NFF Target Jordon Ibe Impressed Against Chelsea - Bournemouth Coach

Bournemouth coach Eddie Howe was satisfied with the performance of Jordon Ibe in his side's narrow 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the quarterfinal of the League Cup on Wednesday night.

The Cherries were forced to make a substitution as early as the 17th minute when Ibe replaced the injured Jermain Defoe, and they were some positives from the former Liverpool starlet, with the highlight of his performance being the assist he provided for the equalizer scored by Gosling on 90 minutes.

''I think our squad is very well balanced and the players that came in impressed. We know the players that we can rely on and tonight’s performance will lift them and it will lift us,'' Howe told Bournemouth's official website.

''Jordon [Ibe] played more centrally today. It was a bit of a risk as he hasn’t done that much for us, but he showed his ability to find space and cause problems, with his pace a real threat.''

Jordon Ibe, 22, made his 20th appearance of the season against Chelsea, and has clocked up 1,058 minutes in total.

The former England youth international was approached by ex-Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh to play for Nigeria two years ago but his answer was negative as at that time.

Igho Kingsley

Photo Credit : afcb.co.uk