Manchester United's Updated Premier League Squad Contains Three Nigerian Strikers

Manchester United's updated Premier League squad contains three Nigeria-eligible strikers, with former Super Eagles star Odion Ighalo the headline name amongst the trio, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Irish-born Ayodeji Sotona and Dutch-born Dillon Hoogewerf qualified to be included on the list as U21 players and scholars but their teammate in United's U18 squad, Shola Shoretire has not been selected.

Shoretire, who has captained England at U16 level, is still a schoolboy though the precocious talent was promoted to the U18 team for the 2019-2020 season.

Ighalo has the biggest shot at becoming the first Nigeria-eligible player in history to feature for Manchester United in the Premier League - something which could happen as early as February 17 when they tackle Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

While Sotona is not on the fringes of United's U23 squad, Hoogewerf has not featured for that age group since December 16, 2019.

Ighalo, who also has an Italian passport, is among ten players in United's senior list not classed as a home-grown player. 

For the sake of clarity, a 'Home-Grown Player' means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : manutd.com