a A few days ago, the Belgian and Italian press reported the arrival of Jwensley Onstein (2007, 18 years old, 1.88 meters tall) in Milan. The Rossoneri decided to integrate him into Milan Futuro (Serie D team) with a view to moving him to the first-team defense (he is a central defender) in the near future. However, as Matteo Moretto reports for MARCA, Barcelona have now overtaken their rivals.
Onstein, an Arnhem-born Dutch U18 player of Surinamese descent, has gone from being a national prospect with good media coverage in the Benelux countries to having his name featured in sports media around the world.
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And the question is, who is Jwensley Onstein? Ajax plucked him from Vitesse in 2019 and after four years in the ‘Ajaciedo’ academy, Genk, one of Belgium’s best youth clubs, snapped him up. He made his debut in the Belgian second division in the 2023-24 season with Jon Genk (‘B’ team), and took a step forward by appearing in 16 games in the 2024-25 season. “He shows excellent physical condition and excellent vision, and has the qualities to become one of the best defenders of his generation,” wrote Johan Valkiers in Voetbalkrant. However, he has not played yet due to injury and absences this season.
He showed excellent physical condition and exceptional eyesight
The left-sided centre-back arrived in Belgium at just 16 years old and signed a three-year professional contract with Genk. Stein Heldermans, Jon Genk’s technical coordinator at the time, said: “Jwenzlie stands out as a central defender with his speed and physical presence, as well as his technical experience and good ball control. He is not afraid to come in from the back and play in the spaces. In short, he is a modern central defender and perfectly fits Genk’s football vision.”
Jwensley stands out as a central defender with his speed and physical presence combined with technical experience and good ball control.
It was Genk’s technical coach Michel Ribeiro who convinced Genk to take up this project after leaving Ajax. “I’m a real winner,” Onstein said. What attracted Genk to this project was the option of combining youth football and professional football (second division).
Now Barcelona are knocking on his door and he opened it. “The agreement was close and the player’s wishes were key. He just wants to wear the Blaugrana shirt,” Mollet admitted to MARCA.
