Tammy Abraham To Accept England Call

[walesvilla]

His friends are English and he barely has been in Nigeria. Under such circumstance the easier choice is England and not Nigeria.

He has Nigerian friends too. He's not socialising with white English people only. You should take a trip to the UK sometime - it's a diverse place.

He would have attended the SE May/June training camp in London -if not for injury playing for england u21 - according to Ola Aina who i met face to face - it was that evening Ola confirmed his own switch when i asked him cheekily replied back 'l no get choice oo'
My take is if England do not cap him this October and Nigeria qualify for wcup - He will most likely switch.
saying that it will be sad if England cap and dump him after 2 call ups.

[Enugu II]

His friends are English and he barely has been in Nigeria. Under such circumstance the easier choice is England and not Nigeria.

He has Nigerian friends too. He's not socialising with white English people only. You should take a trip to the UK sometime - it's a diverse place.

He would have attended the SE May/June training camp in London -if not for injury playing for england u21 - according to Ola Aina who i met face to face - it was that evening Ola confirmed his own switch when i asked him cheekily replied back 'l no get choice oo'
My take is if England do not cap him this October and Nigeria qualify for wcup - He will most likely switch.
saying that it will be sad if England cap and dump him after 2 call ups.

walesvilla,

I never specified white people. I believe you injected that. I spoke about the English and not about white people. Iwobi, Aina, and the rest of those guys who were born in England, went to school in England, have friends who are resident in England are more English in culture than you think. Having Nigerian parents does not mean they are culturally Nigerians.

He could possibly switch and you hit the nail on the head by the highlight above. That is exactly the point I make. It is not the other way round, "If Nigeria does not cap him...." In essence, the first choice has to be England. Why? Honestly, I do not blame any of these guys. He has to make the most comfortable choice which isn't just about football but also about an environment in which he is already comfortable with. These are guys that he has played through several age grade football, bros.

[truetalk]

His friends are English and he barely has been in Nigeria. Under such circumstance the easier choice is England and not Nigeria.

He has Nigerian friends too. He's not socialising with white English people only. You should take a trip to the UK sometime - it's a diverse place.

He would have attended the SE May/June training camp in London -if not for injury playing for england u21 - according to Ola Aina who i met face to face - it was that evening Ola confirmed his own switch when i asked him cheekily replied back 'l no get choice oo'
My take is if England do not cap him this October and Nigeria qualify for wcup - He will most likely switch.
saying that it will be sad if England cap and dump him after 2 call ups.

Let's not forget that these (Iwobi, Aina, Abraham etc) are guys barely out of their teens who have only recently earning money and moved out of the house. They will have their will and often times that will clash against what the old man wants. They also have to be sensitive not to make their parents (living in the UK) appear to be anti-English.

Thinking back at Ola Aina's father's interview, he looked like the type of man who had told his son 'I know what is good for you, and you must do what I say', even if publicly he was saying, 'Ola is a man and he can make his own decisions'.

I think we have Tammy in the bag. He may want to play for England, but his father has probably made the decision. There may be some friction, but I think he gets to camp once and forgets all about that. His father has definitely given Pinnick some assurances, but it would have been better if Pinnick did not go public until things were officially finalized.

Maybe the public signal was to bluff to the English FA who may have been making private moves.

I'd say there is an 80% chance Tammy will play for the Eagles at this stage.

[Dammy]

Well that escalated quickly. I still think there is a slim chance he still commits to Nigeria tho. Meanwhile I think Peakmilk should focus on the German born boys in terms of oyinbo Naija players. Especially on the defensive side of things.

good idea if we can get 2 more like Balogun- German niaja in defense then SE definitely arrived - i also add goalkeeping + always abundant talents in midfield and forward positions

Like their U20 captain who played RB for them, Kevin Akpoguma?

I wonder if he is healthy again after some injury layoff?

I hope we get CDs Uduokhai (Wolfsburg) and Tourunarigha (Hertha Berlin), who can also play at LB.

[Polly]

His friends are English and he barely has been in Nigeria. Under such circumstance the easier choice is England and not Nigeria.

He has Nigerian friends too. He's not socialising with white English people only. You should take a trip to the UK sometime - it's a diverse place.

He would have attended the SE May/June training camp in London -if not for injury playing for england u21 - according to Ola Aina who i met face to face - it was that evening Ola confirmed his own switch when i asked him cheekily replied back 'l no get choice oo'
My take is if England do not cap him this October and Nigeria qualify for wcup - He will most likely switch.
saying that it will be sad if England cap and dump him after 2 call ups.

Let's not forget that these (Iwobi, Aina, Abraham etc) are guys barely out of their teens who have only recently earning money and moved out of the house. They will have their will and often times that will clash against what the old man wants. They also have to be sensitive not to make their parents (living in the UK) appear to be anti-English.

Thinking back at Ola Aina's father's interview, he looked like the type of man who had told his son 'I know what is good for you, and you must do what I say', even if publicly he was saying, 'Ola is a man and he can make his own decisions'.

I think we have Tammy in the bag. He may want to play for England, but his father has probably made the decision. There may be some friction, but I think he gets to camp once and forgets all about that. His father has definitely given Pinnick some assurances, but it would have been better if Pinnick did not go public until things were officially finalized.

Maybe the public signal was to bluff to the English FA who may have been making private moves.

I'd say there is an 80% chance Tammy will play for the Eagles at this stage.

You speak for me. Completely.

[Yiba]

Like their U20 captain who played RB for them, Kevin Akpoguma?

I wonder if he is healthy again after some injury layoff?

Well, the good news for me today is to see Akpoguma on the bench for Hoffenheim! God is good.

[Yiba]

I hope we get CDs Uduokhai (Wolfsburg) and Tourunarigha (Hertha Berlin), who can also play at LB.

Imagine Uduokhai and Balogun pair as CDs! Uduokhai is the future, fearless and adventurous.

Torunnarigha has stated through his father that he is not interested in playing for Nigeria. Abeg, leave am alone.

[Dammy]

I hope we get CDs Uduokhai (Wolfsburg) and Tourunarigha (Hertha Berlin), who can also play at LB.

Imagine Uduokhai and Balogun pair as CDs! Uduokhai is the future, fearless and adventurous.

Torunnarigha has stated through his father that he is not interested in playing for Nigeria. Abeg, leave am alone.

Torunarigha will not be the first to change his mind about playing for Nigeria.

[truetalk]

He just scored for Swansea in the EPL.

Started from the bench but came on at half time.

[Eaglezbeak]

Well that escalated quickly. I still think there is a slim chance he still commits to Nigeria tho. Meanwhile I think Peakmilk should focus on the German born boys in terms of oyinbo Naija players. Especially on the defensive side of things.

good idea if we can get 2 more like Balogun- German niaja in defense then SE definitely arrived - i also add goalkeeping + always abundant talents in midfield and forward positions

Like their U20 captain who played RB for them, Kevin Akpoguma?

I wonder if he is healthy again after some injury layoff?

I hope we get CDs Uduokhai (Wolfsburg) and Tourunarigha (Hertha Berlin), who can also play at LB.

How good are these kids?

[Obong]

Qualifying for the World Cup will put us in a very advantageous position and we will have leverage with these prospects. So, we may hear a different tune from them after we beat Zambia on October 7th in Uyo.

[vancity eagle]

Tammy called up to England U21 team for this international date.

THis means that England cannot cap Tammy until the 2018 WC, which likely will not happen.

So we are looking at qualifying for Euro 2020 which begins in late 2018 I believe, where he will likely be capped.

Unless of course England has another injury and he gets called up to replace somebody.

The ball is in our court. Should we beat Zambia and qualify we can cap tie players against Algeria.

I still believe we should get Ejaria and work on others as well.

[bret- hart]

Tammy called up to England U21 team for this international date.

THis means that England cannot cap Tammy until the 2018 WC, which likely will not happen.

So we are looking at qualifying for Euro 2020 which begins in late 2018 I believe, where he will likely be capped.

Unless of course England has another injury and he gets called up to replace somebody.

The ball is in our court. Should we beat Zambia and qualify we can cap tie players against Algeria.

I still believe we should get Ejaria and work on others as well.

If Tammy rather plays for England U21 rather than Nigeria, then he needs to bounce.

[ogasir]

A lot of these British Nigerian kids have no ambition. Why is a full professional still playing U21 football?

[vancity eagle]

Tammy called up to England U21 team for this international date.

THis means that England cannot cap Tammy until the 2018 WC, which likely will not happen.

So we are looking at qualifying for Euro 2020 which begins in late 2018 I believe, where he will likely be capped.

Unless of course England has another injury and he gets called up to replace somebody.

The ball is in our court. Should we beat Zambia and qualify we can cap tie players against Algeria.

I still believe we should get Ejaria and work on others as well.

If Tammy rather plays for England U21 rather than Nigeria, then he needs to bounce.

Has he been called up to Nigeria ?

Let him play for U21's, If we qualify for WC and have a final game against Algeria in which we can cap tie players and he is called up and denies, then we will see.

The only thing though is I dont see the FIFA papers being changed in time to cap him in November going by how long it took Aina to complete the switch.

Thus Abraham will only be capped if he goes to the WC.

At this point, is he good enough to make a 23 man Nigeria WC squad ? I doubt it.

[paj]

A lot of these British Nigerian kids have no ambition. Why is a full professional still playing U21 football?

[vancity eagle]

actually we play an official match in march a nations cup qualifier against Seychelles. We can cap some players in March as well.

[Flex Swift]

Will they get international clearance in time to play those games suggested?

[heavyd]

Tammy called up to England U21 team for this international date.

THis means that England cannot cap Tammy until the 2018 WC, which likely will not happen.

So we are looking at qualifying for Euro 2020 which begins in late 2018 I believe, where he will likely be capped.

Unless of course England has another injury and he gets called up to replace somebody.

The ball is in our court. Should we beat Zambia and qualify we can cap tie players against Algeria.

I still believe we should get Ejaria and work on others as well.

If Tammy rather plays for England U21 rather than Nigeria, then he needs to bounce.

Has he been called up to Nigeria ?

Let him play for U21's, If we qualify for WC and have a final game against Algeria in which we can cap tie players and he is called up and denies, then we will see.

The only thing though is I dont see the FIFA papers being changed in time to cap him in November going by how long it took Aina to complete the switch.

Thus Abraham will only be capped if he goes to the WC.

At this point, is he good enough to make a 23 man Nigeria WC squad ? I doubt it.

There was some talk that he should have been called up by Southgate for this squad. If he turns us down it will be disappointing but we will move on.

[truetalk]

We should go after Tammy aggressively.

He is a better prospect that Sadiq Umar, and we have a much better chance of getting him than Solanke.

Here is my analysis of the 6 Nigerians in England's U-20 WC winning side, as far as the SE is concerned.

1) Fikayo Tomori - We should go after him most aggressively. Can compete to be in the final 23 to Russia.

Good player

2) Ovie Ejaria - The SE midfield is loaded, and he may not make it to Russia based on options, but he is a long term prospect, and should be tracked.

Not convinced he will be able to survive in the aggressive terrain of African Football. He is a very skilful tidy footballer but not aggressive and quick enough. I think he needed to have gone on loan this season to toughen him up

3) Josh Onomah - Same with Ejaria, even though I rate Ejaria higher.

Good player but wont be any more than a squad player.

4) Seyi Ojo - Needs to raise his game a few notches to have a senior level international career with any country. A southpaw with pace is never a bad thing, but he'll need to add maturity and intelligence to his game. He has too much of 'Isaac Success' going on.

The enigma... This boy is incredibly talented but again like Ejaria he is too laid back. This is what is frustrating Jurgen Klopp as well. He needs to have a breakout season this year or his Liverpool career may be over.

5) Dominic Solanke - No need to pursue. It will be a fruitless effort. His heart and mind are with England and it will be tough to convince him otherwise with the Liverpool move. He also does not brong any qualities we don't have in abundance elsewhere.

Might be a fruitless effort but I completely disagree that he doesn't have qualities we can utilize. Mark my words he will be a regular player for Liverpool in the next couple of seasons.

6) Ademola Lookman: His best option is with Nigeria, but he is drinking the English media cool aid at the moment and it will be be tough to even get him to look our way. Sadly we have seen this happen before, and he seems destined for a few meaningless caps for England.

Very Very good player. Has already turned down Nigeria but could be convinced. Will be an excellent addition to the squad.

For all these guys if Nigeria go to Russia and perform very well it just may sway their thinking as long as we can maintain or improve the level of Administrative and tactical competence we are currently displaying.

2 years later, I still don't believe we have not made a move for the 1st 2 guys on this list, Tomori & Ejaria.
The outlook on all the players remains the same, and the emergence of Saka ever further dims the prospects of Ojo.

Osimhen's emergence will lessen the paid of losing Tega.

Solanke and Lookman should just focus on club football or switch to Nothern Ireland.

[bushboy]

The boy is going to be a top quality footballer. If we can get him from England, it will be absolutely amazing!!

[Eaglezbeak]

He’s English, let it be mate!

[Bigpokey24]

Mods another tammy thread in eagles nest...I am about to open a tomori thread