Playing for the National team is the dream of any football player. Nigeria as a Nation have got a wide range of talents out there looking for an opportunity to horn their skills.
Photo: Gernot Rohr, Head coach of Nigeria
The players are often said to be considered great when they have being able to stake claim to a National team honour and not at a club where they could even win countless number of medals and silverware.
No wonder the debate of who the Greatest of all Time (GOAT) between Lionel Messi and Diego Armando Maradona will always be in favour of the Napoli Legend because the latter did exploits by winning the world cup for Argentina.
A player is not fulfilled until he is able to represent the National team. Here are some key players that Nigeria head coach, Gernot Rohr, may need to consider for the next set of AFCON qualifiers.
1. Umar Sadiq (Partizan Belgrade, Serbia)
Photo: Sadiq Umar
The 2016 Olympic Bronze medal winner, is in the form of his career after failing to impress Steven Gerard while on a 1 year loan stint with Rangers which was eventually cut short by the player due to lack of playing time.
Sadiq’s stats for Partizan Belgrade have been very impressive with the youngster scoring 18 goals and laying up another 16 assists for his teammates.
With such a form it will be difficult for Rohr to ignore such a talent. With Nigeria looking to recall Ighalo, it will be in the best interest of the management to consider Umar Sadiq than the Manchester United loanee, as this will be considered as taking the National team one step backward.
2. Chidera Ejuke (Hereveen, Netherlands)
Photo: Chidera Ejuke
Ejuke a former Valerenga player who currently plies his trade in the Netherlands with Dutch Eredivisie side Hereveen, is persistently linked to Feynoord and Ajax, these links are testament to the quality and hard work the youngster puts in his game.
Since joining the team in the summer for as low as nearly 8million euros, the youngster have being a key contributor of goals and assists for the club. He is a reliable attacking outlet, with the player comfortable to play from the wings or behind the striker through the middle.
With Iwobi failing to impress, Ejuke could be right attacking midfielder that the National team need or a go-to player for Nigeria down the flanks.
3. Eberechi Eze (Queens Park Rangers, England)
Photo: Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze is the star player in a struggling QPR side trying to find their footing in the Championship. Even though qualification for next season Premier League might look impossible, Eze have been at the heart of anything good in the club’s attack with his stats showing that he is the main man, notching up 10+ goals and assists in all competition.
He is also the club’s penalty taker, and by far the club’s best dribbler averaging 3 dribbles per game. The player have been linked with a switch to North London side Tottenham Hotspur for quite sometime now.
Even though the player is yet to make a decision on whether to represent Nigeria, Gernot Rohr cannot afford to let this one slip away. If Eze joins Tottenham Hotspur, the England is likely to come for him just as they did with Dele Ali.
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