Liverpool and Egypt forward Mohamed Salah beat teammate Sadio Mane and Arsenal superstar Pierre Emerick Aubameyang to win the 2018 edition.

Rohr who has been in charge of the Super Eagles since 2016 has stated that Kalu and Chukwueze who are the young core of the team can go on to do great things in the nearest future.

In a report by the Nation, Rohr stated that he discovered Chukwueze and Kalu doing exploits in Europe and decided to give them an invitation to the Super Eagles.

Rohr explained that some of the young players can replicate the heroics of Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba and Rashidi Yekini to be among the Nigerians who have won the prestigious award especially Super Eagles and Villarrael forward Samuel Chukwueze.

He said, “Everybody was surprised when I invited Chukwueze for the first time last October but I had good information that he was doing well and he confirmed how good he is in the matches he has played. It is very exciting to have him for the offensive position and with him on the side, we have a lot of possibilities now. 

 “Yes, we saw this award again (without a Nigerian) but we must be honest with ourselves, we have good players but they are still young to compete for the African Footballer of the Year award. It would take them sometime for them to come to the level of Salah, Aubameyang, Mane and the rest of them. My only disappointment was that they didn’t take Wilfred Ndidi in the 2018 Team of the Year. 

Rohr also stated that he has high expectations of Super Eagles and Bordeaux forward Samuel Kalu.

He said, “All the same, we must agree that we don’t have these very big players that can go for the African Footballer of the Year award like Nigeria had before with (Nwankwo) Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha, (Emmanuel) Amuneke, Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba and others. We have good players but we don’t have that influential individual that is big in Africa, not yet.

"But I’m confident that in the future, we are going to produce a player because now we are probably the youngest team in Africa and we have great potentialities. Samuel is 21; Chukwueze is 20; Osimhen is 20; Jamilu is just 24; these are all young players. I think we can work towards the future and one day, we can produce great players like what Nigeria had in the past.”

The Super Eagles return to action when they take on Seychelles in their next 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.