Former Manchester United and Nigeria striker Odion Ighalo has made a rather surprising choice while naming his preferred candidate to replace William Troost-Ekong as captain of the Super Eagles, Footynaija.com reports.
Troost-Ekong recently announced his retirement from international football, spreading a wave of shock across the Nigerian football space as the decision came to light just weeks before the start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Al Kholood defender’s shocking retirement has left the Super Eagles needing a new team captain ahead of the tournament in Morocco and experienced players like Alex Iwobi, Moses Simon and Wilfred Ndidi seem to be the ideal candidates for many observers.
Related Post
However, Ighalo, who played alongside all of the aforementioned players in the Super Eagles setup, believes Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen is the perfect candidate to take on the high-pressure role heading into a major tournament.
“Victor, and I will give you my reason why,” he told Colin Udoh when asked about his preferred candidate for the role of Super Eagles captain.
“Not because he is the oldest player in the team. There are people ahead of him. Simon is older, Ndidi, Iwobi, I think Awaziem, so there are people ahead of him.
“Because now Osimhen is doing well and he is in his time, he has the balls to demand. Ndidi is not the talking type. Ndidi is a very calm guy but Osimhen is outspoken, he is going to speak on behalf of the team.
“He is going to ginger the boys, you see in the games sometimes he will say ‘come on’, sometimes you see him talking loud.
“He’s going to fight for the boys. He is going to speak to anybody he needs to speak to, to make sure they are okay.”
Having seen how the Super Eagles have struggled without Osimhen in recent times justifies this call for the masked hitman to take over as captain of the Nigeria national team.
However, the likes of Ndidi, Iwobi and Simon are also more than qualified for the role. Ultimately, the decision rests in the hands of head coach Eric Chelle, and perhaps, the rest of the Super Eagles squad.
It’s refreshing to find something that feels honest and genuinely useful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge in such a clear way.
This content is gold. Thank you so much!