Eze, Olise: Preference for Fatherland or Country of Birth?

If there is one thing the Nigeria Football Federation had consistently succeded in, it’s wooing players of Nigerian descent to star for the Super Eagles inspite of having played for their countries of birth at the junior cadre and the list is endless. Victor Moses, Leon Balogun, Henry Onyekuru, Sheyi Ojo, and most recently, Ademola Lookman, to mention but a few. In continuation of the ‘VIP Scouting,’ NFF boss, Amaju Pinnick, national team interim coach, Augustine Eguavoen and Emmanuel Amuneke recently traveled to UK to convince Crystal Palace duo of Ebere Eze and Michael Olise to dump the countries of their birth for fatherland. How well NFF succeeds in that move, however, remains to be seen

While Eberechi Eze had represented England at the U-20 and U-21 levels, Michael Olise had played for France at the U-18. But in continuation of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) ‘VIP Scouting’, the Crystal Palace duo are being wooed to play for Nigeria at the senior level, culminating in Super Eagles interim technical adviser Augustine Eguavoen and Emmanuel Amuneke to embark on a trip to United Kingdom to convince the two players to switch nationality.

Eguavoen was in England in the company of his assistant Amuneke, the President of Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick and general secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, to meet with Premier League Super Eagles stars.
Olise was born in England to a Nigerian father and French-Algerian mother, and he is eligible to represent France, Algeria, England, or Nigeria.

The 20-year-old has represented France at the youth level in the past, after he made his debut in 2019, against Qatar U-23 and was also called up to the France U-18 squad for the 2019 Toulon.
Eze on the other hand was born in Greenwich, Greater London to Nigerian parents and therefore eligible to play for the Three Lions of England and the Super Eagles.

He trained with the Nigeria national team in 2018, he was, however, called up to the England national U-20 team, where he made his debut in a 2–1 win against Italy in the U-20 Elite League in October 2018.
Eze then captained England U-20 in a 2–1 loss against Chile at the 2019 Toulon Tournament, where Olise also represented France. He made a total of seven appearances for the English U-20 side.

According to Owngoalnigeria.com, Eguavoen met with UK-based Nigerian David Doherty, ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifiers playoff game against Ghana in March.
Doherty played a role in Ola Aina’s decision to switch allegiance to Nigeria, he also brought Ebere Eze to the Super Eagles training camp in London in 2017.

He is said to still be very close to Eze, who in turn is a very close friend of Micheal Olise.
Pinnick has never hidden his resolve at ensuring that youngsters of Nigerian origin who are doing well in England and other leagues will wear the Nigerian colours at the appropriate time. He said it had been in the plans of the present NFF board to build a young Super Eagles team ahead of the 2022 World Cup, adding that the federation was monitoring several Nigerian players that are making waves in the various leagues.

“What we are trying to do is what we call VIP scouting – talking to these young players that are playing abroad to play for their fatherland. No Nigerian, even if they have four or five passports, they are always excited being Nigerians. I can assure you that we shall get them to play for us at appropriate time,” Pinnick had said.

Despite joining Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021 with a broadened horizon, having won Championship Young Player of the Year the season before, there was still a moment of hesitation among the Palace fans over how quickly Olise would adapt to Premier League standards.
After all, there was no real need for a weight of expectation to burden the then 19-year-old.

Eze was Palace’s star boy, and his impending return, along with the signings of Odsonne Edouard and Conor Gallagher, meant that the Reading academy graduate could be eased into the fold gradually.

But now that six months have flown by in Olise’s Crystal Palace chapter, the intoxicating demeanour of the Frenchman has caught the attention of the top-flight on countless occasions, and he has crushed the notion that Premier League adaptability would be an arduous assignment.

Turning defences inside out, conjuring a pantheon of tantalising crosses into the box, and getting Selhurst Park off their seats-Olise is the real deal, and he has proven to be the fulcrum of Patrick Viera’s youthful revolution.
Olise’s £8 million arrival to South London from Reading in July 2021 was Vieira’s first acquisition since being appointed head coach, and it kick started a dramatic shift in the club’s transfer policy.

Starting the season on the backfoot could have hindered the youngster’s opportunity to get first-team football, but the injury he suffered seemed to do nothing but add further determination to the maquillage of Olise. He showed straight away that he was comfortable in the presence of giants.

Meanwhile, Eze, 23, has been one of the Premier League’s most inspiring stories. The Englishman was rejected by a handful of Premier League and Championship clubs as a youngster before getting his chance at QPR.

The R’s brought him in and eventually brought him into their first-team, and Eze wouldn’t let them down.
He became an instant favourite among fans for his daring performances, with the 2019/20 season being his breakthrough year at the club.
Eze scored 14 goals and assisted eight that season, earning himself a reported £20 million move to Crystal Palace ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

And of course, Eze would take to the Premier League like a duck to water, scoring four and assisting six in his debut season before picking up a horror Achilles injury.

He made a speedy recovery and has now featured five times in the league this season, but report that the newly-rich Newcastle United are weighing up a £45 million summer swoop for the attacking midfielder.
The report says that Newcastle offered Palace £5 million to take Eze on loan last month, with a view to a £35 million permanent transfer.
How well the NFF officials and their coaches are able convince the duo remains to be seen as Algeria Desert Foxes are also said to be on Olise’s trail.