coach admits he passed up chance to sign Boniface

Club Brugge coach Ronny Deila has revealed that he passed up a chance to sign Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface during his time as Valerenga coach, Soccernet reports.

Boniface has enjoyed a meteoric rise in the last two years. The 22-year-old striker joined former Norwegian giants Bodø/Glimt in 2019 and after three impressive seasons, he moved to Belgian side Royale Union SG in a deal worth €6.1million.

Following an impressive season that saw him register 17 goals and 12 assists in 51 games, Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen swooped on for him.

Since he arrived at the club in the summer, Boniface has been on fire. His performances have been absolutely outstanding, and he has the stats as adequate backup, as he has registered six goals and three assists in six appearances.

However, Boniface’s career could have easily towed another path, as he could have started his sojourn elsewhere other than Bodø/Glimt.

Deila, who was coach at Valerenga between 2017-2020 has revealed that Boniface underwent trials at his club, but he refused to sign him.

“I made a mistake once, but that had nothing to do with work ethic. Boniface was on trial with me at Vålerenga,” Deila told nieuwsblad.

“I already had a similar striker, so I didn’t really care about Boniface. He went to Bodø/Glimt afterwards. Stupid of me.”

The Nigerian has become an important component of the setup under Xabi Alonso. And with him in the setup, Bayer Leverkusen look primed to give a big push for the Bundesliga title.