Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface has said he was not ready to quit the club.
The 23-year-old has been a revelation since his move from Belgian side Union St Gilloise to the Bay Arena, where he has helped Bayer Leverkusen win the Bundesliga title for the first time in their history.
His transfers didn’t come with much fanfare, but Xabi Alonso had done his homework to secure his services and he prepared a mount for the title.
Boniface started the season like a house on fire, scoring eight goals in his first 13 games for the club as others took notice.
He also raked in several Bundesliga Rookie of the Month awards, Bundesliga Player of the Month, and Bayer Leverkusen Player of the Month awards as his stock continued to rise.
The striker was primed for great things with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations in January. However, he got injured during Nigeria’s training camp in Dubai, which made him miss three months of the Bundesliga campaign and 11 games in the German top-flight.
Despite that, the Super Eagles forward came back strongly after the injury and got back in the goals for his club.
Boniface’s performances have made him one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe, with a lot of clubs keen on securing his services this summer.
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Napoli, West Ham, Newcastle United and Roma are some of the teams reportedly keen to secure his services this summer.
However, Boniface has put paid to all the speculation, insisting he is not leaving the BayArena this season.
“My current focus is solely on Leverkusen, striving to aid the team in achieving further milestones. It will undoubtedly stand as one of my proudest moments ever,” Boniface affirmed to AFP.
Boniface has enjoyed a successful debut season with the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions.
The striker has registered 18 goals and 10 assists in 30 appearances across all competitions for Xabi Alonso’s side.
Boniface is in line to win a treble this season as Die Werkself are already in the final of the DFB Pokal with Kaiserslautern as their opponents in the final on May 25.
Leverkusen are also in the semi-final of the UEFA Europa League, where they will face Italian side AS Roma this Thursday.
They are also unbeaten in all competitions this season, and have set a German top-flight record for the most consecutive games without a loss.
Leverkusen, with Boniface, will definitely be a team to reckon with next season in the UEFA Champions League.
With the Nigerian choosing to stay, it will be a big boost for Xabi Alonso and his wards.