Why Southgate's visit to Chelsea Training Ground should be a wake-up call to Nigeria

The long-awaited return of the Premier League came by last week with a fabulous round of football being played across the 20 teams in the top division.

This weekend, another set of games are set to be played as clubs finalize their training preparations for the weekend.

Chelsea is no different with the Cobham Training Centre bustling with activities throughout the week. One surprising occurrence was the visit of England manager Gareth Southgate to Cobham.

The 51-year-old met with top stars including his English players like Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Connor Gallagher, Reece James, and also had a chat with German manager Thomas Tuchel.

However, while Southgate's visit appears random, it may be far from that and it should serve as a wake-up call to Nigeria.

Recall that last week, Stamford Bridge welcomed Anglo-Nigerian wonderkid Carney Chukwuemeka from Aston Villa after a deal worth 20 million pounds was agreed.
 

In addition to representing England, Chukwuemeka is eligible to represent Nigeria through his father and Austria through birth.

The 18-year-old recently won the 2022 European U19 Championship this summer with England's Young Lions.

Chukwuemeka's talents are well-known. His strength, technique, mobility and passing range are key traits in his game. However, the most important ability he has is his ability to evade pressure whilst receiving the ball.

This is rare in a midfielder of his age and is one of the cornerstones of modern football. It is highly likely that Southgate is making a move to get Chukwuemeka to choose the Three Lions as his preferred national team.

While England already have some good players like Mason Mount, Jack Grealish, and Declan Rice in this regard, it looks like Southgate wants more. Nigeria on the other hand has very few players with this skillset.

The Super Eagles need someone like Chukwuemeka and Southgate's visit to Cobham should be a wake-up call that midfielders like him are rare and should be snapped up quickly.

Sofoluwe Mayowa

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com

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