The Nigeria Football Federation is keeping tabs on a few talented youngsters of dual nationality, but one or two may slip out of their grips, including the Bundesliga-based wonderkid
Chelsea winger Hudson Odoi has urged Nigeria-eligible forward Jamal Musiala to chose England ahead of Nigeria and Germany when the time to make his international decision arrives.
The hype around Musiala has risen after the 17-year-old broke two records at Bayern in recent months, becoming the club’s youngest Bundesliga appearance-maker and goalscorer.
The NFF has sought to attract such talent to the Super Eagles in recent times with extra efforts spent on convincing Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka to switch their international allegiance to Nigeria.
Born in Germany to a Nigerian father and a German mother but raised in London, Musiala is eligible for Nigeria, Germany, and England.
But after scoring in the Young Three Lions’ 5-0 defeat of Albania, Musiala has been advised to stick with England and ignore calls from other nations.
“We talked about it. I said he (Musiala) should be staying with England,” Hudson-Odoi said as per Goal.
“He knows a lot of the boys already and has been really welcomed into the team.
“I said to him, ‘I can’t choose for you, but it would be nice if you stayed with England.’ Hopefully, he gets to the seniors as quickly as possible.”
Nigeria have been able to convince the likes of Victor Moses, Josh Maja, and Joe Aribo to play for the Super Eagles after previously starring at different youth levels for England.
But the three-time African champions have also missed out on the talents of Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham, and Dele Alli, who all decided to play for the Three Lions.
