Agent reveals Nigeria have made an attempt to lure ex-Austria U21 captain to Super Eagles  

Cremonese star Emanuel Aiwu is a player of interest to the Nigeria Football Federation, the central defender's agent Marcello Brillmann has claimed. 

It is known that the Nigeria coaches led by Jose Peseiro and NFF scouts are scouring Europe for a reliable central defender, with Leon Balogun (34), William Troost-Ekong (29), Semi Ajayi (29) and Kenneth Omeruo (29) not getting any younger in football terms. 

Peseiro put faith in Omeruo and Ajayi in the Super Eagles' latest international against Sierra Leone, raising the average age in the starting lineup to 26 - one of the oldest starting lineups the Portuguese has fielded since his appointment as coach of the three-time African champions. 

Former Austria U21 captain Aiwu ticks a lot of boxes as a potential Super Eagles player as he played for a club in a top five European League last season,  he's under the age of 23 and not cap-tied to his country of birth, Austria. 

The 22-year-old is considering switching his international allegiance from Austria to Nigeria because he has been consistently overlooked by Austria boss Ralf Rangnick.

Aiwu, who is teammates with Cyriel Dessers and David Okereke at Cremonese, keeps track of the progress of the Super Eagles.  

Commenting on the international future of Aiwu, Brillmann told Kicker: "Contact with the ÖFB is active and I know that they think a lot of Emanuel there but I also have good contacts with Nigeria, who are very interested. 

"Emanuel has played for all junior national teams in Austria and was born and raised here. We'll see what the future brings. The upcoming transfer window is now our top priority.

"The ÖFB was informed by me after the first contact by Nigeria. There was a very good meeting with sports director Peter Schöttel, who confirmed to me again how much the ÖFB thinks of Emanuel and that they are planning with Emanuel."

Brillmann suggested that the Nigerian Federation would have invited Aiwu for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone if the player had pledged his future to the Super Eagles. 

"This isn't about stalling. We respect Nigeria as much as we respect Austria. In the end you will have to make a decision.

"If it were Nigeria, they would have preferred to invite Emanuel to the current course," he concluded. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: Instagram

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