March 13, (THEWILL) – Augustine Eguavoen, the Technical Adviser of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, has indicated that he is looking for two offensive midfielders in the mould of former Real Madrid star, Mutiu Adepoju, and former Bendel Insurance star, Thompson Oliha, for the Super Eagles.
This search took the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations-winning fullback across the country within the Nigeria Professional Football League and overseas to Europe. Eguavoen has been sighted watching NPFL matches and was recently in Europe to evaluate some players with the hopes of calling them up to join the Super Eagles in the future.
The quest for box-to-box midfielders for the national team, according to Eguavoen, was a wild goose chase, because he did not find anyone with the skills of the late Oliha and Adepoju.
Eguavoen has shown preference for the traditional 4-4-2 system. Joe Aribo, of Glasgow Rangers, was unquestionably his most complete midfielder at the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, possessing both offensive and defensive qualities.
Oghenekaro Etebo is another box-to-box midfielder in the current Super Eagles group, and Watford admitted as much when the club signed him from Stoke City last summer.
About getting his search and formation, Eguavoen said: “That’s why I went around the NPFL and abroad, but the system that I like to play is to look for two offensive midfielders who can run box-to-box.
“We use to have late Oliha and Mutiu Adepoju. If I can find those two players as we speak today, our formation will change. You plan your team around what you have, your strengths, that’s how you prosecute the games.
“If I can find a player in the same calibre as late Oliha and Mutiu Adepoju, our system will definitely change a little bit. But, however, what we have right now we’ll see how we can modify and try to see how we can prosecute these games.”
Tom Dele-Bashiru of Watford, Reading’s Ovie Ejaria, and Crystal Palace’s rising sensation Michael Olise, can all play as box-to-box midfielders, although it is unknown if Eguavoen saw the trio during his recent trip to the UK, on the one hand, and if a player like Olise, who was born in England, but has represented France, will be willing to commit to the Super Eagles, on the other.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
