19 year old Tim Akinola was in the news last week when he signed the dotted lines to join Arsenal on a free transfer following his release from Huddersfield.
Described in several quarters as a combative box to box midfielder, he will start with the Arsenal U23 team from where his performance will be monitored for promotion to the first team.
Tipped by many to make the grades at Arsenal in a not too distant future, his international future is one that will no doubt provoke a tug if he eventually becomes a mainstay in the first team of Arsenal.
Akinola is eligible to represent Nigeria and also England but he is yet to be capped by both nations at any level although unconfirmed reports has it that he pushed to train with the Nigeria U20 team of last year but wasn’t considered.
On his Instagram handle he has the flag of both nations but that of Nigeria came first before that of England and he has severally commented on matches involving the senior national team of Nigeria.
That could be a sign of where his allegiance lies in terms of his international future but for now he has to focus on getting his career underway at Arsenal .
Michael James