The battle to secure young Monaco forward George Ilenikhena has heated up, with both France and Nigeria vying for the 18-year-old’s allegiance.
Born in Lagos, Ilenikhena, who is currently with AS Monaco, has garnered interest because of his remarkable talent, and both national sides are keen to have him join their senior squads.
The teenage sensation moved to France at the age of three, started his football career in the suburb of Antony, Paris, and later made his professional debut with Amiens.
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Ilenikhena’s record breaking performances
At the age of just 16 years and 147 days, he made headlines as the youngest goal scorer in Ligue 2 ever after scoring a goal against the Girondins de Bordeaux in January 2023.
Most recently, he scored the winning goal against Barcelona in their UEFA Champions League opener to become the club’s youngest player to score in the competition at 18 years, 34 days, surpassing Kylian Mbappe’s record at 18 years, 63 days.
Additionally, he became the only player in the history of the UCL to score against the same team in back-to-back games, having netted a last-minute winner to help his former club, Royal Antwerp, to a dramatic 3-2 victory against Barcelona the previous year.
France and Nigeria to battle over Ilenikhena
With these incredible performances, Ilenikhena caught the eye of Super Eagles legend Victor Ikpeba, who sounded a note of warning to the Nigerian Football Federation to act fast in securing the teenager’s allegiance before France made a move.
Ikpeba’s fears appear to be materialising as reports suggest that the French Football Federation, through Technical Director Hubert Fournier, have begun the naturalization process with the aim of including Ilenikhena in Les Bleus.
According to RMC Sport, the FFF is closely following the forward’s progress and anticipates making headway on the matter by early next year.
But the NFF is also attempting to get in touch with Ilenikhena in a bid to recruit the budding talent to the Super Eagles.
Now that the player is qualified to play for either country, both federations will probably step up their efforts to persuade the gifted forward to join their teams.