The news trending on media outlets is of Tyrone Ebuehi replacing injured Wilfred Ndidi for upcoming Super Eagles friendlies against Algeria and Tunisia in October.
The FC Twente man yet might feature for Nigeria for the first time after his his last outing enveloped a mistimed tackle against Alfreð Finnbogason which went unpunished as Gylfi Sigurðsson blasted the resultant penalty to the heavens to preserve Nigeria’s 2:0 group stage win against Iceland in an unforgettable night at the 2018 World Cup.
Having asked for time to consider playing for the Super Eagles, Ebuehi made up his mind in a timely manner and played his way to the hearts of many Super Eagles fans with beautiful wingback play against Argentina and Poland in pre-World Cup friendlies.
Post-World Cup, after signing for Portuguese giants Benfica, a nasty injury will ensure that he missed the entire 2018-19 season. Even after recovering, he has had stop-starts to his career due to relapses. But, after moving to FC Twente this season, it would appear that his injury nightmares may be behind him; he has played in all his club’s 3 matches thus far this season.
Being named in the standby list for October friendlies was a welcome development to most Super Eagles fans who are itching to see more of what his performances promised earlier in his Super Eagles career.
The wing/full back landscape of the Super Eagles has changed, though.
Ebuehi now faces intense competition on both sides with Ola Aina, Zaidu Sanusi, Chidozie Awaziem and Jamilu Collins all offering intense competition.
But, it is nice to see that Ebuehi has now being offered the opportunity to throw his hat in the ring with the absence of Ndidi due to an unfortunate injury (that might not be totally unconnected with his deployment as a centre defender for Leicester in recent matches).
I think Rohr likes Ebuehi but that will be of little significance as the 24 year old versatile wingback will still have to prove in training that he deserves to be picked ahead of other exciting options open to the German at this time.
What does Ebuehi offer?
He has positional discipline (offensively and defensively) that excites and can be a joy to watch going forward. His deliveries are decent and his tackles, interceptions and markings always look neat.
Crucially, when he turns it on, Ebuehi plays with this finesse befitting of the sort of Super Eagles outfit that Rohr is moulding.
It will be nice to see him back in Nigeria colours.
Having made his debut for Nigeria on November 2017, Ebuehi has gone on to amass 7 caps in total made up of 3 wins, 3 losses and 1 draw.
He is yet to record an assist or a goal to his name in Super Eagles colours.
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