Sports

I won’t beg Saka to play for Nigeria – Rohr

Published

3 years ago

June 6, 2020

Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has been discussing the nation’s potential ability to call up several England based players and claims that Nigeria will not be begging the likes of Arsenal’s breakout star Bukayo Saka.

Saka has been a revelation for Arsenal this season. The 18-year-old has thrived in Arsenal’s left-back role although Mikel Arteta sees him settling into a more advanced wide role in the future.

His excellent form has not only been with Arsenal. Saka has been impressive for the England under-19s, with four goals in 10 games at that level.

Born in Ealing, Saka has Nigerian parents and is therefore eligible to play for the Super Eagles. However, coach Rohr has made it clear that Saka will need to make the first move, as Nigeria will not come begging for his services.

He was speaking specifically about Bournemouth’s Danish midfielder Phillip Billing and QPR midfield talent Eberechi Eze, an England under-21 international. However, the same would apply to Saka

“We never beg anybody. But if they want to come, if they are good players, yes. Some players sometimes want to come but we have already better players in these positions.

“We hope Eze will come. But you know there is a process to follow. “If they play already for the youth teams in England or other countries, there is a process, write a letter, go to the FIFA commission, and so on.”

In December, Saka spoke to the BBC about his international future and remained non-committal. He certainly sounded open to the idea of one day playing for either Nigeria or England.