England u21
boss Aidy Boothroyd says Nigeria could look to lure more players away after the
success of Alex Iwobi for the national side.
There have
been reports that Tammy Abraham could switch to the Super Eagles, although so
far he has denied the links. Boothroyd says he expects Abraham to remain with
England, but doesn’t deny that Nigeria will try to lure more players away in
the future, especially if the Three Lions can’t guarantee them game time.
Asked about
Iwobi’s decision to play for Nigeria, after spending his youth career with
England, and the possibility of Abraham doing the same thing, Boothroyd
explained (via Evening Standard): “It’s a hard one. I can’t guarantee they are
going to play because the group is so good. Tammy didn’t start the game before
last but that’s just one of those things. Perhaps other countries will see that
and get into him, promise him the world and get him in the first team.
“It’s an
interesting one (with Abraham). I saw like you all did on the TV. The good
thing is we have a relationship and I can pick the phone up and say ‘what’s
going on mate?’
“He laughs
and says he doesn’t know where it came from but it certainly didn’t come from
him. Twenty minutes later it comes across in yellow again: ‘Tammy Abraham says
he’s going to play for England’.”
Abraham is
currently at Swansea City, on loan from Chelsea like so many other youngsters,
so he’s certainly no stranger to moving for game time. Of course playing for
Nigeria would be a much more permanent decision, but it seems at the moment
he’s happy with England.
Iwobi has
played for Nigeria 11 times between his debut in October 2015, almost two years
ago to the day.
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