Five agents fight over Eaglets skipper, Tijani
As Nigerians are celebrating the exploits of Golden Eaglets in the on-going Under-17 World Cup in Brazil, the team captain, Samson Tijani, is engulfed in transfer scandal.
Five football agents are already fighting for the signature of the youthful player, as they were said to be acting for him to secure a club in Europe.
Tijani, who started off the Under-17 World Cup with a brace for Nigeria in their 4-2 win over Hungary and won the man of the match award, has been at the centre of controversy over his real representation among the five agents working on his behalf.
Tijani caught the eyes of scouts around Europe when he won the Most Valuable Player ( MVP) award at the WAFU B Under-17 tournament in Niger Republic but attempt to move him to Club Brugge of Belgium failed to see the light of the day.
Scouts from Real Madrid watched the player in Nigeria’s first game but they could not proceed further until the club are able to identify the real person in charge of the affairs of Tijani, who is reportedly to be on the Wishlist of Spanish giants, Real Madrid.
The messy situation hasn’t affected the player yet at the Under-17 World Cup but coach of the Under-17 team, Manu Garba believe his next move will be crucial to how his career pans out the next few year.
” I have seen so many players at this level who were world beaters. However at U-17 level a player can only show his potential. The big deal is what happens when the spotlight is on you. For Tijani his talent is not in doubt but he has to be careful in deciding the club he goes to next”, Manu Garba told opr.news.
The coach went a step further by admonishing other players in his team to place the development of their career ahead of financial gains by going to clubs with good history when it comes to giving youngsters the platform to thrive.
” At this stage money should be secondary. What should be the focus now is the growth of their career. Going to clubs that are in the business of developing young players should be the priority. The money will come if the career grows as projected “.
The messy situation hasn’t affected the player yet at the Under-17 World Cup but coach of the Under-17 team, Manu Garba believe his next move will be crucial to how his career pans out the next few year.
” I have seen so many players at this level who were world beaters. However at U-17 level a player can only show his potential. The big deal is what happens when the spotlight is on you. For Tijani his talent is not in doubt but he has to be careful in deciding the club he goes to next”, Manu Garba told opr.news.
The coach went a step further by admonishing other players in his team to place the development of their career ahead of financial gains by going to clubs with good history when it comes to giving youngsters the platform to thrive.
” At this stage money should be secondary. What should be the focus now is the growth of their career. Going to clubs that are in the business of developing young players should be the priority. The money will come if the career grows as projected “.
One area Nigerian players have consistently fail to master is that of proper representation deals with intermediaries and that has resulted in a lot of transfer saga especially at the Under-17 level.
From the controversy that almost stopped John Obi Mikel from leaving Lyn Oslo to Chelsea one will think other players would have picked up valuable lessons on how to go about when it comes to signing representation contracts.
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Same imbroglio played out in the case of Kelechi Iheanacho who was almost jailed in the US for a case involving multiple agents just when he was beginning to make his mark at his former club Manchester City. Luckily it ended well as the parties involved decided to settle amicably.
Same imbroglio played out in the case of Kelechi Iheanacho who was almost jailed in the US for a case involving multiple agents just when he was beginning to make his mark at his former club Manchester City. Luckily it ended well as the parties involved decided to settle amicably.