The decision of England manager, Gareth Southgate, to drop Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka from the Three Lions’ squad for the Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark, next month, came as great news to Nigerian fans.
With his fine form in the just-concluded 2019/20 season, where he was named third in the Arsenal Player of The Season poll behind captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bernd Leno, and emerging the Europa League Young Player of The Year by Whoscored.com, many felt Saka would make the next England squad.
Southgate, however, excluded him from his squad, saying he was keeping close tabs on the 18-year-old.
The snub left Nigerians asking the Nigeria Football Federation to quickly invite the versatile player, who’s been torn between chosing Nigeria, the country of his parents, and England, his birth place.
“It’s becoming clear that Saka is not wanted by England. I would be surprised if he doesn’t play for the Super Eagles in the next international break,” Sani Datsama said on Twitter.
This was reiterated by @Inywote, who wrote, “@thenff, Bukayo Saka has just been left out of the England squad. This is an opportunity to invite him to the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming internationals.”
Adebowale Adebambo advised the Eagles to grab the chance before the English media forced Southgate to have a rethink.
“Are we not having any match so we can quickly snap Bukayo Saka since the England team are ignoring him? If the media uproar becomes too much he would be invited under duress. I thought we had matches pending,” he said.
Another Twitter user, @DeelightIk stated, “Welcome to Nigeria, Bukayo Saka. You will be adored by the most populous country in the world. Soccer is a god here and you will be god- like.”
