Former Super Eagles winger, Tijani Babangida has cautioned the Flying Eagles players not to be in a rush to secure contract in Europe.
Recall that Nigeria were recently eliminated by South Korea in the Quarter Finals of the ongoing 2023 U-20 World Cup.
With few of the players attracting interest from clubs in Europe, however, Babangida in a chat with Completesports.com stated that the players mustn’t rush to sign any contract all in the name of playing in Europe.
“I am really impressed with the general performance of the Flying Eagles despite losing to South Korea in the quarter finals. Yes, the players gave all their best but then there is nothing we can do about the result.
“At this stage, I am sure some players would have caught the eyes of clubs in Europe but I will advise them not to be in a rush to sign any contract just because they want to play in Europe.
“It is better to wait and look at clubs that they know will help them grow and develop their game so that they can be useful to the Super Eagles in future.”
4 Comments
Hehehehehe. I laugh in Esan. If you were advising the past Under 17 kids of Ugbade, I would okay your opinion.
Not Bosso’s men. How many years of football remain in their veins that they should not rush to sign contracts?
Lol. How many under 20 guys in recent memory flooded the super eagles when Chukwueze is still 24 and Ndidi 25? Eagles are still “youthful” lol so no new person can claim shirts in a long time since there are already principalities in super eagles and no hope even for suitable replacements in the flying eagles.
In two years time, another set of under 20 will emerge. Oh sorry, Daga is currently 16 years so should feature in the next squad lol.
Nigeria male football is gone I beg
it’s a pity that we did not go to the u20 world cup with our best legs. I stumbled on this YouTube video about the player Oyekachi guy. Check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmohbvDmHNE
Interesting that Divine Nwachukwu who played at the Wafu B U20 tournament and cut from the AFCON and World cup squads has made it to the Super Eagles via the NPFL where he is doing great.
The U15 (2018) Future Eagles, U 17 (2019) World Cup and Wafu B U20 player signed for Bendel Insurance, a recently promoted team from the NNL in Sept 2022 and played 24 games, scoring 4 and assisting 5 from the attacking midfield position. 20 of those 24 games, Bendel insurance went unbeaten.
Apart from the “foreign pros Victor Eletu, Emmanuel Umer and Tochukwu Nnadi, I’ll suggest that Divine has a far higher ceiling and is more likely to go further in his career
So, yes Tijani Babangida is right, one does not have to rush to Europe and sign just in the name of “Japa”. If you are good, your talent will shine regardless of location. Who knows, if Bendel Insurnace get good contacts, they can engineer good transfers that will profit both the players as well as the club.
I would also suggest that the players actively seek out pro players to mentor them in the choices they make
Babangida is talking nonsense. Players have agents and do not rush to Europe on their own anymore like he did in his time.