The adviser of Cremonense defender Emmanuel Aiwu says the 22 year old defender who played in 23 games in the Italian Serie A last season is in talks with the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria on playing for Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
In an interview with German publication Kicker, Marcello Brillmann revealed that the former Austria youth international is in talks with English Premier League side Burnley over a summer move following the relegation of Cremonense, but beyond that he is also weighing up his international future following contact from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“Contact with the ÖFB (Austria Football Association) is active and I know that they think a lot of Emmanuel there. But I also have good contacts with Nigeria, who are very interested. Emmanuel has played for all junior national teams in Austria and was born and raised here. We’ll see what the future brings. The upcoming transfer window is now our top priority”, he said.
When pressed further on if the ÖFB are aware of the move by Nigeria, he said it was the football body that even called his attention to the attempt by the NFF to lure the highly rated defender.
“The ÖFB was informed by me after the first contact by Nigeria. There was a very good meeting with sports director Peter Schöttel, who confirmed to me again how much the ÖFB thinks of Emmanuel and that they are planning with Emmanuel”, he explained.
He however concluded that there is a chance that he could end up playing for Nigeria who are pushing for his inclusion in their team as soon as possible. “This isn’t about stalling. We respect Nigeria as much as we respect Austria. In the end you will have to make a decision. If it were Nigeria, they would have preferred to invite Emmanuel to the current course”, he stated.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
