Siasia eyes Ighalo, Mikel for 2016 Rio Olympics News

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Siasia eyes Ighalo, Mikel for 2016 Rio Olympics

By Daily Sports on February 25, 2016

Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia has announced Watford striker Odion Ighalo will be one of Nigeria’s three approved over age players at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro later this year.

Ighalo, who featured for the country at the 2009 FIFA U20 World Cup and made his debut for the senior national team in 2015, is yet to state his intentions to represent the country at the Olympics in Rio.

“I won’t shift focus and I don’t want to get tired of what I am doing. I will keep on working hard for both the Eagles and my club hoping that next year would be more profitable and exciting than 2015,” Ighalo told Goal.

The 26-year-old who was recently voted Goal Nigeria player of the Year 2015 and named Premier League Player of the Month for December has scored 15 goals for the Hornets in the 2015/2016 season.

The former Super Eagles gaffer stated that he opted for Ighalo seeing his impressive goalscoring form and amazing personality.

“We need him to score goals for us. Odion is the only Super Eagles player playing and scoring goals in the Premiership,” Siasia told media in Abuja.

“Everybody is looking at him and he is a good boy, gentle and disciplined. I can tell you that if he is in good shape when we want to go to the tournament, he will of course be one of the players we want to pick. We need somebody like him to score for us.”

The Dream Team VI trainer further noted that he is undecided over who to pick for the remaining overage players slot citing state of form but has handed Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi a lifeline.

“I have some players I am thinking about but the truth is that since the tournament is still six months away, we have to be cautious because the form of the players would be a factor.

“We cannot pick players who are in form now only for them to lose form in August.” (Goal.com)

•Photo shows Odion Ighalo.

Source Daily Sports

Posted February 25, 2016