One of the shortlisted candidates for the job of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Steve McClaren told the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical committee that he has an idea on who will be a better alternative to the top striker of the Super Eagles Victor Osimhen.
McCLaren was shortlisted alongside and interviewed for the job made vacant by the departure of Finidi George after the poor results in the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively. He however picked up the role of the head coach of Jamaica.
It means the duo of Eric Chelle and Tom Saintfeit are now the front runners for the job. McCLaren however made clear his intention to bolster the team, if he was given the role and mentioned Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke as the one player he will convince to play for Nigeria.
He said he noticed that the team struggle in the absence of Osimhen and strongly feels that Solanke who is still eligible for Nigeria at senior level, despite representing England once at senior level and also various youth level is the perfect option for the role.
26 year old Solanke scored 19 goals in 38 games last season for Bournemouth, and according to McClaren his experience of playing in the English Premier League for a while means he won’t be out of place in the Super Eagles.
The former coach of England who recently left his role as assistant coach of Manchester United for the Jamaican job sees Solanke as one who won’t struggle to adapt to African football, because of his physical size and better finish rate than Osimhen.
