A couple of relatively unknown Nigerian players have caught out attention as the season in Europe hots up owing to their performances in top leagues, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Top among them is John Donald who plays in the LaLiga for Elche and scored the winner for the newly promoted side in their 2-1 win over Elche last weekend. Born in Spain to parents of Nigerian descent he hasn’t been capped at any level. He can operate as a defensive midfielder, right back or centre back.
Still in the LaLiga former Nigeria U17 trainee Ovie Ejaria, who also represented England at different youth levels before revealing his willingness to play for Nigeria has impressed mightily for Real Oviedo.
Before succumbing to injury, the former Liverpool youngster who have also had stints in Scotland with league giants Rangers and made his mark in the Championship with Reading hasn’t looked like a player who spent a year without a club.
17 year old Atalanta defender Honest Ahanor who started his rise as a 16 year old at Genoa last season before moving to Atalanta in the summer. So far he has played in their both games on the UEFA Champions League.
In the league he has also started in their last two games with pundits already tipping him as the next big thing to likely emerge from Italy, where he was born to Nigerian parent. Like John he hasn’t been capped at any level.
In the Netherlands there is Gibson Yah, he hasn’t looked out of place playing for newly promoted FC Volendam. The central midfielder who was a part of the youth team setup at Ajax and Utrecht has two assists to his name already.
The 22 year old is termed by many as the revelation of the season so far judging by how he has been able to hold his own against established players in the league. His only cap for the Netherlands came at U15 level keeping him eligible for Nigeria.
Not so many times do you see a 17 year old in the first team of German giants and champions Bayern Munich, but that is the case with Wisdom Mike, who have already made his first team debut by playing in the final six minutes of their 4-0 win over Werder Bremen.
Capped by Germany from U15-U17, his international future is very much in the air without a senior international cap for Germany.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
