Tammy Abraham is the latest English talent looking to be poached by the Nigerian football federation.
Having already poached fellow Chelsea youngster Ola Aina in recent times, the Nigerian federation are now turning their attention to Tammy Abraham
Ola’s move perhaps made more sense, as the fullback has a lower profile than Tammy, who has already dominated at England youth levels and looks ready to take the step up.
“It’s been a long process but I can tell you authoritatively that he has agreed to play for Nigeria and not England,” said Amaju Pinnick, Nigeria Football Federation president.
However, Abraham may be looking at the much easier path Aina has had, with the fullback already appearing to be settled as the first choice in the Nigerian first team.
And think that he will be better off taking that path and immediately establishing himself there rather than most likely sitting behind Harry Kane for many years at England.
In the end, though it will come down to him and his own personal feelings, and there isn’t a huge amount we can do at this end, as much as English Chelsea fans would like to see him wearing the Three Lions.
Abraham rose to fame over the last year because of his exploits for Bristol City in the Championship.
A Chelsea player on loan in the second tier, he scored 26 goals in all competitions for his temporary club.
What made this feat particularly impressive was that Abraham was a teenager. Now at Swansea City for another loan spell, he turns 20 next month.
He’s got the quality to warrant an international cap and England must act fast.
Abraham has delivered the goods at underage level for the Three Lions. Over the last two summers, he’s represented England in the U19 and U21 European Championships respectively.
He scored a goal in the semi-final clash with Germany in the U21 tournament, taking the game to penalties. He then missed his spot-kick in the shoot-out.
It’s understandable that the youngster wants to make the most of his momentum with a World Cup place on the table from Nigeria.
He has the potential to form a deadly strike partnership with Leicester’s Kelechi Iheanacho.
