Amaju Pinnick may have been one of those who called for Finidi George to be appointed the latest substantive head coach of the Nigeria national team, but that does not mean the two men agree on everything.
A known subject on which their views certainly differ is about whether Nigerians with national ties to other countries should be actively pursued to switch allegiance in favour of the fatherland.
The erstwhile Pinnick-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) administration certainly believed that was the way to go, and embarked on several of such missions, with mixed results — a move criticised by Finidi back then.
“The NFF should do more. They should not be thinking only about the Super Eagles. It is the league where everything begins. It is the league that supplies players to the national team.
Now we are running after players that were born in Europe to come back and play for Nigeria. Who will train them for you? You want others to train players and you wait to convert them to change their nationality so they can come and play for Nigeria? Why don’t you train your own here in Nigeria?
“I am not saying Nigerians born outside should not play for Nigeria, after all, in the past we had Reuben Agboola and others but they were just one or two. We were not rushing on anybody born in Europe and playing football. All we need to do is work on our home-bred players,” Finidi suggested as a more viable alternative, adding that “maybe when you find one or two good ones from outside there, they can come and join the team.”
Diaspora-born players Nigeria might miss out on
Clearly, Finidi is not averse to the idea of having such players represent Nigeria, but — should the former Ipswich Town star abide by his principles — it is quite plain he would not be inclined to go after them.
That might mean Nigeria potentially misses out on a number of fine prospects — some of them long-coveted — including these five:
Elijah Adebayo
Luton Town have not had the rosiest debut season in the Premier League, but they have had some stand-out players, one of whom is striker Adebayo.
Luton's season — which may well see them relegated, anyway — would have been much worse without Adebayo's ten goals (a fifth of the entire team's total), even if those double digits get him no closer to making his senior England debut at age 26.
Compared to some of the others on this list, Adebayo feels like low-hanging fruit, the sort that Nigeria only needs to reach out and pluck.
It is unlikely Finidi would ponder it, though, considering he already has available to him — from Victor Osimhen to Victor Boniface and everyone in-between — the richest array of attacking talent any Nigeria trainer could dream of.
Michael Olise
There are few Premier League players more thrilling to watch and harder to defend against when on the ball than Olise, who is so good it does not look like he would be much longer at Crystal Palace.
His essence to the South Londoners, as a highly valuable asset, has only grown this season, especially under new manager Oliver Glasner.
Olise remains uncapped at senior international level, though, yet to play for Nigeria or any of the three other countries (England, France and Algeria) he is eligible for.
But Finidi, one suspects, would not be drawn into a battle for Olise's commitment. It is simply not the kind of thing he has an appetite for, is it?
Michael Kayode
Kayode is the next big thing in the line of Nigerian-Italians (mainly defenders, incidentally) that began with West Ham United veteran Angelo Ogbonna and also includes Destiny Udogie, now of Tottenham Hotspur.
Those two have gone on to represent Gli Azzurri, and there is every chance that Kayode, currently on the books of Serie A side Fiorentina and courting interest of clubs further afield, joins them.
The right-back has already had success in an Italy shirt, scoring the title-clinching goal in a triumphant European Under-19 Championship last year.
Nigeria, no doubt, would be interested — it is, after all, where both of the right-back's parents hail from — but, if any move would indeed be made in that respect, do not expect Finidi to lead the charm offensive.
Arthur Okonkwo
One of Europe's emerging top goalkeeping talents, Okonkwo has had productive spells on loan from parent club Arsenal in recent seasons, the latest coming at Wrexham.
His stellar efforts saw the Hollywood-backed club complete a second successive promotion, making it to English football's third tier as runners-up, while earning Okonkwo himself a place in the League Two Team of the Season.
London-born Okonkwo, who has already played for England at various youth levels, is clearly one for the future — but that future may not include Finidi's Nigeria, for whom, following the recent emergence of the reliable and impressive Stanley Nwabali, the young man is not exactly a must-have.
Joshua Zirkzee
But for an injury that ruled him out of the possibility of making his international debut for the Netherlands — where his father originates — back in March, Zirkzee might not have made this list of prospective Super Eagles.
It is easy to see why many Nigerians would wish Zirkzee opted to represent his mother's birth country.
He has been an absolute revelation for Serie A side Bologna this season after a difficult first year that followed his move from Bayern Munich, whose academy he emerged from.
Zirkzee's performances leading the line for Thiago Motta's team — valued not just in direct goal contributions, of which he has an admirable 19 in all competitions — are a big reason the Emilia-Romagna outfit has returned to Europe after 22 years, securing a first-ever appearance in the UEFA Champions League.
Not that Finidi would be moved to try and woo him, however; Zirkzee has made quite clear that his preference is for the Dutch national team.
Why bother?
