England make concrete move to provisionally cap-tie Chelsea's Super Falcons-eligible midfielder 

The English Football Association have made a concrete move to secure the services of talented Chelsea midfielder Ashanti Akpan ahead of their Nigerian and Polish counterparts, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Born in Warsaw to a Nigerian father and Polish mother, Akpan qualifies to represent the national teams of Nigeria, Poland and England, where she grew up.

England U19 head coach Amy Merricks has selected Akpan in her squad for this month's UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

The 17-year-old could become provisionally cap-tied to England if she features in any of the games against Greece, Wales or Czechia in the first round of qualifying for next summer’s tournament in Lithuania.

Akpan made her senior debut for Chelsea in a  Women's FA Cup quarterfinal tie against Reading at the Madejski Stadium in March 2023 and was a non-playing substitute in a Champions League match against Real Madrid in November 2022.

The Nigeria Football Federation have done well when it comes to recruiting dual national players and an analysis of the Super Falcons' 2023 Women's World Cup roster proves it but they are lagging behind in the race for the English-Polish-Nigerian starlet.

Of the 23 players named in the Super Falcons World Cup squad, six in the shape of Ashleigh Plumptre, Ifeoma Onumonu, Toni Payne, Jennifer Echegini, Michelle Alozie and Yewande Balogun could have played for countries other than Nigeria.

Former Liverpool winger Rinsola Babajide recently switched her nationality from England and Nigeria and could make her competitive debut for the African powerhouse this week in a 2024 Women Olympic Football Tournament qualification fixture against Ethiopia.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: englandfootball.com

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