'Haaland was at the top' - Super Eagles midfielder reveals what convinced him to join Red Bull Salzburg

Nigeria international Samson Tijani has revealed what convinced him to join Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2020.

The defensive midfielder's next career step was hot topic in these parts after putting himself in the shop window at the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil, where he scored a brace in Nigeria's opening day win versus Hungary.

At youth level, Tijani first rose to prominence at the WAFU Zone B U17 AFCON qualifiers, winning the Most Valuable Player award.

The likes of Manchester City, Anderlecht, Racing Genk and Atletico Madrid were among the teams credited with an interest in the Collins Edwin Sports Club  product before he got a call from Red Bull Salzburg.

The former Golden Eaglets captain was convinced that Red Bull Salzburg was the best club for him mainly due to the exploits of Erling Braut Haaland at Die Roten Bullen.

"After the World Cup I was 'okay, what's the next step?'. There were all kinds of rumours about this club and that club," Tijani said to Red Bull's YouTube channel.

"Finally I was contacted by Red Bull. I knew about them, but didn't really know at first how big they are.

"I looked through the profile of the club and everything and thought, 'okay I think they will be good for me'.

"Haaland was at the top, that was in 2019. I thought I'd like to take this step".

Tijani has been registered for the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League after impressing first team boss
Matthias Jaissle at the winter training camp.