Losing Michael Olise: How can the Super Eagles hold onto top talent?

With the World Cup qualifiers on the horizon, it is vital that Nigeria is able to put their best foot forward. However, if they are going to be doing so without the help of key players like Michael Olise, they need to make sure that they are able to deliver results and focus. How can they guarantee that they will be able to hold onto their top talent?

Losing Michael Olise

20-year-old Michael Olise is a British-born Nigerian player who currently plays as a midfielder for Crystal Palace in the English Premier League. He is considered to be an extremely promising player with a lot ahead of him. It is rumoured that top teams like Arsenal and Bayern Munich have all been considering him for the future, giving a key indicator into the level of prestige that we might see from him in terms of his future career.

With a World Cup approaching, there were rumours that he might be called up for an international squad. England manager Gareth Southgate was interested in him, as was Gernot Rohr of the Super Eagles. However, he has chosen to play for France’s U21 squad – which he is able to do through his French-Algerian mother.

Nigeria’s World Cup Bid

The 2022 World Cup is already shaping up to be quite the tournament. Nigeria lost out on the chance to claim a title in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, so they will no doubt be looking to perform to the best of their abilities in the World Cup qualifiers. Securing top talent like Olise would have no doubt been part of their plan to do so.

However, ahead of them is a difficult qualification round match against Ghana. It is not uncommon for players across all sports to need to qualify in other games. A player might have to win a game at GGPoker to win an invitation to the WSOP, a gymnast will have to place well at a certain championship to gain an invitation to the Olympics. Nigeria has suffered one defeat through the Cup of Nations. This is their chance to prove that they are worthy of a place at the World Cup.

What the Super Eagles Must Do

If the Super Eagles want to be a team that attracts top talent, they have to prove that they are a team worth playing for. It is not enough to simply expect good players to come to them because they are a national team. Olise is talented, but he had four teams that he could have gone to. France is one of the best teams in the world at the moment – the defending champions of the 2018 World Cup – so they are the obvious choice for him.

Though Nigeria has a lot of work to do too, there is no reason they cannot turn themselves back into a powerhouse of African football. They need to be able to attract top talent and offer training and opportunities to ensure that they will get the players who will be able to help them out.

Losing Olise will not be the best of results for the Super Eagles, but there are things that they can do to improve their position. Hopefully, they will be able to qualify for the World Cup. From there, they will be in the perfect position to demonstrate their power and might as a team. Hopefully, we will then be able to see them pull ahead and deliver a great result, allowing them to begin to retain some of their top talent overall!

---

#FeatureByGGPoker