Recently England head coach Gareth Southgate handed the duo of Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori invitations to the Three Lions squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers despite Nigeria Football Federation's best efforts to cap-tie them for Nigeria, their parents' country.

We concentrate on the Super Eagles number 9 role after Abraham turned down Nigeria's approach.

Allnigeriasoccer.com's Izuchukwu Okosi here looks at the power rankings of the available options to Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr after the retirement of Odion Ighalo and Abraham's England decision.


1st:  Victor Osimhen

Lille's Victor Osimhen is undeniably Nigeria's top striker based on form.

The former FIFA U-17 World Cup winner has scored seven goals in seven Ligue 1 matches so far this season and has been described by some Nigerians as even a better striker than Chelsea's Abraham - who was born in England and luckily played for English clubs.

Osimhen comes up as the current first choice striker for the Super Eagles number 9 jersey now.


2nd: Peter Onuachu

Genk's Peter Onuachu has scored four goals in four Belgian Pro League games this season and arguably comes as the current second choice striker for Rohr.

Onuachu was in Nigeria's squad for the 2019 AFCON in Egypt where he did not score at all after that debut goal in Asaba prior to the AFCON.

Onuachu may not be as prolific as Abraham is for Chelsea but on the evidence of his early promise in Belgium, the onetime FC Ebeide player could be better in the future.

3rd: Peter Olayinka

Okay Peter Olayinka has never played for the Super Eagles but he has been invited for Sunday's international friendly against Brazil (1pm Nigerian time) and is expected to get some playtime.

Olayinka perhaps ensured that he made the squad after his UEFA Champions League winner against Inter Milan (the first for this season) on 17 September. This season the languid striker has notched up four league goals in nine games for Czech republic side Slavia Prague.

We expect Olayinka to be a mainstay for the Eagles if there are no issues in his international career. He even has a similar playing style as Tammy Abraham.

4th: Henry Onyekuru

AS Monaco forward Henry Onyekuru is adept playing as a striker or a winger but with several options in the wings for Nigeria, Onyekuru could be a good option to play as the 'main man' for the Eagles.

Onyekuru is not playing against Brazil but in the 2019 AFCON and 2022 World Cup qualifiers to start from November it will be a good idea to try the tricky star down the middle even for limited minutes.

One disadvantage perhaps is his height. Onyekuru is not tall but there have been such strikers anyway like Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Kun Sergio Aguero to mention a few.


5th:  Bonaventure Emmanuel Dennis

Club Brugge's Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis recently made the UEFA Team of The Week after the match day 2's 2-2 draw against Real Madrid after  his brace.

At his club he has three goals in seven matches in the Belgian Pro League. It us however debatable whether he is best suited for the number 9 or should make do with a place on the wings.

Dennis is intelligent but we need to see more of him to draw a conclusion but the early signs are positive.

Special mentions to Stephen Odey and Umar Sodiq. They were not added due to the fact that Odey looks likely to be in the U-23 Eagles more often unless the team fail to qualify for the football event of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics while (for now) Sadiq hasn't played under Rohr or invited.


Izuchukwu Okosi