Why Southgate's visit to Chelsea Training Ground should be a wake-up call to Nigeria
Published: August 11, 2022
The long-awaited return of the Premier League came by last week with a fabulous round of football being played across the 20 teams in the top division.
This weekend, another set of games are set to be played as clubs finalize their training preparations for the weekend.
Chelsea is no different with the Cobham Training Centre bustling with activities throughout the week. One surprising occurrence was the visit of England manager Gareth Southgate to Cobham.
The 51-year-old met with top stars including his English players like Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Connor Gallagher, Reece James, and also had a chat with German manager Thomas Tuchel.
However, while Southgate's visit appears random, it may be far from that and it should serve as a wake-up call to Nigeria.
Recall that last week, Stamford Bridge welcomed Anglo-Nigerian wonderkid Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa after a deal worth 20 million pounds was agreed.
In addition to representing England, Chukwuemeka is eligible to represent Nigeria through his father and Austria through birth.
The 18-year-old recently won the 2022 European U19 Championship this summer with England's Young Lions.
Chukwuemeka's talents are well-known. His strength, technique, mobility and passing range are key traits in his game. However, the most important ability he has is his ability to evade pressure whilst receiving the ball.
This is rare in a midfielder of his age and is one of the cornerstones of modern football. It is highly likely that Southgate is making a move to get Chukwuemeka to choose the Three Lions as his preferred national team.
While England already have some good players like Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, and Declan Rice in this regard, it looks like Southgate wants more. Nigeria on the other hand has very few players with this skillset.
The Super Eagles need someone like Chukwuemeka and Southgate's visit to Cobham should be a wake-up call that midfielders like him are rare and should be snapped up quickly.
Sofoluwe Mayowa
Photo Credit : chelseafc.com
Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com
- Official: Promising Nigerian striker signs new deal with Burnley after leaving Stoke City
- Real Betis midfield overhaul: Leicester City ace Ndidi on the radar of La Liga club
- Stevenage join race for Crystal Palace striker who trained with Flying Eagles in 2023
- Super Eagles' saviour in friendly against Russia attracting interest from Fulham
- Super Eagles forward Chukwueze to hold showdown talks with Allegri over AC Milan future
- Chelsea, Galatasaray or Al-Hilal? Ex-Galatasaray TV reporter predicts Osimhen's next club
- Final day: Three Nigerians leave Arsenal after spending a combined 26 years at the club
- Iheanacho's future at Sevilla depends on ex-midfielder beaten by Nigeria in 1996 Olympics final
- Fact-check: Insider reveals the truth about reports linking Super Eagles midfielder to West Ham
- Onuachu's replacement: Southampton working on deal to sign USMNT striker


- African Players
- Australia/ Asia
- Belgian Championship
- Bundesliga
- Danish Football
- English Premier League
- Nigeria National Teams
- Casinos not on Gamstop
- Nigeria Premier League
- Norwegian Football
- Football Betting
- Polish Football
- Russian Championship
- Serie A
- Spanish Liga
- Swedish Championship
- Transfer
- Turkish Championship
- 1Win
- Ukrainian Football
- Uncategorized
- Women's Football
- SHBET
- keo nha cai
- F168
- F168
- okvip
- hi88
- hi88
- hi88
- hi88
- hi88