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Adrian Clarke on Luke O’Nien: He’s hungry, powerful, and happy to do the dirty work

Luke O’Nien isn’t an especially cultured or technically gifted player, but he is one of the most enthusiastic I have laid my eyes on.

Wycombe Wanderers' young star Luke O'Nien shows a fierce passion to do the dirty work. Powerful and energetic, he’ll pick up second balls, crunch into tackles, and dedicate himself to stopping his opposite number from having an easy ride, says TODAY's football analyst Adrian Clarke. Photo: Reuters

Wycombe Wanderers' young star Luke O'Nien shows a fierce passion to do the dirty work. Powerful and energetic, he’ll pick up second balls, crunch into tackles, and dedicate himself to stopping his opposite number from having an easy ride, says TODAY's football analyst Adrian Clarke. Photo: Reuters

LONDON - Luke O’Nien isn’t an especially cultured or technically gifted player, but he is one of the most enthusiastic I have laid my eyes on.

This kid will run and run and run.

Based on the English League Two matches I saw him play in against Doncaster Rovers and Cambridge United, he is perhaps best suited to a specialist man-marking role.

His boss Gareth Ainsworth told me: “Luke will destroy his opposite number’s game. He won’t let the guy he’s up against breathe for a minute on the pitch.”

I wouldn’t disagree with that assessment at all.

I watched him track the opposition danger man all over the pitch in both games, barely leaving their side or daring to look away from them.

Happy to be a total irritant, O’Nien was rash-like in his refusal to be shaken off.

It’s clear that when he’s asked to nullify a rival player, he will stick to them like glue. His mindset is super-aggressive.

As soon as Wycombe win the ball back, he’s on his bike, trying to break into the box. So the midfielder also offers a goal threat too.

At home to Doncaster, he scored both goals in Wycombe’s 2-1 win by gambling on a forward run.

His first came on the back of a long throw-in that was flicked onto the crossbar. Anticipating faster than anyone else, he stooped to head home.

The second was even better. From a long free kick he ran into the danger zone in search of a knockdown, and when it fell his way he didn’t waste it, striking a sweetly hit left-footed volley into the corner.

Against Cambridge, O’Nien came off the bench to change the game within 30 seconds.

Chasing a lost cause by the corner flag, sprinting 30 yards to pressurise a visiting defender, and forcing his opponents to concede a corner. From it, Wycombe scored the only goal of the game.

With just two years of senior football behind him, there are elements of rawness to O’Nien’s game that only experience will iron out. He occasionally wants to do too much on his own.

In possession, it’s not the Singapore prospect’s style to constantly ask for the ball, so he can spray a stream of pretty passes around the pitch either. He doesn’t have that many touches of the ball.

What he does provide is a fierce passion to do the dirty work.

Powerful and energetic, he’ll pick up second balls, crunch into tackles, and dedicate himself to stopping his opposite number from having an easy ride.

From turnovers, he will create chaos with his relentless stream of forward runs.

If Singapore head coach V. Sundramoorthy thinks he would benefit from this type of player in the Lions, he could do worse than to give Luke O’Nien a try.

He’s hungry to impress and his presence on and off the pitch would provide guaranteed vibrancy.

 

About the author:

Adrian Clarke is a former Arsenal midfielder who has played at every level of the English game. Now an experienced sports journalist, he writes for many international publications and websites. Follow him on Twitter at @adrianjclarke

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