Five Super Eagles players who were in action during the first English Premier League fixture witnessed no win with their respective clubs. Taiwo Awoniyi and Joe Aribo debuted for their new clubs, Nottingham Forest and Southampton. Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City and Frank Onyeka of Brentford were the only players to have been retained by their clubs and avoided relegation after three players Troost Ekong, Peter Etebo and Emmanuel Dennis suffered relegation with Watford.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Frank Onyeka were unused subs when their teams clashed on Sunday evening to settle for a 2-2 draw. Wilfred Nididi was the only compatriot to begin and end the game. Although Ademola Lookman was not included in Leicester City’s list of players, his move away from the club seems possible soonest.
Joe Aribo made his debut with the Saint and suffered a 4-1 defeat to Antonio Conte’s men. Aribo featured in all 90 minutes and had some brilliant attempts blocked by Hugo Lloris the Tottenham goalkeeper at White Hart Lane.
Alex Iwobi is another compatriot who featured for Everton in their home defeat to Chelsea, Iwobi played full time for Frank Lampard in their 1-0 narrow loss to Chelsea.
Should this be a course of worry about the Nigeria Football Federation?
None of the Super Eagles players currently is in a top club as the likes of Egypt, Senegal, Ivory Coast and other nations who have their players representing elite clubs in Europe.
Can the home base player be relied upon, just like when we last won the AFCON in 2013?
Stephen Keshi’s team had home-based players such as Sunday Mbah play a pivotal role in the Eagle’s triumph during the 2013 Nations Cup.
