“We Have Found Chidera” – Eguavoen Considering CSKA Wizard For Key Role

The three-time African champions have suffered in recent times in the final third, and the interim head coach is considering several solutions

Augustine Eguavoen has identified that creativity in the attack has been one of the Super Eagles’ major problems in recent times.

And the team’s interim head coach believes CSKA Moscow’s excellent playmaker Chidera Ejuke has the ability to help in that regard.

Under erstwhile coach Gernot Rohr, Ejuke was merely a fringe member of the Eagles, despite his fan-pleasing performances whenever he took to the pitch.

Rohr usually preferred Everton’s Alex Iwobi in the creative role for the national team, with the duo of Bordeaux’s Samuel Kalu and Rangers’ Joe Aribo also delivering mixed displays when trying their luck in that role at different times.

Still, the Super Eagles have consistently found it difficult to create goalscoring chances, with the three-time Afcon kings managing to score three or more goals in just three of their last 17 games across all competitions.

Although Ejuke is yet to score or assist when wearing the green and white, the former Heerenveen man has been brilliant for CSKA, contributing four goals and three assists in 13 matches as an attacking midfielder.

And Eguavoen is convinced that Ejuke’s form and talent could see him become vital for the team in Cameroon.

“The creative role is where the team has been lacking,” the interim head coach said at the press conference before the Eagles’ departure for the 2021 Afcon.

“Of late, we have found Chidera (Ejuke), but if it is not working, we may have to change our tactics and be flexible in the way we play.”

Ejuke is one of the 13 debutants in the Eagles squad for the African Nations Cup. But the 24-year-old attacker arrives with an impressive profile, having been ranked as the third-best dribbler in the world, according to CIES Observatory’s latest rankings.