Akinola Omotayo Akinleye, the brother of Amiens FC forward, Daniel Akinleye, has revealed that the highly-rated teenager is open to playing international football for Nigeria.
Daniel caught the eye of the French division two side last season, after scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists for US Quevily-Rouen Métropole in the U17 category.
Born on the 20th of August 2006 in Rouen, northern part of France to Nigerian parents, Daniel qualifies to represent the Golden Eaglets through his parents.
When asked if Daniel is interested in playing for Nigeria, Akinola, speaking to Soccernet said :
“Yes, my brother is very open to representing Nigeria. It’s something he will welcome with both hands. We watch every Nigerian games at home because we know that’s our root.
“Our parents taught us about the culture and we still follow it even though we are in France. My mom hardly go a day without listening to Nigerian music and that contributed a lot to our love for Nigerian music.
Described as a pacy striker with excellent dribbling skills. He has three goals and one assist to his name in the ongoing season for Amiens. Two against Montrouge 92, one against Mantois 78.
Daniel saw 90mins of action for Amiens against PSG U17’s yesterday. They lost by 1-0.
The Golden Eaglets won the WAFU B tournament after defeating Burkina Faso by 2-1 at the cape coast stadium.
The two finalists (Nigeria and Burkina Faso) secured tickets to play at the 2023 TotalEnergies U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria next year.
The AFCON tournament will serve as the qualifiers for the FIFA U17 World Cup as the top four sides in the competition will represent Africa at the global tournament scheduled for Peru.
