Caption: What was the fate of the UK based Super Eagles last season?
Football fans may be forgiven for putting all of their focus on the recent fantastic qualification for next January’s AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire. But the months leading up to that tournament will be crucial for the Super Eagles’ preparation. Those players who ply their trade in England, had mixed fortunes last season which will have an impact on them next season.
Online betting sites are already ramping up their activity in preparation for next season, so here we take a leaf out of their book and look forward to next season, with an eye on what has changed for those English based Super Eagles.
In the current Nigeria squad there are seven England based players. Those seven represent six clubs. Going into last season, all but one were in the EPL. Now, only three are in England’s top tier.
Leicester City
The Foxes being relegated was not quite as big a shock as when they won the EPL in 2016, but it was still very much a surprise. It is a cliché that is very rarely true to say that they were too good to go down, and the league table showed that they certainly were not too good. They did have some very good players however, and it was a combination of injuries and those players not firing that sealed their fate.
The three Super Eagles at the club are Wilfred Ndidi, and Kelechi Iheanacho, the man who of course fired his team into the AFCON with his winner. With five goals and five assists to his name from his 28 appearances it was a decent if not vintage season from the striker.
The issue for both players could be the financial situation their parent club finds itself in. They will have to balance the need to sell their biggest earners and those who will sell for a large enough transfer fee, with the need to bounce straight back into the EPL. Where Ndidi and Iheanacho come in that scenario we wait and see.
Brentford
Central midfielder Frank Onyeka was a consistent performer for the London side that continues to defy expectations. Their ninth place finish was an incredible achievement considering their budget and resources.
Nottingham Forest
It was a rollercoaster season for Taiwo Awoniyi’s Nottingham Forest. After gaining promotion the season before, the club underwent a huge spending spree, basically buying a whole new squad. Unsurprisingly, it took a while for manager Steve Cooper to get the team to gel. When they did, they managed to get themselves into a position of relative safety only to get dragged back into a relegation fight. They did survive however, in no small part down to the Nigerian striker’s ten goals.
Everton
For the second season running, Everton survived by the skin of their teeth. Big things need to change at the club or they will be in a similar position next season, and it is unlikely they can keep putting themselves in the firing line without getting hit. Alex Iwobi played in all 38 EPL games last season, but his future at the Merseyside outfit is in doubt.
Southampton
Joe Aribo moved from Rangers to Southampton last summer, and though the Attacking midfielder can be relatively happy with his contribution, scoring twice in his 21 appearances, it remains to be seen if he will remain on the south coast. Chances are that he will. Southampton don’t face the financial pressures that Leicester do, and of all the teams that went down (Leeds being the other), probably will have the least need to ship players out, or bring new faces in to mount a promotion challenge.
West Bromwich Albion
Though they flirted with the playoffs for most of the season, West Brom – one of the recent so-called yoyo clubs because of their tendency to bounce between the top two divisions – didn’t manage to make a late run that would take them into an extended season. Centre back Semi Ajayi was a consistent performer for the baggies, playing 22 times and scoring twice. The championship promises to be a tougher proposition than it was last season, so his side will need to improve considerably and find some consistency if they are to trouble the EPL again.