Football officials in Nigeria are looking to convince Chelsea youngster Ike Ugbo to represent the country after losing Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori to England, reports Completesports.com.
Ugbo, 21, has caught the eye after making a prolific start to his loan spell at Dutch Eerste Divisie club, Roda JC this season.
The young forward scored his fifth goal in eight appearances, in Roda’s 2-1 away win against Telstar on Friday. He has made six starts for the club.
According to a report in dailymail.co.uk, Nigeria Football Federation officials were present at the Radobank IJmond Stadion to watch him having stepped up their interest.
Ugbo was born in Lewisham, south London and is eligible for Nigeria through his parents
He has played for England at U-17 and U-20 levels, helping the latter squad win the 2017 Toulon Tournament.
Nigeria’s hope of having Ugbo’s Stamford Bridge teammates Abraham and Tomori play for the country at senior level suffered a hitch after the duo pledged their allegiance to England last week.
The West African nation have in the past made moves for youngsters with dual nationality. The duo of Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina were persuaded to switch and represent Nigeria.
The likes of Chuba Akpom and Sheyi Ojo, who have played for England at youth levels have also made public their intention of represent Nigeria.
By Adeboye Amosu
5 Comments
Fast track the process cos Chelsea see him as possible replacement of abraham
I hope this is a cut and paste fake news from Daily Mail.
We have not been able to find a place for those eligible, why should we be running around trying to woo others?
If he is exceptional, then wooing him will be worth it. But if he is merely an average player, no need to waste our time.
Why must CSN keep including Abraham and Tomori in all possible report. This is becoming extremely irritating. Abraham this, Tomori that. Please leave this guys alone and stop throwing their names on our faces. You can make this report without mentioning those names. Pleeeaaaase! It’s time to move on.
@Debo
Tell them!
How are we not sure Daily mail is not trying to insult us