Former Super Eagles striker Victor Ikpeba has bemoaned Frank Onyeka’s move to Coventry City in the Sky Bet Championship.

Onyeka joined Coventry City on a loan deal for the remainder of the season from Premier League outfit Brentford.

The Sky Blues have the option of making the move permanent should they secure promotion to the Premier League at the end of the campaign.

Coventry City are currently leading the Championship, level on points with Middlesbrough at the top of the league table.

Onyeka has struggled to get regular playing time at Brentford this season.

Ikpeba believes a move to the second tier represents a step backwards for the Super Eagles midfielder, insisting the player could have secured a move to top European leagues such as La Liga, Ligue 1 or Serie A.

“These things happen in football when you don’t get enough playing time. He’s a top player who gives everything he has. Even in the few times we saw him play for Brentford, you could see his quality,” the former African Footballer of the Year said on SuperSport’s Monday Night Football.

“It’s not nice for him to drop down to the Championship. If he had joined a top English club in the Premier League, that would have been amazing, or maybe a good team in France, Italy or Spain — or even another top league. It’s really sad.”

The former Borussia Dortmund and AS Monaco striker added:

“I never played in the lower leagues during my 15 or 16-year career. I never thought I would get a chance to play in the second division. I only had that chance towards the end of my career.”

Ikpeba also noted that Onyeka’s performances at the Africa Cup of Nations showed he deserves a move to a bigger club.

WDN