Super Eagles Stars, Pinnick Confident Omidiji Will Choose Nigeria Ahead Of USA

Super Eagles stars including Kelechi Iheanacho and William Troost-Ekong are confident they can persuade Feyenoord wonderkid Lateef Omidiji Jnr to commit his international future to Nigeria ahead of his country of birth, the United States.

The Nigeria Football Federation, especially Amaju Pinnick and vice president Seyi Akinwunmi, also deserve plaudits as they have been working behind the scenes to make sure the young striker pledges his allegiance to Nigeria, ahead of the 2019 Fifa U17 World Cup.

''Some of the Super Eagles players (Iheanacho and Troost-Ekong), Lateef has had long lasting relationships with them,'' a top source told allnigeriasoccer.com.

''They are super supportive of him, encouraging and see him as a baby brother and the one coming up behind them in the future.

''Today most people are finding out but he's known most of them for a while.

''Akinwunmi has gone above and beyond. Pinnick has been in contact with Feyenoord. They have emailed, called, spoken to Feyenoord to make sure Feyenoord know he's their player.

''Lateef is going to eclipse anything we've seen in a while in Nigeria in the coming years.''

Lateef Omidiji's father is a Nigerian based in the Netherlands, which makes him eligible to represent the three-time African champions despite being born in the United States.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel