How a call with Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling and Joe Shields convinced young Nigerian striker Hafiz Umar Ibrahim

Soccernet.ng can exclusively reveal the first photo of Hafiz Umar Ibrahim in his Chelsea trial. The striker has been training at Chelsea’s Cobham Road facility and met with the first team yesterday.

He started the week by doing exercises in the gym to strengthen him for the grueling sessions ahead. Due to the international break, he got to train with the first team on Thursday when the players returned to training.

A fateful call

It could have all been different. Ibrahim was already on his way to signing for Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt after his impressive performance in Italy at the Viareggio Cup, where he scored ten goals in six matches to finish as the top scorer.

His mind was made up for Norway until a phone call changed his fate. He was told that Chelsea was interested but didn’t believe it. He was on the plane about to taxi on the tarmac when the phone rang, and that was when everything changed.

Raheem Sterling and Joe Shields, Chelsea’s co-director of Recruitment and Talent, were in front of him via video. It was a surreal experience. As they talked, he wished he was already at Stamford Bridge. But he could not jump out of the plane, so he flew to Bodo.

It was a cold city, and when he arrived, he found that the local media was already aware of his coming and that journalists were waiting for him. It was shocking to see the interest he had generated.

The next day he was put on the pitch to try to impress the Bodo team, a performance that was mostly strained due to his lack of rest over the last week of the Viarregio Cup and the cold weather. But also because, in his mind, he knew something bigger was in the fray.

Bodo spent the next few hours trying to convince him to stay. But his mind was made up.

Hafiz soon returned to Nigeria, where he applied and waited for his UK visa. He received it in no time, backed by Chelsea’s reputation. And off he went to London, alone on the flight but backed by the power of his dreams.

And it started this Monday when he arrived at the club’s training ground and was handed his training kit.

If he impresses, the Ojodu City FC striker is expected to sign a 1.5- to 2-million-pound contract with the Blues. He is then expected to be loaned to the Ligue 1 at Strasbourg.

However, a French journalist close to Strasbourg informed Soccernet.ng that the Ligue 1 club was not informed.

The entire people of Kano, where his family sold fruits in the market to make ends meet, are waiting for the good news.

He told Soccernet.ng that he wants to become a professional footballer to bring his family out of poverty and support young people in his community.

Slowly, that dream is coming to pass.