Since the new Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh announced on Twitter that Liverpool starlet, Jordon Ibe has declined the chance to play for Super Eagles and opted to represent Three Lions of England, there has been debate over the need for foreign-bred footballers in the national team.
The Ibe situation, which is similar to Sidney Sam’s case just before last year’s World Cup in Brazil, has caused a divide amongst Nigerian football fans. Having watched Ibe play, I do believe he would have been a great addition to the national team contrary to popular belief that we have better players in his position such as Victor Moses, Moses Simon and Ahmed Musa.
There is no doubt that these players are good but every coach would love to have an abundance of talent in the national pool at his disposal. However, we can’t keep talking about a relationship that never materialised.
Looking forward to the future, I think we have finally found the next Sunday Oliseh in the mould of Tottenham Hotspur 19-year-old midfielder, Dele Alli. Sunday Oliseh and Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha marshalled our midfield with great success in the late 90s and early 2000s but it has been a herculean task finding adequate replacements for them since their retirement from the game.
John Obi Mikel and Ogenyi Onazi have done pretty well in recent times, especially in 2013 when Nigeria won the African Cup of Nations after twenty years of waiting but both lack the intelligence and brilliance of the Okocha-Oliseh partnership.
Oliseh was often deployed as a box-to-box midfielder, intelligently creating room for Okocha to roam and bamboozle the opposition defence with his trickery and dribbling skills. Dele Alli has continually produced tremendous displays as a true box-to-box midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur this season following injuries to Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason.
At the weekend, he showed maturity beyond his years and shone bright like a diamond against quality opposition in Manchester City. He started the game in central midfield, slotting alongside Eric Dier before pushing further as a No. 10 when Spurs went 1-0 down and then dropping back again to help his team protect their 2-1 lead and build on it. Spurs went on to win 4-1.
He is similar to Oliseh in so many ways: athleticism, height/aerial ability, intelligence, physicality, technical ability, strength, passing and positioning. The only difference is that he has an eye for goal and loves making forward runs in support of attackers. Oliseh managed just 20 goals throughout his career whilst Alli scored 22 for MK Dons alone before his lone goal for Tottenham Hotspur this season.
His ability to make forward runs into spaces adds to his versatility. In nine games, Tottenham Hotspur coach, Mauricio Pochettino has deployed him in four different positions: attacking midfield, central midfield, left midfield and defensive midfield.
I remember the very first time I saw Alli play back in August 2014; the humiliating 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United in the Capital One Cup with MK Dons. He was everywhere and fought for every ball.
Several scouts from top clubs including Bayern Munich were rumoured to have graced the game just to see the then 18-year old but Tottenham Hotspur rushed in and signed him for £5 million on a three-year deal before loaning him back to the League One side for the rest of the season. Since his return to the side this season, he has shown great promise that he can perform consistently at the top.
Following his impressive displays, an England call-up is rumoured to be on the cards but he can defy all odds and opt to play for Nigeria. He may be the answer to Super Eagles’ midfield problem and thrive in the transitional zone between midfield and defence. Nigeria stands to benefit if Oliseh and Alli can strike a mentor-protege relationship.
