Many Nigerians appear to be pained over the recent call-up of Tammy Abraham to the English national football team.
Abraham, born to a Nigerian dad, is the latest player of Nigerian descent to slip through the cracks.
The lanky forward could make his debut for the Three Lions in the international friendlies against Brazil and Germany.
With the 2018 FIFA World Cup just around the corner, here are four reasons the striker’s loss could be more distasteful than it seems.
- Top-notch football education
Abraham isn’t just every other footballer. He is one with a first-class football education at Chelsea. Having joined the Blues as an eight-year-old, he progressed superbly through the ranks. On top of that, he’s had the opportunity to cut his teeth and learn the ropes under some of the best managers in the game.
- Prolific goalscorer
Any time, any day, Abraham’s goalscoring prowess has never been in doubt. He once scored 74 goals in 98 matches across all competitions for Chelsea’s various youth teams. Last season at Bristol City, he proved he could deliver under pressure, hitting 23 strikes in just 41 games. He’s already found the net five times for Swansea this term.
- Most in-form striker of Nigerian descent
Love or despise him, it won’t change the obvious that no current Super Eagle matches Abraham in Europe. With five strikes thus far, the soon-to-be-capped England star is on a higher pedestal to his countrymen. Kelechi Iheanacho is yet to score for Leicester City in the Premier League while teammate Ahmed Musa doesn’t even play. Moses Simon has three, Anthony Nwekeme and Alex Iwobi has one apiece whereas Victor Moses hasn’t come close.
- He’s just 20
At only 20, Abraham still has almost two decades of football in him. Imagine if he had pledged allegiance to Nigeria, he’d probably represented the country at three world cup finals and twice that figure in the Africa Cup of Nations.
