A Chance to Rule England witwh Leicester
Super Eagles assistant captain, Ahmed Musa, on Wednesday did his medicals with Leicester in the English Premier League. With Nigeria in a tight group of the World Cup qualifiers, Kunle Adewale writes if Musa’s to the EPL will make the job of the incoming
Clemence Westerhof may have gone down as the coach that gave Nigeria arguably the best set of Super Eagles players. But one fact remains that the Dutch man enjoyed a lot of luxury that most coaches never enjoyed and among them was having the bulk of the players from the Belgian League, as Belgium was the “Mecca” of Nigerian footballers then.
With Musa joining Premier League champions, Leicester, it has increased the number of Super Eagles players in the United Kingdom.
With Kelechi Iheanacho having settled down well with Manchester City, Odion Ighalo now an idol in Watford, Alex Iwobi now a jewel with Arsenal and indeed Arsene Wenger, Mikel Obi, a landlord at Stanford Bridge, Kenneth Omeruo and Victor Moses still Chelsea’s property, and Hope Akpa, Carl Ikemi and Daniel Udoh still commanding regular shirts in their various clubs the incoming coach would be enjoying the luxury of more than half of his players coming from England.
These players would be expected to transform their fondness and bond in England to the national team, the way Stephen Keshi did with his Belgian legion during Westerhof’s era.
Moreover, friendly matches for the national team could be easily staged in England and the coach guaranteed the presence of his regulars participating in the friendly since most of the players play in England.
How much the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and indeed the in-coming national team coach exploit Musa’s inclusion in the EPL contingent remains to be seen.
Leicester City on Tuesday agreed a deal with CSKA Moscow to sign the Nigeria forward.
The 23-year-old Musa, who joined CSKA in 2012 and scored 54 goals in 168 games, signed for what is understood to be Foxes club-record fee.
"Everything has been finalised and Musa will be in England for his medical on Wednesday," Tony Harris told BBC Sport.
CSKA Moscow coach, Leonid Slutsky, admitted the Nigerian, who can play as winger or striker, is on his way out of the club.
"He'll be leaving on Tuesday. If you look at the way things are done over there, you'll see he is a player just made for English football," Slutsky told the Russian media.
“Musa deserves to play in the Premier League. We were very lucky to have him, both as a footballer and as a person,” said CSKA general manager Roman Babaev. “Ahmed works a lot and is very reliable. He wasn't disappointed when we decided not to sell him in the winter, but rather promised to help us win the title.”
The 23-year-old Nigeria international could have joined Ranieri's fantastic Foxes in January.
Back in January, Leicester City offered more than €20million for Musa, but CSKA Moscow President, Yevgeni Giner refused to sell the Nigerian striker in mid-season, understanding that such a deal would be disastrous for their bid to stay top. Eventually, everything worked out perfectly for all involved.
The Foxes won a historic title, and the outcome could have been different with Musa on board, because it turned out that Leicester were good enough with minimal rotation in the line-up.
At the same time, Musa was crucial for CSKA in their third title triumph in four years, contributing a career-best 17 goals in all competitions. With a mission accomplished, Giner is ready to let him go.
Musa could have arrived in the Premier League much earlier, with Arsenal and Tottenham having been keen on signing him from Dutch outfit VVV Venlo, but CSKA – shrewd dealers when it comes to unearthing promising young prospects at bargain prices–acted quicker and bought him for €5 million at the beginning of 2012.
They got a winger who was the top scorer in his homeland at the tender age of 17, won the African Youth Championship in April 2011, reached the Under-20 World Cup quarter-finals a few months later, and managed to make a name for himself in the Eredivisie. Not bad for a 19-year-old, but he was far from a finished article.
Musa used to play on the right wing for Venlo, but CSKA mostly used him on the left in the beginning. The Nigerian became one of the most important projects of Slutsky, who took the youngster under his wing and taught him to put pressure on the opposition without the ball and play smarter tactical football. Musa has always been very disciplined and dedicated, and his willingness to learn helped his progress immensely.
“I am eternally grateful to Slutsky. He made me a real footballer,” Musa said.
With star Ivorian striker Seydou Doumbia frequently injured, the Nigerian was the only option to replace him, and thus has to play a lot of games in a central position. That was not natural for such a short player – Musa is just 5ft 7in tall but he improved over time. CSKA trusted him to do the job, even after Doumbia was sold to Roma in January 2014 before leaving for Newcastle after a loan spell back at the Russian side last autumn.
Musa gained a lot of experience with the national team as well. He won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, and was one of Nigeria's top performers at the 2014 World Cup, scoring brace against Argentina which meant he netted half of the goals Sergio Romero conceded in the entire tournament. Musa was even named captain last October, losing the armband to John Obi Mikel recently.
The 2015/16 season has certainly been Musa's best to date. He scored three important goals in the Champions League qualifiers and was prolific in the Russian league as well. It became obvious that CSKA were right to keep him in the Spring, with Musa scoring seven times since March. The most beautiful effort was in the 2-0 win over Krasnodar – an unstoppable long-range shot.
Speed has always been Musa's most important asset. He is lightning quick, able to outpace any defender, and that's why playing on the wing is so natural for him. Two-footed, he feels equally at ease on both flanks and is rather hard to mark.
Under Slutsky, Musa became much more versatile and tactically aware. He is very fit, constantly on the move, always ready to receive the ball on the counter and adept at putting pressure on opponents' defenders and midfielders.
Musa is experienced beyond his age as well. At just 23, he has played 57 games for the national team, and more importantly has 24 Champions League fixtures under his belt. That might prove invaluable as Leicester make their debut in the competition next season.
He might be quick, but his technical skills are not perfect. Musa's concentration and coolness in front of goal has improved, but he is still far from world class and is capable of wasting easy chances at times. Also, he can struggle against top defenders when there is no space in front of him.
Additionally, his heading is poor. Musa's speed is perfect for the Foxes' counter-attacking style; in fact, he became used to it at CSKA as well. Able to play as a centre-forward, second striker and on both wings, Musa will be a brilliant addition to the rotation, because he can easily replace each of Jamie Vardy, Shinji Okazaki, Riyad Mahrez and Marc Albrighton.
There will be no ego issues either, with Musa expected to be well-liked in the dressing room. He was respected by everyone at CSKA, and accepted criticisms without any problems.