Amaju Pinnick may have been one of those who called for Finidi
George to be appointed the latest substantive head coach of the
Nigeria national team, but that does not mean the two men agree on
everything.
A known subject on which their views certainly differ is about
whether Nigerians with national ties to other countries should be
actively pursued to switch allegiance in favour of the
fatherland.
The erstwhile Pinnick-led
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) administration certainly
believed that was the way to go, and embarked on several of such
missions, with mixed results — a move criticised by Finidi back
then.
“The NFF should do more. They should not be thinking only about
the Super Eagles. It is the league where everything begins. It is
the league that supplies players to the national team.
Now we are running after players that were born in Europe to come
back and play for Nigeria. Who will train them for you? You want
others to train players and you wait to convert them to change
their nationality so they can come and play for Nigeria? Why don’t
you train your own here in Nigeria?
“I am not saying Nigerians born outside should not play for
Nigeria, after all, in the past we had Reuben Agboola and others
but they were just one or two. We were not rushing on anybody born
in Europe and playing football. All we need to do is work on our
home-bred players,” Finidi
suggested as a more viable alternative, adding that “maybe when you
find one or two good ones from outside there, they can come and
join the team.”
Diaspora-born players Nigeria
might miss out on
Clearly, Finidi is not averse to the idea of having such players
represent Nigeria, but — should the former Ipswich Town star abide
by his principles — it is quite plain he would not be inclined to
go after them.
That might mean
Nigeria potentially misses out on a number of fine prospects —
some of them long-coveted — including these five:
Elijah Adebayo
Luton Town have not had the rosiest debut season in the Premier
League, but they have had some stand-out players, one of whom is
striker
Adebayo.
Luton’s season — which may well see them relegated, anyway —
would have been much worse without Adebayo’s ten goals (a fifth of
the entire team’s total), even if those double digits get him no
closer to making his senior England debut at age 26.
Compared to some of the others on this list, Adebayo feels like
low-hanging fruit, the sort that Nigeria only needs to reach out
and pluck.
It is unlikely Finidi would ponder it, though, considering he
already has available to him — from Victor Osimhen to Victor
Boniface and everyone in-between — the richest array of attacking
talent any Nigeria trainer could dream of.
Michael Olise
There are few Premier League players more thrilling to watch and
harder to defend against when on the ball than Olise, who is so
good it does not look like he would be much longer at Crystal
Palace.
His essence to the South Londoners, as a highly valuable asset,
has only grown this season, especially under new manager Oliver
Glasner.
Olise remains uncapped at senior international level, though,
yet to play for Nigeria or any of the three other countries
(England, France and Algeria) he is eligible for.
But Finidi, one suspects, would not be drawn into a battle for
Olise’s commitment. It is simply not the kind of thing he has an
appetite for, is it?
Michael Kayode
Kayode is the next big thing in the line of Nigerian-Italians
(mainly defenders, incidentally) that began with West Ham United
veteran Angelo Ogbonna and also includes Destiny Udogie, now of
Tottenham Hotspur.
Those two have gone on to represent Gli Azzurri, and there is
every chance that Kayode, currently on the books of Serie A side
Fiorentina and courting interest of clubs further afield, joins
them.
The right-back has already had success in an Italy shirt,
scoring the title-clinching goal in a triumphant European Under-19
Championship last year.
Nigeria, no doubt, would be interested — it is, after all, where
both of the right-back’s parents hail from — but, if any move would
indeed be made in that respect, do not expect Finidi to lead the
charm offensive.
Arthur Okonkwo
One of Europe’s emerging top goalkeeping talents,
Okonkwo has had productive spells on loan from parent club
Arsenal in recent seasons, the latest coming at Wrexham.
His stellar efforts saw the Hollywood-backed club complete a
second successive promotion, making it to English football’s third
tier as runners-up, while earning Okonkwo himself a place in the
League Two Team of the Season.
London-born Okonkwo, who has already played for England at
various youth levels, is clearly one for the future — but that
future may not include Finidi’s Nigeria, for whom, following the
recent emergence of the reliable and impressive Stanley Nwabali,
the young man is not exactly a must-have.
Joshua Zirkzee
But for an injury that ruled him out of the possibility of
making his international debut for the Netherlands — where his
father originates — back in March,
Zirkzee might not have made this list of prospective Super
Eagles.
It is easy to see why many Nigerians would wish Zirkzee opted to
represent his mother’s birth country.
He has been an absolute revelation for Serie A side Bologna this
season after a difficult first year that followed his move from
Bayern Munich, whose academy he emerged from.
Zirkzee’s performances leading the line for Thiago Motta’s team
— valued not just in direct goal contributions, of which he has an
admirable 19 in all competitions — are a big reason the
Emilia-Romagna outfit has returned to Europe after 22 years,
securing a first-ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League.
Not that Finidi would be moved to try and woo him, however;
Zirkzee has made quite clear that his preference is for the Dutch
national team.
Why bother?
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