Respected Nigerian football tactician Manu Garba is delighted over the invitation of Bendel Insurance young sensation Divine Nwachukwu to the senior national team and has tipped the versatile midfielder for greatness in future.
The 20-year-old is one of four home-based players picked by manager Jose Peseiro in his squad list for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Sierra Leone, the others being Victor Sochima, Olorunleke Ojo and Chidiebube Duru.
Nwachukwu has set the NPFL alight in his inaugural campaign in the Nigerian top-flight, helping Bendel Insurance go on a 21-match unbeaten run before they were beaten 2-1 by Rivers United on Friday.
The Riverline FC product is not an unknown quantity in Nigerian football circles as he was part of the Golden Eaglets squad to the 2019 Africa U17 Cup of Nations and the World Cup, but he was a bit-part player in both competitions, having made five appearances combined off the bench.
“Divine Nwachukwu is one of the players that played under me in the 2019 Golden Eaglets. He went to the WAFU tournament, the AFCON before the U17 World Cup in Brazil,” Manu Garba said.
“He was a player we got from Riverline and national U15 team. Then he wasn’t a starter but he’s a player that has great prospects.
“Of course we cannot doubt his progression because right now he’s getting into his right element. He’s a good striker who has a bright future.”
Should he make his senior debut against Sierra Leone, Nwachukwu would become only the second Golden Eaglets player in the class of 2019 to feature for the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Red Bull Salzburg’s Samson Tijani.
