The Negative Impact Ajayi's Omission Could Have On Super Eagles In Egypt

Published: June 11, 2019

Super Eagles manager Gernot Rohr released his official 23-man list for the 2019 African Cup of Nations and Semi Ajayi was surprisingly overlooked by the gaffer.

The versatile Rotherham United player was one of the most active Nigerians in Europe throughout last season.

He wasn't just active for the Championship side, he was equally phenomenal in their fight against relegation as he scored some great goals.

Having dropped Ajayi from the traveling party, Rohr is left with defensive midfielders who hardly deliver when played out of position.

Hopefully, there won't be injury crises in Eagles' camp during the competition, else the team will definitely miss Ajayi's versatility and blistering form.

Ajayi found the back of the net on eight occasions for Rotherham, meaning Rohr will be without a goalscoring defensive midfielder who could have been the team's secret goalscoring weapon in Egypt.

Apart from preventing the Super Eagles from having a defensive midfielder who can score from set-piece, Ajayi's snub might negatively affect the Nigeria Football Federation's chances of luring many foreign-born players to the Super Eagles in the future.

Considering that the ex-Arsenal youth captain was controversially axed from the team, many young players of Nigerian descent might lose interest in playing for the West African country because they're not certain of being invited to camp by national team handlers or being an integral part of the Super Eagles setup whenever they pledge allegiance to Nigeria.

Ibukun Italoye