The name Leke James is not one which rings a bell when Nigerian players doing well abroad is mentioned but in Norway he has achieved a cult hero status base on his consistency in front of goal.
Leke powered Molde to their first league title since 2012 with 15 goals to his name this season with his partnership with Norway born Nigerian Ohi Omoijuanfo producing 30 of the goals that landed the title to Molde.
In the Europa League the Nigerian scored four goals from 8 games but despite his impressive goal return he has not been considered for a spot in the senior national team of Nigeria by coach Gernot Rohr.
The argument could be that he plays in the Norwegian league but in recent times the coach has called up Viv Solomon-Otabor who plays in Bulgaria for CSKA Sofia , Paul Onuachu made his debut while playing for FC Midtjylland in Denmark and only recently Czech Republic based Peter Olayinka was called up from Slavia Prague.
The above mentioned league are not as highly rated as the Norwegian league where Leke is viewed as a goal king following the success he enjoyed during his time at Aalesund and now at Molde. He was signed by the present Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer upon his return to Norway after a brief stint in China with Beijing Enterprise.
Known for his philanthropic works in Kaduna, Solskjaer jumped at the chance of signing him a year before he move to Manchester United after admitting his admiration for the forward while he was at Aalesund.
” Leke is one player I have liked for a long time, so when we had the chance to sign him on a free it was heavenly “, the coach said in 2018 after signing Leke.
Solskjaer’s admiration for the forward is in sharp contrast to that of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr who hasn’t looked the way of the 27 year old perhaps with rumours linking him with a move to Germany in January he could yet force his way into the national team set up before the next international break in March.
