Highly rated Nigerian teen midfielder Kingsley Michael was denied a move to English Premier League side West Ham by Football Academy Abuja, shortly after winning the 2015 U-17 World Youth Championship with Nigeria.
Upon arrival from Chile, where the World Cup took place, officials of the academy smartly collected his passport alongside that of his close friend Orji Okonkwo following rumours that the duo were courting interest from West Ham.
The academy wanted them to go to Italian Serie B side Spezia, who are bankrolled by same individual funding the Nigeria based academy.
However, the father of Kingsley Michael insist on seeing a copy of the contract his son will sign in Italy with Spezia. A contract which the academy failed to produce as the financial terms on offer wasn’t worth it.
Michael’s father, a military man threatened to use force on the academy if the passport of his son is not returned back to him. A threat which scared the hierarchy of the academy who now had no choice but to dip the international passport of the lad in water, which damaged it and claimed his imminent move to West Ham.
He presently has another passport in his possession and will most likely team up with Okonkwo at Bologna when he turns 18 next year.
