Ten English-Based Nigerian Talents That Can Be Capped By The National Teams (1-5)

The jostle for national team slots is never an easy a task to indulge in, especially for youngsters who are oblivious of the pros and cons of the set-up and then, the age-old chestnut of agents lobbying for the inclusion of their clients equally makes it all the more difficult.

Thankfully, Gernot Rohr has so, has less of the latter to contend with his authority quite commanding in almost all of the quarters.

But why most of our prodigies remain well outside the picture of any of the national teams is anybody's guess.

Taking England as a case study were one would find most of our promising starlets littered all over — from Manchester duo of Lukas Mmecha and Tosin Kehinde, Arsenal's Xavier Amaechi, Arthur Okonkwo and Folarin Balogun to Chelsea's Ike Ugbo, Faustino Anjorin and Tariq Uwakwe, not forgetting Southampton's Michael Obafemi and Millwall's Fred Onyedimma, allnigeriasoccer.com had chosen to detail the readers in two series, ten of the finest of our budding gems.

1. Lukas Nmecha (Manchester City): It is telling that a certain 19-year old youngster had been fortunate enough to feature for a star-studded Manchester City this term and even helped the club into the semifinals of the EFL Cup against Leicester City, scoring a penalty in the shootout as the Citizens eased to the victory. For the U23s in the Premier League 2, eight goals in six starts and seven appearances overall stands him out as a ruthless marksman and it is little wonder Pep Guardiola and his power brokers wasted little time in tying him down until at least 2021.

2. Tosin Kehinde (Manchester United): Regarded as the most promising player within the Red Devils youth set up, Tosin is perharps the next in line to the midfield throne at Manchester United.

For someone so young, he has great vision and a tremendous sense of positioning, which allows him to constantly recover possession and training with the senior side on a number of occasions has certainly helped. Clearly, a maiden debut for the first team is on the cards.

3. Xavier Amaechi (Arsenal): Players with Amaechi's level of skill on the ball are worth their weight in gold and it is even more surprising given his tender age.

The enterprising winger who just turned 17 this year is primed for the upper echelons of the game . Fast, skillful and cheeky, the young trickster could well be turning out alongside his compatriots of Alex Iwobi and Chuba Akpom for the senior team in no distant time.

4.Arthur Okonkwo (Arsenal): For a 16-year old to take up the mantle between the sticks at a club of Arsenal stature, one would undoubtedly be expecting quality. And in Okonkwo, that is precisely what you get.

The young goalkeeper who has caught the eyes of first team gaffer, Arsene Wenger is highly regarded by the Frenchman and have even trained with the senior team
on a couple of occasions.

5. Folarin Balogun (Arsenal): Folarin Balogun completes the trio of Arsenal brightest prospects who are primed for big things, and rightly so.

A versatile pacy midfielder aged 16, Balogun is well known in the youth ranks for his goal scoring prowess from his favoured midfield position, having already scored against Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain in the ABN AMRO Future Cup.

Emmanuel Chinaza

Photo Credit : twitter.com/lukasnmecha