As the U23 team of Nigeria stepped up preparations for their upcoming Africa U23 Cup of Nations Qualifiers game against Libya, one of the foreign based player who is already in camp is Rio Ave B defender Kelechi John.
The defender who can also play in the midfield arrived the camp of the team during the week alongside fellow Portugal based player Tosin Kehinde formerly of Manchester United but now with the B team of CD Feirense.
Owngoalnigeria.com checked on the performance of the midfielder who was on the books of Nigerian team Plateau United before his move to Rio Ave in the 2016/2017 season where he teamed up with the B team.
Although he is yet to make his debut for the first team of the modest Portuguese side he has however played a pivotal role in keeping them top of the U23 league with 25 games under his belt this season.
Comfortable on the ball and very assured in tackles, the defender progressed from the B team to the first team this season after making a total of 24 appearances for the B team last season. He started off with the U19s three seasons ago and made 13 appearances.
The one area of his game which is yet to really experience a lift is in the area of goal scoring with just three goals to his name in his three years at the various youth levels of Rio Ave.
Daniel Martins
