Nigeria hope to convince Chelsea youngster Ola Aina to declare for them rather than England, Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has suggested.
The 20-year-old full-back was born in London and has played for England at Under-19 and U20 level and was part of the U21 squad in November 2015.
Asked after Nigeria’s match with Senegal at Barnet on Thursday whether he would look to add Aina to the Super Eagles setup Rohr suggested the decision would be down to the player.
“It is normal to have this situation, when we have very good player [like Ola Aina] who can pick two teams,” Rohr said. “We always leave the door open to young talent.”
After signing a new contract in the summer Aina made his debut for Chelsea’s first-team in an EFL Cup tie against Bristol Rovers in August and has since made two Premier League appearances for Antonio Conte’s side, playing a combined total of eight minutes.
Were Nigeria to convince Aina to make the switch he would join Chelsea team-mate Victor Moses and Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi among those to have come through England’s youth setup before declaring for the African nation.
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