LIVERPOOL winger Jordan Ibe has turned down the offer of committing his international footballing future to Nigeria's Super Eagles opting instead to pledge his allegiance to England.
Ibe, 19, is regarded as one of the hottest young talents in England at the moment but born in London to a Nigerian father, he has represented England at the U-18 and U-19 levels. Born in Bermondsey, in south London, Ibe is eligible to play for the Super Eagles through his father's nationality.
Last week, new Super Eagles head coach Sunday Oliseh, visited Ibe in Liverpool to hold talks with him but it appears that the youngster opted to remain an England player. According to the Liverpool Echo, Ibe turned the approach from Nigeria down and is now looking forward to playing for England at the senior level.
So far, Ibe has made 10 appearances for England at youth level and has decided to stick with the Three Lions hopeful of making the breakthrough into the full squad in the coming seasons. There has been speculation that England's national team manager and former Liverpool boss, Roy Hodgson was considering calling Ibe up to the senior squad.
Ibe impressed for Liverpool season after being recalled from his loan spell at Championship side Derby County, featuring in 14 games for the Merseysiders as they finished sixth in the table. In pre-season training, he has also excelled so far, playing the full 90 minutes as Liverpool defeated Adelaide United 2-0 in Australia on Monday.
Even if Ibe has accepted Oliseh's offer, to play for Nigeria at the senior level he needs to get clearance from Fifa. This would have involved applying to switch nationality, which could take a few months.
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