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Anderlecht have hit back at Henry Onyekuru after he accused them of deliberately stalling his Everton career.

The Blues signed Onyekuru last summer but immediately loaned him to the Belgium side for the season.

Onyekuru had hit nine goals in 25 appearances but sustained a knee injury in December that required surgery.

Fears grew that the Nigeria international would be out of the rest of the season but he declared himself fit to play before the campaign was done.

However, the 20-year-old did not feature for Anderlecht again.

Onyekuru has accused coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck of not selecting him in order to reduce his chances of selection for the World Cup - which would aid his chances of getting a work permit to play for Everton.

Without a work permit, the Blues would need to send Onyekuru out on loan again and Anderlecht, who refute Onyekuru’s claims, have reportedly agreed to take the forward for another season.

But Onyekuru has blasted Anderlecht and says he will not return to the Jupiler League outfit, telling Het Laatste Nieuws: “Anderlecht knew I needed the World Cup to get a work permit to play in England, and by not making me play, the chances of going to Russia were nil, and so I could not join the Premier League, that may be how Anderlecht hopes to keep me for another year, a ridiculous reasoning: I can go anywhere.”

Anderlecht have denied deliberately stalling Onyekuru’s career and issued the following statement to the ECHO.

“Henry is a great player and his injury in December weakened the squad and reduced the chances to participate to the World Cup with his country,” a club spokesman said.

(Image: ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP/Getty Images)

“RSC Anderlecht, nor the technical staff never made any promise to Henry concerning his selection.

“RSCA is a professional club and it wouldn’t be very professional to make promises to players.

“The coach selects the best and fittest players for the games.”

Vanhaezebrouck has endured a strained relationship with Onyekuru - the player Everton signed from KAS Eupen for £7m last June - ever since replacing Rene Weiler in September.

The Anderlecht coach has often been publicly critical of the striker’s performances and the Blues’ man said: ‘’I was fit, but I did not play.

“So I’m not staying with Anderlecht.

“He (Vanhaezebrouck ) has not spoken to me for weeks. I know what he said about me.

“Thanks to the media, I had to learn that I was not ready, so to speak, I have worked very hard in the last few months to come back. This was not enough for some.”