Michael Olise will most certainly be the No 1 target for the Super Eagles new coaches Augustine Eguavoen and Emmanuel Amuneke after what they saw him produce today for Crystal Palace against Chelsea in the Premier League.
Olise armed with his magical left foot was the creative force for Palace as they held their own against Chelsea until the dying minutes of this London Derby.
The exciting midfielder got Palace going, he was also the team’s dead ball specialist and set up Zaha for what would have been Palace opening goal in first half stoppage time.
He certainly caught the eye, but Nigeria must fight off the interest of France and Algeria if they hope to get him to play for the Super Eagles as he is also eligible to play for them through his mother.
The former Reading star has scored three goals and provided four assists in his last seven games for Palace.
Another Eagles target with Crystal Palace, Eberechi Eze, joined the fray with less than 10 minutes to the end of this derby.
Eze has been sidelined by injury for the past eight months.
Getting both top-rated midfielders Olise and Eze to play for Nigeria next month may be far-fetched as it would involve them changing their international allegiance having already represented France and England respectively at age-grade levels.
But it would be a lot easier to convince both players to play for the Eagles at this year’s World Cup in Qatar should they secure the qualification ticket at the expense of Ghana.
Interestingly, the Eagles coaches in the stands at Selhurst Park also ran the rule on two Ghana stars, Jordan Ayew and Jeffrey Schlupp, ahead of next month’s World Cup playoffs against rivals Black Stars.
