Rohr's Favourite Player Continues Life On The Bench At Bursaspor

There is no doubt now that Super Eagles defender William Troost-Ekong has lost his first-choice status at Turkish club Bursaspor after he was named on the bench for this evening's Super Lig match against Konyaspor, starting 1800 hours.

Troost-Ekong was also not in the starting line-up for games against Göztepe and Karabükspor, fueling speculation that he has been demoted which is now confirmed.

Heading into the World Cup, the former Tottenham Hotspur youth-teamer could lose his confidence as he has had no minutes since the appointment of Mustafa Er as coach.

Whilst Ekong has been dubbed Rohr's favourite player as he has started and completed all the matches played by Nigeria since the former Bayern Munich defender took over the managerial reins, another player the German has a soft spot for, Mikel Agu, is in exactly the same predicament.

The Porto loanee finds himself on the bench for the second straight game, having made 21 league starts out of the 24 games he was available for selection.

Nigeria first-choice right-back Abdullahi Shehu's situation at Bursaspor under the new coach remains the same as he has been named in the starting eleven for the third game in a row.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel