The name Chidera Ejuke is one that has been on the lips of football loving Nigerians the past few days owing to how the 22 year old has blossomed at Dutch Eredivisie side Heerenveen in his first season at the club.
Signed from Norwegian side Valerenga, the wing forward has gone on to become one of the most sought after player in the Dutch League after scoring nine goals this season with a further five assists to his name.
What many didn’t know is that he was twice dropped from the camp of the Nigeria U17 team in 2015 and 2017 respectively. In 2015 he was among the first set of players tipped to blossom if the team made it to the tournament proper but he was surprisingly dropped.
” No one can explain why he was dropped apart from the coach Emmanuel Amuneke. It came as a shock to everyone but you have to respect the fact that the team went to the World Cup without him and lifted the trophy “, his Nigerian representative Babawo Mohammed told Owngoalnigeria.com.
His exclusion from the team cost him a dream move to Manchester City whose scout spotted him at the camp of the Nigeria U17 team at a time where they were trying to build a base in Nigeria on the back of the exploits of Kelechi Iheanacho. It was same scout that recommended the signing of Iheanacho and Chidiebere Nwakali.
When that move broke down, he went on trial to Liverpool where he spent two weeks training with their Under-18 alongside three other Nigerian players. At the end of the trials he wasn’t signed and had to return back to Nigeria.
His return coincided with when Manu Garba was building the 2017 Under-17 team that failed to qualify for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations. Just like it happened in 2015 he was once again dropped but this time around it was on the ground of eligibility.
His agent Babawo took the unusual step of not rushing the then 17 year old to the Nigeria Professional Football League rather took him to a second division team Supreme Court to help boost his confidence as he was clearly lacking competitive football experience.
That move started the rise of the now famous 22 year old as after six months, Manu Garba signed him to Gombe United but that move came a bit late as he has already impressed Norwegian based agent Attah Aneke in a scouting game.
Manu insist on having the forward play with his team until his visa is out and that season he played just six games before travelling to Norway where after two weeks of training he was signed by Valerenga.
” He grew a lot at Gombe United, so when he went to Norway it was seamless for him to adapt. The process wasn’t quite easy as it required patience, commitment and finance. It’s however paying off with the way he is performing at the moment. I will be surprise if he doesn’t make the next Super Eagles squad”, Babawo concluded.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
