30 year old Ipswich Town striker Chuba Akpom kept alive his dream of earning a call up to the senior national team of Nigeria after his goal for Ipswich Town in their 2-5 defeat to Manchester United in the English Premier League, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Akpom who was introduced at the start of the second half in the defeat, proved to be a handful for the defence of Manchester United before finally getting the goal that his performance deserved.
A youth international for England at various levels, the former Arsenal teen prospect switched his nationality to Nigeria but hasn’t gotten a look in since then, no thanks to a not so steady club career.
Before the start of the season, shortly after his loan move from Ajax was made permanent by Ipswich following promotion to the Premier League, he made it clear that he still has his heart set on senior national team football with Nigeria.
He detailed how he worked hard for the season to put himself in the frame for a call up with his club performance.
“During the off-season, I literally sacrificed my whole summer into making sure I’m in shape and making sure I’m mentally ready,” he said. “I knew that last season wasn’t the best one for me, so I wanted to use the whole summer to get ready for this pre-season.
“I felt like I’ve come back physically and mentally in the best shape possible. It’s been a good pre-season for me and I’m hoping to take that into the season.
“I went on a family holiday, but every morning at 7am I was up training. In the evening, when my kid’s gone to sleep, I was back in the gym training and I went on a training camp by myself.
“It’s not nice to leave your family back home and go on a training camp alone, but that’s the sacrifice that needs to be made. I was willing to make that to make sure I was coming back in good shape.
“For me, it gave me even more hunger because it’s a new manager that’s coming in. Everyone’s got a fresh start and he’s going to judge you by what he sees in training. I just came in with the most hunger that I could”.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
