Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom has hinted his international future lies with the English Three Lions instead of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Akpom, who grew up in East London, has 34 caps for the youth teams of England but is also eligible to play for Nigeria through his parentage.
He was rumoured to have agreed to switch his allegiance to Nigeria last December and was in contention to win his first cap against Ivory Coast in a friendly, which did not come to fruition.
Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) President, Amaju Pinnick recently made a trip to London where he met the player’s parents and Arsenal FC manager Arsene Wenger as he tries to win Akpom and other Anglo-Nigerians at the club, such as Alex Iwobi and Seyi Ajayi over.
However, it seems the NFF Boss’ efforts were fruitless after Akpom told Arsenal FC official Twitter Account that he hopes to be an England star in future, when asked where he sees himself in the next five years.
”Hopefully still playing for Arsenal and the England senior team too. I want to emulate the Arsenal legends.” Akpom said.
Nevertheless, Iwobi and Ajayi have decided to turn their backs on England and commit their international future to Nigeria.
18-year-old Iwobi, who is Akpom’s childhood friend, is set to feature for the Nigeria Under 23s in All-Africa Games qualifying game against Gabon in Libreville this weekend, subject to FIFA’s approval.
About the Writer: Arinze Ude (@arturozinga) is an aspiring cancer research scientist with a master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences (Haematology). He is keen on building partnerships and managing the careers of Nigerian sportsmen and women. He blogs at http://arturozinga.wordpress.com
