ADO Den Haag’s rising star Tyronne Ebuehi will wait to see if he has a Holland future, despite pressure from the Nigeria Football Federation to pledge his international allegiance to Nigeria.
Ebuehi, who was born in Holland to a Dutch mother and a Nigerian father, sensationally turned down a chance to represent Nigeria in their Russia 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria in Uyo on November 12.
“I see it as a great honour that I am recognised in my homeland,” the player told his club’s official website after rejecting Rohr’s invite.
“But at this moment ADO Den Haag requires my full attention, especially now that I have settled in the team.
“Therefore, it seems to me that now does not seem the right time to travel to Nigeria for the match. I want to focus completely on the club, but I certainly do not rule out that I will honour a possible next call.”
But Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr said recently the Storks prized defender would honour future invite to play for the Super Eagles, saying his parents had promised him that he would play for Nigeria.
Rohr badly needs a natural right- back after his experiment with Leicester City-bound Wilfred Ndidi and Kenneth Omeruo in the role against Zambia and Algeria respectively almost backfired.
However, reports have claimed the player is working hard to improve his game to enable him to force his way into the senior Dutch national team (Orange) like PSV Eindhoven duo Joshua Brenet (22) and Bart Ramselaar (20).
With Holland boasting struggling Manchester United centre-back Daley Blind as the only reliable right-back available to Orange manager Danny Blind (Daley father), Ebuehi stands a reasonable a chance of getting a call up if he works hard.
Our correspondent learnt that the player could however honour the invite to play for the Eagles if the conditions are right and assured of a role in the team.
Spokesman for the NFF Ademola Olajire, who confirmed the federation had been working behind the scenes to convince Ebuehi to play for Nigeria, said Rohr believes in the player.
“It’s Ebuehi who will decide the country he wants to play for,” Olajire told our correspondent on the telephone.
“According to FIFA regulation, no FA can force any player to play for a particular country.
“Ebuehi will decide the country he wants to play for and I believe he will play for Nigeria.”
credit: punchng
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