Chelsea Defender Who Was Eager To Represent Nigeria Makes Debut For England

Published: February 08, 2020

Promising Chelsea defender of Nigerian parentage Derrick Abu has made his debut for an England team, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

England U17s head coach Kevin Betsy included the versatile fullback in his starting line-up for the ongoing friendly against Russia in an U17 Tournament taking place in Marbella, Spain.

Abu stepped out onto the Marbella Football Center pitch with the number 20 at the back of his jersey, two days after he was a non-playing substitute in a goalless draw with Ukraine.

He had wanted to represent Nigeria at the 2019 U17 World Cup but failed to establish contact with the Nigeria Football Federation and coach Manu Garba.

The English Football Association have now overtaken the NFF in the race for his services following his maiden call-up to the Young Lions.

Abu is one of the stars of Chelsea's U16 team and has regularly trained with their U18 team with a view to a potential debut before the end of the 2019-2020 season.

He joined the Stamford Bridge outfit at U11 level following a successful trial that lasted for six weeks.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel