Former Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick has claimed that Aston Villa new boy Tammy Abraham had once agreed to represent the Super Eagles before making a late U-turn on his international future.

After spells with AS Roma, AC Milan and Beşiktaş, Abraham returned to English football during the January transfer window, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa.

Born in London, the forward was eligible to play for Nigeria through his father. 

However, he ultimately opted to commit his international future to his country of birth, becoming cap-tied to England after featuring in a European Championship qualifier against the Czech Republic.

Pinnick revealed that he had made significant efforts to persuade Abraham to switch allegiance to Nigeria before the striker was tied to the Three Lions. 

The former NFF boss also believed his close relationship with Abraham's father would play a decisive role in influencing the decision, but that proved not to be the case.

Speaking on ThePlayzone and Dangolo Way podcast, Pinnick reflected on Nigeria's efforts to recruit foreign-born players and stressed the long-term value of international football to a player's career.

"Iwobi is playing for the Super Eagles today. I know the role we played. If Iwobi had played for England, he would have stopped playing for England like five or six years ago," Pinnick said. 

"If your football club does not help you, your national team helps you. Look at his display in the last Africa Cup of Nations."

Pinnick then revealed that discussions with Tammy Abraham had progressed positively before the striker reconsidered his decision.

"Tammy Abraham, we sat like this. We had agreed that he was going to come and play, but at the last minute he changed his mind."

The former NFF president expressed regret over the outcome, suggesting that Abraham's career path might have been different had he chosen Nigeria.

"Now he’s 28 and has gone back to Aston Villa, but I can tell you that I regret it. I speak to his father — we grew up together. He would have played for Nigeria. Agbonlahor, played three games and that was it."

Abraham has earned 11 caps for England, scoring three goals, but has not featured for the 1966 world champions since a UEFA Nations League encounter with Italy in June 2022.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel