Poland scout insists Man Utd's Oyedele will not follow the same path as USMNT GK Slonina 

The Polish FA Talent ID Coordinator in the United Kingdom, Przemek Soczynski believes that Manchester United midfielder Maxi Oyedele will not follow the same path as Chelsea-owned goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.

Born in Addison, Illinois, Slonina is eligible to play for Poland through his Polish parents but has pledged his international future to his country of birth, United States. 

Slonina became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to start for the US Men's National Soccer Team in a friendly against Serbia on January 25, 2023.

A year ago, the talented teenage goalkeeper turned down the chance to represent Poland's senior national team after rejecting a call-up for Nations League matches against Wales, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Just like Slonina, Oyedele is also a dual-national as he's eligible to represent England, where he was born, Nigeria though his father and Poland, where his mother originally hails from. 

The Polish Football Association are ahead of Nigeria and England in the race for the services of Oyedele, given that the midfielder is provisionally cap-tied to Poland.

Soczynski has argued that here is no reason to be afraid that Oyedele will change his mind and follow in the footsteps of Slonina, who chose United States over Poland.

"Of course, you never know what will happen in a few years, but I don't think Maxi can be compared to Slonina in any way," Soczynski said in an interview with WP Sportowefakty.

"This is a drastically different situation. Maxi has already played for Poland, e.g. in the UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualifiers.

"He was a really important part of this team, you could say one of the most important. The chance of him playing elsewhere is minimal.

"He wants to play for us. It was also visible after how much he was happy to be promoted to the European Championships. In this regard, we can be calm."

Oyedele impressed during his loan spell at National League club Altrincham in the second half of the 2022-2023 season, scoring four goals in twelve matches despite being a defensive-minded player. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit : PZPN/Twitter

Copyright ANS

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com