ormer Aston Villa forward John Fashanu has expressed his disappointment over the decision of Liverpool winger, Jordon Ibe, to play for England instead of Nigeria.
Fashanu, who played for England, told......
Punch
correspondent on Sunday that Ibe would regret shunning Nigeria later in
his football career.
Last week, the 19-year-old Ibe, who has
played for England at the U-18, U-19, U-20 and U-21 levels, confirmed
his decision to play for England at the senior level instead of Nigeria,
even though he was approached by Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh.
Speaking from his experience, Fashanu,
who won two caps for England, said Ibe would likely get only a few caps
for the English senior team, whereas with Nigeria, he has a chance to
play international football for a much longer period.
Fashanu said, “It is disappointing that
Ibe chose England instead of Nigeria. In my own case, I decided to come
to Nigeria to have trials. I came three times when Brazilian coach, Otto
Gloria, was in charge. I wanted to play for Nigeria. I know how let
down I felt when I wasn’t selected, even though I put Nigeria first. We
have been advising many dual nationality players to play for their
fatherland.
“What will happen is that England will
give Ibe two or three opportunities and they will discard him. So it is a
case of him learning from his own experiences. At the moment, the
Nigeria Football Federation seems to be settling now and getting more
organised now. I thought that the new developments in our football would
have spurred Ibe on to decide to come and play for Nigeria.
“If he didn’t succeed, then he could go
and play for England. Everybody may be a bit disappointed but at the end
of the day, it is his choice. He knows what he wants but I think later
on in life, he will regret this decision to opt forEngland instead of
Nigeria.”
Culled - Punch
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