Two former Nigerian footballers, Edema Benson and Wasiu Ipaye, have backed talented youngster, Victor Efosa Alyanyi, to represent the national U-20 male team.
Benson and Ipaye played for the national team for years. Benson played for the Flying Eagles, making his debut at just over 18 in 1994. Ipaye won three caps for the Super Eagles and was named in the squad to the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Algeria.
Alyanyi is one of the gifted footballers of his generation. The Tranmere Rovers teenage sensation has continued to attract encomiums for his incredible display of talent, so much so that at the age of 16, he has been likened to some A-list footballers in terms of style of play.
Undoubtedly head and shoulder above his contemporaries, Alyanyi, a right-back, displays uncommon maturity for his age, vision and understanding of the game, giving the peeping view of a breed so uncommon in full-back positions these days.
Benson, who is now a football coach, maintained that Alyanyi’s inclusion in the Flying Eagles “will be of great advantage” to the team, confidently highlighting his foresight and intelligence.
“Victor Alyanyi coming in to the U-20 will bring competition in the team and you know competition is what makes a solid team. His talent is going to be immense in the team,” Benson stated.
Ipaye said he is startled by Alyanyi’s ability to make incredible runs as an overlapping defender with skillful manoeuvres. The former Nigeria international stated that his inclusion in the national U-20 team will engender variation and give Nigeria a significant edge against any opposing side.
“The young man is naturally gifted. His game is very mature for his age. The way he marshals that wing, his intelligence on the ball while making those runs will give the coach quality and variation of choices,” Ipaye stated.
More so, Blackburn Rovers scout, Steve Hayes, provided unpretentious and truthful analysis of the asset the player would be to any team, even as a youngster still learning the rudiments of football.
Hayes highlighted the lack of attention to gifted young African footballers but emphasized that with players like Alanyi, the narrative is shifting.
“African talent often goes unrecognised, however, they are the next big thing in the sport industry. Simultaneously, at the youth U-18 level, players like Victor are showcasing the exceptional character and on-field prowess that distinguishes Nigerian talent,” Hayes said.
