Head coach of Nigeria U-17 team Manu Garba has named a pool of 60 players who will form the crux of the next set of U-17 players for Nigeria after a two weeks screening exercise.
Chidera Ejike was the surprise omission from the list of 60 players who will undergo the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan ahead of Nigeria’s 2017 U-17 Africa Youth Championship qualifiers against Niger in August.
Ejike spent two weeks on trails with Liverpool and was among the star performers in camp during training sessions, we however gathered he was dropped for non football reasons.
Owngoalnigeria.com gathered the 16 year old was dropped over fears he could have documentation issues as he was part of the last Under-17 team although he didn’t make the team to the Nations Cup or World Cup.
Coach Manu Garba will further prune the list of 60 players to 30 before their first game against Niger in August and the rationale behind having a list of 60 players is to primarily cater for any unforeseen circumstance that could arise after the MRI scan.
*Ahmed Ishaya
