Cadet national team, Golden Eaglets striker, Olakunle Olusxegun has set tongues wagging in Niger Republic, following his emergence as top scorer at the African U17 Cup of Nations zonal qualifiers.
Although he could not score in the Eaglets’ final victory against Ghana, footballlive.ng can report that Olusegun had already shot above all others with four goals in three matches, as he netted against Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and Niger Republic.
His nearest counterpart in the goals charts was fellow-Eaglets’ top revelation, Akinkunmi Amoo, but it was Olusegun who ended the competition tops of all, much to the delight of Nigerien fans.
All talk at the match venue in Niamey was about Olusegun, as the youngster showed just why Nigerian National League (NNL) side, Abubakar Bukola Saraki (ABS) FC of Ilorin went all out to get his signature before the competition in Niger Republic.
A citation in his honour read in part: “Olusegun opened his account for Nigeria with a brace in their 2-3 loss to Burkina Faso before following up with another in their 5-1 win over Cote d’Ivoire.
“He made it four goals in three games with the second goal for Nigeria in their 2-1 win over host Niger Republic in the semi-final.
“He has proven to be a rare talent with his combination of raw pace, skills and positioning in front of goal the strength of his display so far for the Nigerian team.
“The manner which the ABS teen wonder has found the back of the net is a testament of his strong display during the NPFL U15 Promises tournament held last year across various centres in Nigeria among teams in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
“His brace against Burkina Faso saw him score once from the spot and that came after he reduced the deficit for Nigeria with a smart finish in the box.
“He used a combination of smart footwork and goal sense to score in the game against Cote d’Ivoire.
“Top among his goals is the left footed curler against Niger Republic, as he took out his man with his usual footwork after using his pace to get into a promising position.”
