Arnaut Danjuma: The man for the occasion
By Chet Willits
Arnaut Danjuma has never been a player to shy away from the spotlight. His meteoric rise from Club Brugge and Bournemouth secured him a move to Villarreal CF in August of 2021. After signing, the name “Danjumagic” was well known around the footballing community following a string of excellent performances.
In his first season for the Yellow Submarine, he showed that he was well worth his 23.5 million Euro price tag. Scoring ten goals and adding three assists, he ended the season at 13 goal contributions in LaLiga alone. The attacker quickly became a fan favorite and put his name on the world football radar. He started to be compared to the Villarreal greats after just one season.
His stellar performances were not exclusive to the league however. In high-stake matches on European nights, he truly thrived. Having always been a big game player, he had his first real opportunity to showcase his talents at an elite level during the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League season. His world class performances in the Champions League started with a great match against Atalanta, one of the premier Italian sides. The Nigerian-born, Dutch international scored in the 73rd minute, securing a draw for the first game.
The next run of games he had in the Champions League were even more impressive. Danjuma’s goals against Juventus and Bayern Munich were crucial to Villarreal’s success in advancing in the Champions League. He was the leading goal scorer for the Submarine in the tournament and played an integral part in the Yellows getting their best-ever finish in the competition. Villarreal made it to the semi-finals before unfortunately getting knocked out by Liverpool. The success that Danjuma had in the tournament and the improbable run that Villarreal went on was one for the history books.
Danjuma’s 2022/23 campaign has been plagued by an ankle injury that has prevented him from finding a run of games. He is no stranger to ankle injuries, as they sidelined him in 2019 and 2020 for former team, Club Brugge. Despite this ongoing issue, Danjuma has finally returned to the pitch starting in half of the fixtures this season. The 25-year-old is still recovering to find form, as he gets back into physical shape required by a grueling LaLiga campaign.
Danjumagic was hoping to be a part of the Natherlands national team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to perform on the highest international stage. Due to unfortunate injury problems and a lack of game time this season, Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal decided to leave Danjuma off the squad list heading to Qatar. A heartbreaking decision no doubt, but knowing Danjumagic, he will use this time to come back stronger, not only for Villarreal but for the Netherlands too in the future.
We look forward to seeing him consistently back on the pitch, delivering spectacular performances in front of the Villarreal faithful once again. There is no doubt that Danjuma will shine on the biggest stage in the future, creating more Danjumagic on LaLiga matchdays and European nights.
