Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has praised Brentford Under-21s Player of the Year Benjamin Fredrick following his impressive debut performance in Nigeria's victory over Jamaica in the final of the Unity Cup on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.
Only a few players can boast of winning a trophy for their country on their international debut, and Fredrick is one of them.
The 20-year-old center back was one of the stars of Nigeria's Under-20 squad in 2023. His performance soon earned him a move to the junior team of English Premier League club Brentford. And he has continued to grow there. Just two weeks ago, he was even named the Players' Player of the Year for the Under-21 team.
Fredrick was not named in Nigeria's initial squad for the Unity Cup. But he was just called up to camp two days ago after Ahmed Musa left for his wedding. Surprisingly Fredrick was named in the starting eleven.
Although the Super Eagles conceded two goals, Fredrick was great to watch, as he was cool, calm and collected even when he was under pressure. He also passed the ball very well and make some impressive tackles.
Nigeria eventually won the game via penalty shoot-outs. And after the game, Ndidi took to Instagram to praise Fredrick.
The Leicester City star shared a picture of himself and Fredrick and captioned it, “This boy right here, proper baller.”
Former Super Eagles midfielder John Ogu joins the Benjamin Fredrick hype train
Former Super Eagles midfielder John Ogu also joined in praising Benjamin. The 37-year-old is not too active on social media, but Fredrick's performance was too good that he had to say something.
The former Hapoel Beer Sheva man wrote on X, “Benjamin Fredrick for the Super Eagles should not be slept on. Proper baller.”
BENJAMIN FREDRICK for the Super Eagles should not be slept on . Proper baller
— John Ogu (@ogujohnugo) June 1, 2025
What's next for Benjamin Fredrick?
For sure, Benjamin Fredrick will never forget the game against Jamaica.
His performance definitely puts him up as a contender for a place in the Super Eagles games in subsequent games, albeit he was not included in the squad for the Russia fixture.
The 20-year-old will not have to focus on his career at Brentford. From next season, he will likely start getting minutes, but the only way he will get regular game time is if one of the senior defenders gets injured.
Brentford will also be careful with how they handle him due to his talent. If he can keep getting minutes at his club, he is one player that Eric Chelle would definitely look at.
