'He Is A Gifted Player' - Southampton Defender Olufunwa Hails Watford's Nigerian Eden Hazard
Published: January 18, 2019
Southampton, who have one of the best academies in England, would be disappointed that they went out of the FA Youth Cup after they were beaten 2-1 by Watford in a fourth round tie at Wingate and Finchley on Thursday evening.
As exclusively reported by this website, Nigeria Football Federation target Jayden Bennetts, whose playing style has drawn comparisons with Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard was named in the starting line-up, less than three days after he returned to the United Kingdom after training with the Flying Eagles.
The Saints Under-18s boss Paul Hardyman named promising fullback Oludare Olufunwa in the starting line-up.
Speaking after the game, a disappointed Olufunwa told allnigeriasoccer.com : ''I played against Bennetts, he is a gifted player technically and can also tackle well.
''I think we had a good contest against each other yesterday and both tested each other defensively and offensively.
''We are a very good team but struggled to match Watford's work rate. ''
Watford U18s manager also reserved special praise for Bennetts and told the club's official website : ''I thought Jayden Bennetts was magnificent.
''I thought Emmanuel, who came in for the star of the last round, was very effective, but all night the front two were excellent.''
Bennetts came close to opening the scoring in the first half but his long-range strike hit the top of the bar.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
Latest News
- Uche sends message to Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle with goal for Getafe in win against Girona
- 'No Osimhen' - Turkish coach explains why Galatasaray were soundly beaten by AZ Alkmaar in UEL
- Lookman misses out as Atalanta name squad to face Cagliari, 31 days before international break
- Five reasons Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle should convince Chelsea CB Tosin to play for Nigeria
- Man Utd coach promotes 17yo Nigerian goal machine to first team training pre-Tottenham
- Omotara Junaid: Arsenal's Super Falcons-eligible midfielder promoted to England U19s squad
- Peseiro's agent confirms ex-Super Eagles coach has agreed one-and-a-half year deal to coach Zamalek
- Arsenal coach Arteta open to deploying Nwaneri upfront amid Havertz and Jesus injuries
- 'I was afraid' - Mourinho reveals why Osayi-Samuel was replaced at half-time in Fenerbahce's UEL win
- 2025 Afcon draw fallout: Egypt FA pulls plug on proposed friendlies against Flying Eagles


News Categories
- Football Betting
- African Players
- Australia/ Asia
- Belgian Championship
- Bundesliga
- Danish Football
- English Premier League
- Nigeria National Teams
- Casinos not on Gamstop
- Nigeria Premier League
- Norwegian Football
- Polish Football
- Russian Championship
- Serie A
- Spanish Liga
- Swedish Championship
- Transfer
- Turkish Championship
- 1Win
- Ukrainian Football
- Uncategorized
- Women's Football