{"id":13935,"date":"2019-08-08T16:19:02","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/nigeria\/?p=13935"},"modified":"2019-08-08T16:19:02","modified_gmt":"2019-08-08T16:19:02","slug":"brighton-wonderkid-offiah-eager-to-switch-intl-allegiance-play-for-nigeria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/brighton-wonderkid-offiah-eager-to-switch-intl-allegiance-play-for-nigeria","title":{"rendered":"Brighton Wonderkid Offiah Eager To Switch Int\u2019l Allegiance, Play For Nigeria"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brighton & Hove Albion youngster Odele Offiah has pledged his international future to Nigeria despite strong interest from England.<\/p>\n

The youngster simply called \u2018Odel\u2019 at Brighton is virtually an unknown figure in Nigeria. His father, Chike Offiah, is brother of England\u2019s Rugby great, Martin Offiah.<\/p>\n

The 16-year-old is currently on the radar of England national team youth coaches but Offiah, Completesports.com scooped from a reliable source close to his family in the United Kingdom, is keen on wearing the green and white shirts of Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Odele, who will turn 17 in October, can play either in midfield or defence. He is a natural athlete with power and pace.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am certain in the knowledge as a professional football scout that Odele is not only better than players in your current under 17 squad, but will undoubtedly improve your current squad\u2019s chances of winning national tournaments,\u201d the source told Completesports.com.<\/p>\n

\u201cOdele currently plays for Premier League Brighton & Hove Albion and is also on the standby list for the England national team, however knowing Odele\u2019s family personally, I am aware that Odele\u2019s preferred nation for international football is Nigeria.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, if Nigeria do not select him, at some stage England will! I
\nsimply can\u2019t understand how he has gone under Nigeria\u2019s radar.\u201d<\/p>\n

Offia currently plays for Brighton and Hove Albion\u2019s U18s and is in line to get a professional contract after leaving school at the end of this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brighton & Hove Albion youngster Odele Offiah has pledged his international future to Nigeria despite strong interest from England. The youngster simply called \u2018Odel\u2019 at Brighton is virtually an unknown figure in Nigeria. His father, Chike Offiah, is brother of England\u2019s Rugby great, Martin Offiah. The 16-year-old is currently on the radar of England national […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":13938,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[362,116,392,122],"class_list":["post-13935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-defence","tag-football","tag-league","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nBrighton Wonderkid Offiah Eager To Switch Int\u2019l Allegiance, Play For Nigeria - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/all-news\/brighton-wonderkid-offiah-eager-to-switch-intl-allegiance-play-for-nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brighton Wonderkid Offiah Eager To Switch Int\u2019l Allegiance, Play For Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Brighton & Hove Albion youngster Odele Offiah has pledged his international future to Nigeria despite strong interest from England. The youngster simply called \u2018Odel\u2019 at Brighton is virtually an unknown figure in Nigeria. His father, Chike Offiah, is brother of England\u2019s Rugby great, Martin Offiah. 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