Iheanacho-Inspired Lookman’s Cousin Set to Dump England to Play for Nigeria
- Reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman’s cousin has opted to play for Nigeria
- Born in South London, the forward has opted to follow Lookman's footsteps and dump England
- The Middlesbrough youth forward has named Kelechi Iheanacho as one of his inspirations
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has its work cut out after a dual-national youngster has pledged his future to the African country.
The NFF has been in pursuit of foreign-born stars to represent the Super Eagles over their European countries and has achieved success with some big names.
Source: Getty Images
Reigning African Footballer of the Year Ademola Lookman is one of those who made the switch, with others being Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong and Alex Iwobi.
Another player related to the Atalanta forward Lookman has opted to follow in his footsteps and represent Nigeria, despite being born in London, England.
Lookman's cousin chooses Nigeria
Middlesbrough youngster and Ademola Lookman’s cousin Hazeem Bakre has expressed his willingness to play Nigeria over the country of his birth England.
The 2005-born star, who will turn 20 in October, has a twin brother, Halim Bakre, who also plays football and formerly played for Shrewsbury Town.
"I'm eligible to play for Nigeria, I've always wanted to play for Nigeria from a young age. I want to represent my country, and obviously show people how good I am,” he told All Nigeria Soccer.
"Representing my country is always a young boy's dream, to showcase what I can do as well, which is why I want to play for my own country Nigeria.
"I'm just waiting for the opportunity to do so, but hopefully in the future I will be able to be called up for Nigeria, that would be a dream for me.”
Bakre starred for Middlesbrough youth in the Premier League 2, finishing as the team's top scorer with seven goals in 11 games, as noted by Transfermarkt.
Source: Getty Images
He spent time on loan at Dagenham & Redbridge and Darlington and had contact with Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho, who joined Middlesbrough on loan in January.
He claimed the Sevilla-owned forward is his inspiration and the forward he is trying to model his game after, including his goalscoring records and performance for Leicester City.
“He's a player I have always been watching and taking things from to implement in my game as well,” he added.
Iheanacho has endured a difficult time since leaving Leicester at the end of last season. He joined Sevilla as a free agent and failed to adapt, prompting a loan move to Middlesbrough.
He is expected to return to Seville in the summer and assess his future. The manager who signed him, Garcia Pimienta, was sacked and replaced by Joaquin Caparros until the end of the season.
Barcelona contact Lookman’s agent
Legit.ng reported that Barcelona contacted Ademola Lookman's agent to make enquiries about the attacker’s plans ahead of the summer transfer window.
Lookman will leave Atalanta this summer after three seasons and he has interest from top European clubs, including those in England, Italy and Spain.
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Source: Legit.ng
