Rohr Explains Difficulty In Inviting Arsenal Super Kid Saka To Super Eagles
Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has acknowledged that it would be very hard to invite Arsenal rising star Bukayo Saka to participate in the national team because he has competitive caps for England's youth teams.
Saka who is a graduate of The Hale End Academy product would have been readily available before he played for the Young Lions at the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 in which his impressive performance gave him visibility.
It took a long while before former England youth internationals Ola Aina, Victor Moses and Sammy Ameobi were able to switch nationalities, and Rohr fears Saka would suffer the same fate if he decides to play for Nigeria.
Rohr says for Bukayo Saka of Arsenal, it is very difficult to bring in any player who has played already for England or other countries in the U-17, U-18 and U-20 categories.
The 18-year-old Saka made his debut in November 2018 when he played for the Young Lions and caught the attention of England. He has since featured in eight games for Arsenal's first team.
What is England playing at? They won't let our young football stars represent Nigeria and yet they still dump them soon after. The case of fashanu from years back should serve as a lesson to Saka, Abraham and Co.
It is still the player's call, whether to play for England or for his home country. The decision is finally his to make.
Where is the spirit of patriotism? Sold in exchange for money? Very unfortunate.
I think that's a matter of opinion, everyone has the right to their dreams.
The Nigeria Football Federation had made several attempts to woo Chelsea's Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori and the English Football Association had stopped them in their tracks by handing call-ups to them. So what exactly is England playing at? These players also have the right to represent their countries.