Lillestrom SK have commitment with three Nigerian youngsters after they handed professional contracts to Kparobo Ariehri and Tochukwu Ogboji as well as an agreement with Sporting Lagos for 16-year-old winger Seun Akanji.
Ariehri from Beyond Limits featured for the Flying Eagles at last year’s U20 AFCON WAFU B qualifiers, while defender Ogboji has been capped by the Golden Eaglets.
Lillestrom sports director Simon Mesfin said they are also pleased to have secured an option on Akanji.
“Akanji is a player who was scouted during a scouting tournament in Nigeria. There, all the Eliteserien clubs and several Scandinavian teams had him as number one on the list of the tournament’s talents. We thought he was so exciting that we decided to invite him,” he said.
“This is similar to the case we had with KP (Kparobo Ariheri), where we secured the rights long before the player turned 18.
“Akanji can only become eligible to play in the summer of 2026, but we have now made a club agreement that secures us the rights when he turns 18.
“In the meantime, we will invite him to several stays with us to start the integration phase and continue his development.
“He is one of the most exciting talents in Nigeria right now, and we are very pleased to have this deal in place,”
The likes of Jerome Akor, Ifeanyi Mathew and Nosa Igiebor have featured for Lillestrom previously.
