Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham has left the door open to representing Nigeria in future, despite strong overtures from England.
Abraham, 21, was born in London but he qualifies for the Super Eagles through paternal lineage.
The Premier League’s joint-top scorer left the door open to Nigeria after he stole headlines with a hat-trick in a 5-2 win away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
“Yes, I have heard the talk. I have not really been focused on that yet,” Abraham said at Molineux Stadium.
“I think when the time comes, the times comes. It is about focusing on Chelsea and hopefully scoring goals and getting victories.
“We never know. You can never say never, whatever comes first really. I just have to keep full focus on Chelsea. It has been a good day at the office for the boys and me. Coming here is never easy. We played well, thankfully, I scored three and we got the three points.”
Chelsea’s 11 league goals have all come from homegrown players like Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori also got on the scoresheet in the midlands.
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39 Comments
It now looks likely someone is now using story like this to push England to give Tammy a call. Pls n pls we are not interested.
@Glory you have spoken my mind. Watch out as England will likely invite him in next international break and your guess is good as mine. That’s what happened to former man city Nedu Onuoha just few good display with Nan City he thought he has arrived and turned down opportunity to feature at 2014 world cup. Where is Nedu now? If Abraham decides to play for Nigeria which is not looking likely with his recent performances he’s welcome if not we are okay. The truth is we are not lacking in that area at the moment.
Hahaha….. Nedun’s case really makes me laugh. One moment, he’s saying I LL consider playing for Nigeria. Then after one good performance, England promise to give him a call n he is denying ever desiring to play for Nigeria. And he waits, he waits, he got grey hair, n still waiting while on a downward trend on his game n still waiting.Now very angrily n frustratingly convincing other foreign born Nigerian footballers not to fall into that trap. ONLY FOOLS GO WITH AN ENGLISH PERSON’S SMILE OR PRAISE. I have learnt to provoke a long face in them so as to get honest report.
I wish him well.
But if he was my son , i will make it clear to him, that you chose a place where you are celebrated and not the place you are just tolerated.
The fall of a yellow leaf, is a warning to the green ones.
Ask Nnedum Onuoha, John Fashanu etc
Then talk to Ola Aina, Victor Moses, Ekon etc.
Be wise.
Nigeria is interested in Tammy . hopefully he accept we take him to Olympic
Tammy doesn’t want Nigeria let’s respect ourselves before we receive another national disgrace. From all indication this news is false and Tammy is just waiting for a call from England let’s see if he will think about it.
It’s a loss for us the earlier we focus on what we have the better for us because in the end England will use and dump him!
The story will change when England call this boy and you will hear ” I was open to Nigeria since but never receive any call up” This boy is playing game with Nigeria and the Media is aiding the story to sale the darlies.
Why lash onto stale story when the decision has been made. Do you consider someone who simultaneously desires for two opposite things serious? I may wrong, but I don’t think either the NFF or GR is interested in Tammy again. He threw away his golden opportunity. Too bad.
Tammy is doing good right now.so it is understandable there would be this hype around him; but this is a lad that would always pick England first,for obvious reasons.
And I don’t believe Nigeria should sleep over him; yes he is good,but we are Nigeria,we got quality everywhere,besides Tammy wouldn’t be the first of his kind we missed out on,and we still kept playing and winning.
There was agbolanhor,owomoyeala,ogbonna,etc to name a few.
Guess what,super Eagles survived.
If Tammy plays for Nigeria good.if he doesn’t good.
For now,we should focus on those willing and ready to play for their fatherland.
Tammy playing For nigeria we joking abraham first priority is representing england he just waiting for the callup selfish lad
Lols like England cares if you like, go and the check history of all Nigeria who try to represent England good.
Dele alli ?
If Tammy chooses Nigeria fine, if he didn’t all fine, its not like Nigeria is lacking in the position he plays! in fact aside exaggeration, as a coach i won’t bench Victor Osinmhen for Tammy though.
Commitment is key. Nothing personal against this kind of player. But if Abraham does choose Nigeria, I seriously doubt he will want to participate in continental or even WC qualifiers. Kevin Prince Boateng of Ghana comes to mind. He became a once every 4 year player using the Black Stars for personal glory after his colleagues did all the dirty work to qualify Ghana for the WC. I would keep Osimhen over Abraham any time.
Is a dream but how I wish SE will line-up 4 4 2 with Osimhen&Abraham as our striker’s..
I hope am having a malaria dream
Honestly speaking, we don’t need this guy. This is the first time I’m speaking about him if I’m not mistaken.
He took us for granted and Nigeria doesn’t want such a player. It might be different in coach Rohr’s opinion because that man is not bold enough to ignore Abraham.
A coach that were celebrating 3rd place in Egypt? The coach that satisfied 2-2 drow against Ukraine? That tells that he doesn’t know anything about Nigeria football history.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy bn invited by Oga Rohr and Oga will bench Osemeh for him because coach Rohr believes Osemeh is too young that was the reason why he benched him in Egypt.
Ukraine match was an eye opener for 9ja people. Oga Rohr need an assist coach to read games for him.
Or, if this Chao continues, NFF should get a new coaching staff because Nigeria have talented players everywhere.
Concerning Abraham, he is a no no choice. He missed a glorious opportunity then. Now, it is too late.
NO1, we don’t need Abraham.
No2, Oga Rohr need to change his mentality. If not, he should step down. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!
Definitely Osimhen place would be on the bench should Abraham surprise us by switching allegiance to Nigeria.
Are you expecting a Chelsea inform top striker to be benched by the super eagles are you kidding me? Seven goals in five matches in the premier league a striker in that form and playing for a club like Chelsea is guaranteed a first team place in any African country I’m afraid.
There we go again. Are you kidding me or what? If I’m getting you right, Abraham is better than Osemeh?
Ę, ofe e fe. This is a big joke of the year. Osemeh is a complete striker. Can’t you see that? Forget about his age because age is a number.
Osemeh played street football but Abraham didn’t.
Osemeh went to Afcon, that is +1 for Osemeh but Oga Rohr failed to believed in him and he used Ighalo throughout the competition.
Osemeh only played in the 3rd place match. The experience of Osemeh is way higher than Abraham period.
In one word, Osemeh is far better than Abraham. Don’t be carried away that he is playing for Chelsea, the guy just fortunate.
If he’s that good, he would have been into the three lions team by now. He should ask Mr. Fashanu and Agbolahan. He is going to learn his lesson sooner or later because is he choosing English team over Nigeria and he Abraham eventually plays for Oyinbo team, they will use him for 2 or 3 times and dumped him. That is the fact.
For me, we don’t need him no more. He doesn’t like us but he doesn’t have a choice because England has turned him down.
Compare that our local boy Osemeh who is competing with the best players at the moment. Let’s appreciate our own. We don’t need Abraham. Instead of having Abraham in our team, we have Adi, Alashę and others that are better that him. God bless Nigeria!!!
I feel like insulting you for the first time but I have to calm my temper. Can our Victor Osihmen bench Harry and Vardy? Having good strikers in the national team is a blessing for the nation. We need to understand that Tammy spend all his years in England and it’s a hard decision to switch alliance to a country he has never had positive impact in his life. Majorities are saying we don’t need Tammy! God forbid if we lost Victor to injury in a major tournament, that’s when we will know the benefit of having a good back up.
Guy In as much as 7 goals in 5 games is a good feat, Osimehn has also scored 80% of lille’s goals so far (4 out of the 6 or 7 scored) compared to the quality assists Abraham gets from established players and not to also forget that he misses goals alot. Osimhen is a record holder at U17 level meaning he is not a dlash in the pan and he is gradually proving to be a a goal poacher. He also scored alot in one season when he was in Belgium. Let’s appreciate our own. Left to me this guy is using us as a last resort and using style to wait for a call up from England.
Osimeh will be world best striker after Ronaldo and Messi
Please you guys should not be carried away by Abraham’s recent form, he’s just fortunate but scoring more goals runs in osimehs blood
But if you don’t believe check history.
Finally, Abraham can be a second choice striker for super eagle.
Tammy, born in London, raised in London, coached and trained to the present level by England. Has he even been to Nigeria before? Its yet to be seen. He has Nigerian parents, yes, he is eligible to play for Nigeria YES, but his first priority is to do the best and make the best decision for his career and earning potential.
The highest earning Nigeria player in Europe earns in the region of £75k per week, the 10th highest paid English footballer in England is paid double this and the top wage of Harry Kane is £200k per week.
So if he’s got the chance to play for England nobody should begrudge him, its his own eligibility. England will afford him the best pay, the best medical facilities if he requires it, the best training as well as the best career path.
If Nigeria makes an official approach, then the least he can do is to say “no, I want to face England”. At this time, he is hedging his bets, in case his career doesn’t progress like he expects it to be, but on this form, England will cap tie him shortly.
If Tammy decides to play for Nigeria, he will be doing himself a favor. It is almost certain that England will use him and dump him. The probability of a successful international career is much higher with Nigeria, simply because he is more likely to make the Nigeria squad at any point in time, and Nigeria is a team that will usually qualify for major tournaments, which puts him in the shopping window. For now, I would rather focus on inviting his team mate Tomori to boost our defense options. And of course other players like Ovie Ejaria, Ebere Eze, Seyi Ojo, etc…..these are the ones we should be pursuing for now. For me, the man I wanted at all costs…JOE ARIBO…..we already have him. So, I’m sitting pretty!
Everyone is saying they will use him and dump him, how about Dele Ali?
Is the guy not still playing for England regularly?
The same was said of him but he is still doing well.
Abeg mek una allow this guy choose anywhere im like jor.
How about John Fashanu, Ugo Ehiogu, Nedum Onuoha, Carlton Cole, Agbonlahor, just to mention a few? So you conveniently forgot these ones? Take it or leave it, Tammy will LIKELY be used and dumped by England. The key word is LIKELY. Which when translated, means it may work out, but chances are it will not. Forumites including myself are only hoping that Tammy takes this into consideration.
England don’t dump players unless the players are not convincing when invited or not playing at same level when initially invited.
For example Dele Ali has been consistent with the 3 lions because he has been playing at a high level both at club and national teams respectively.
So if Abraham continue playing at this level for Chelsea and hopefully England,his invitations will be regular with the 3 lions.
Now everyone is mentioning Dele Alli. We must understand that there are many elements both physical n spiritual,that defines how things pans out in ones life. Dele case might have been different because of factors surrounding his growing up; father abandoned him, mother a druggy and then being made to manage his childhood life under a different family which would have caused him to automatically humble himself. Such situations most of d times attract divine forces to come into play especially when such persons stay focus n humble. That humbleness Dele Alli even displayed by still declaring interest to play for Nigeria while he was at MKDons but due to NFF’s ignorance n preference for players in premiership we lost him and even Agbonlahor spoke about that bad attitude of the Nigeria FA always ignoring players in lower division, not wanting to help them develop while waiting for the English FA to develop them before they NFF, will then start to show interest. So Dele Alli case is quite understandable, but in Tammy’s case, NFF president who happens to be friend to his dad has been doing everything since Tammy was in Chelsea’s u-18, til now but he is carrying an egg head. Well I will appreciate if everyone should just wish him well on his England career while we stop talking about him.
I don’t even think of Tammy as a SE player, cos I don’t think we will ever miss him. Rather Nigeria will be the one to do him a lot of good n not him doing Nigeria any good. He is a decent player no doubt but playing for Nigeria require heart commitment far more than just talent. If he can’t be committed, even if he is Lionel Messi, I can only say ‘please CSN, next page’.
Deep down inside of us,if must be honest,we really want Abraham to switch allegiance to Nigeria.
However,we also knows it’s not going to go in our favour so most of us resorted to play this we don’t care shit but actually we do really care and would jump to huge excitement should he choose Nigeria which is not going to happen anyway.
Tough as it’s Southgate would invite and cap him in October.
So, would you rather have us DOBALE for him and start rolling on the ground, begging him to come and play for Nigeria? If Tammy choses Nigeria, he would definitely be a good addition to the squad. However, nobody is going to beg or cajole him. If he choses England, Nigeria will explore other options as well.
@Greenturf it’s always good for us to understand the theme of someone’s report before replying. Sure we all Will be happy if Tammy switch to Nigeria because he is one of us whether born in England or Nigeria. But this tactics of using Nigeria to bargain for a call to the 3 Lions is absolutely disgusting. Nigeria is far far bigger than that. That sulking tactics ultimately takes away everything good about him as far it concerns Nigeria. We want players very proud n commited to play for us. God forbid a player thinking he is doing nigerians or Nigeria a favour. Nigeria is never n will never be a country lacking in Talents both home n abroad.
Tammy, it’s wrong for you to use Nigeria to bargain a position in the English team.
You want to join the Nigerian team only when England rejects you.
Any player that is dragging his feet over playing for Nigeria should be left out of the team.
I have said it before and I will say it again, Nigeria never lack strikers. I don’t think we need to beg anyone to play for us, we have young talented players in super eagles now and more are still coming. Tammy Abraham or not, We are good.
I feel most of us are getting the Tammy rhetoric totally wrong,and might lead to unwarranted hate on the person of Tammy.
We should understand from his interviews and that of his coach Lampard,they are just trying to focus and not get carried away by his recent form.they don’t want to get too cocky.
It is the British press pushing this on Tammy,and trying to force the narrative so that Southgate could quickly do the needful and cap the player.the British press are just trying to be conniving and playing the dumb ostrich.
They gave always knew The Nff has gotten in touch with Tammy,even before was capped by England for a friendly; but they never cared about him cause for them then,he wasn’t good enough for the 3 lions.
Tammy obviously turned down Pinnick then,for the simple reason,cause he thought he was good enough for England and the English would always get his back and being called up for that friendly made him feel on top.
But now,things have changed.the ball is in Tammy’s court. He is doing well at Chelsea right now,now the English love him again and trying to force him to make his decision to play for England.putting his name on the news,that Nigeria is coming for him,so that Southgate could cap him immediately.
They are even forcing his coach,Lampard,on this,so he could pressurize Tammy to chose England.
And Lampard is doing just that, cunningly.his last press briefing gave that away.but I must add,he statement about Getting Tammy for England,was one of respect to Nigeria has a football house.it unequivocally meant,”if England doesn’t get him quick,it would be our loss to a good country like Nigeria.if Nigeria wants him,that means he is good enough to play for England”.
Tammy knows this now.but he understands clearly from the last time,that England only showed love cause he is on the rise.so he is trying to play around with them,not really trying to put down Nigeria.for the obvious reason. He has always chosen England.
My take is,the Nigerian press shouldn’t play into this narrative thereby bringing unnecessary talks and the likes. Let the English have their game.it is a game we shouldn’t play.
We got players.good players.and we should focus on those willing to play.
HARRY KANE
Markus Rashford
Callum Wilson…well, let’s see
For Naija…
OSIMHEN
Onuachu
Maja
Akpom…come to talk of the wing/ forwards like Musa, Okereke, Chukwueze, etc . I don’t even want England to dump him. Let him be back up Harry Kane bcos his current form is better than that of Rashford but who says the likes of Maja, Akpom and Osimhen won’t improve? All they need is playing time with Naija…clubs in France and Italy will come for them.
Reading all these wants made me think deeply. What is Tammy’s motive by the way? Is he for real or using Nigeria cal up as A bargaining chip over England, because for one to say what he says he has to keep working harder . We have strikers who are so hungry that they are asking for opportunities to play for SE
Oshimen is working like crazy to be relevant .remember he is a world cup record holder. He scored o10 goals in 7 u-17 appearance to win for Golden eaglets. He also won u-23 Afcon, got the bronze @ this afcon and has been doing well in Europe. He’s hungry for success. What about Junior Ajayi. That young man has been clamouring for a call up for a long time. .he plays for al ahyl the best club in Africa . He’s consistent in CAF champions league. He win the bronze for Nigeria. In the Olympics et al .
The same Tammy Abraham who denied that NFF didn’t reach him now is having second thoughts
All I can say is this , is he really as hungry àa the two men I just mentioned and secondly. I hate the fact that he’s using Nigeria to speed up a so called call up options btw Nigeria and England .
Well the decision lies on the tables of NFF
All I want Ia that Oshimen and other guys who are doing well for us needs more encouragement to do their best for their country.
I’m glad that Joe Aribo played as well . I hope to see more more players like Tom Bashiru, Kel nnwakali, Eucharia, Seyi Ojo coming to the team. I also want Tomori to be looked into the could be a great asset to the SE
We are blessed. With talented players
Let’s choose wisely.
..
If you ask me:- I think SE need the Chelsea defender Tomori not Tammy..
We need to improve with our own talents . seriously!
What’s the point of having youth competitions and yet not inculcating them into senior level . Does NFF enjoy waste of talents or what
Tammy was groomed by England . Nevertheless I’d he indeed is serious about wanting to play for Nigeria , he will have to earn it seriously….
Let me ask dis question,
Is Tammy better than Osimhen?
For me, it is a capital letter NO, considering the the clubs both play with and the caliber of players in d clubs.
Moreover, months from now, both will meet in d UCL