6th August, 2015
Nigeria have made an attempt to convince Jordon Ibe to pledge his international future to them.
The Liverpool winger is well-regarded by the Football Association. He has played at all levels up to Under 20 and it is highly likely that he will figure in Gareth Southgate’s Under 21 squad at some point during the next European Championship qualification campaign.
But he is also eligible to play for the Super Eagles through his father and Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh visited Melwood, Liverpool’s training ground, in an attempt to woo Ibe.
It is the second time this year that Nigeria have stated their ambitions, with Viktor Ikpeba – a member of the Nigerian FA’s technical committee – saying in February that they were looking at the 19-year-old.
Ibe wants to add his name to the scoresheet more often after establishing himself as a key member of Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool squad.
The 19-year-old netted a stunning equaliser in a pre-season friendly against a Malaysia XI last month and impressed during the Reds’ tour of the Far East and Australia.
But after failing to hit the back of the net in 12 Premier League appearances last term, Ibe believes he can score – or provide assists – more regularly in the coming campaign.
“I’m not completely satisfied because I need to keep working on a few things, like my end product – getting the ball and finding someone in the box and trying to add a few more goals to my game,’ he told club website liverpoolfc.com.
“I’m quite self-critical. I like to think about things after a game – things I could have improved on, like maybe having taken a shot on or something.”