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Ahmed Musa probably cannot have it
any worse in this most testing period,
his wilderness experience. Crossing over
to Leicester , then awash with the title-
defending champions from icy- cold
Eastern Europe was meant to signal an
upward curve for Musa but the move
has started a downward spiral that
could hurt his indispensability to the
Super Eagles .
Ahmed Musa has been a main feature
in the Super Eagles fold ever since he
made his debut under Augustine
Eguavoen as a fresh- faced 17 - year - old
in the match against Madagascar. In his
oversized jersey that looked like it bore
a hidden jet- pack , he made his 15 -
minute cameo replacing Mikel Obi , he
almost got Nigeria a third goal two
minutes before the end of regulation
time but his shot dragged wide of the
post . Ever since, he has not missed any
competitive fixture for Nigeria.
Things have been slightly different
though this past year , the forward has
started just one competitive game for
the Super Eagles since he made the
move away from Russia: a dead rubber
against Tanzania after the hopes of
Africa Cup of Nations qualification had
been dashed following the loss to Egypt
in Alexandria .
Ahmed Musa no longer has the
automatism of a starter and was an
unused substitute in a competitive game
for the second time in his Super Eagles
career against Cameroon at Yaounde .
The other time was as far back as 2013
in the quarterfinals of the AFCON
against Ivory Coast . The winger has
featured for less than 30 minutes in all
of Nigeria ’s 2018 World Cup qualifying
matches.
There is sympathy to be had for Musa ’s
case, a typical instance of a transfer
move gone wrong . Trading Moscow for
Leicester in hindsight is a fail . It is
difficult to fault the ambition of the 24 -
year old , calculatedly taking steps
forward from when he started at the
Aminchi Football Academy . His career
has seen him break records in the NPFL
with Kano Pillars, impress at the
Eredivisie with VVV Venlo before
making the move to CSKA Moscow when
he felt ready . After 125 games and 42
goals , Leicester City came calling with a
fee that matched CSKA ’ s valuation of
their forward , a then , club record £ 16 . 6
million after the forward had scored a
career best of 18 goals in 44
appearances .
Who’d have known Claudio Ranieri who
seemed hung up on his talents was
going to get sacked after Leicester City
had done the unbelievable . Musa played
in 19 Premier League games scoring two
goals while Ranieri was at the helm.
Immediately after Craig Shakespeare
took over as caretaker manager, Musa
did not make Leicester ’s matchday
squad for two consecutive games . Musa
would only feature three times again in
Foxes ’ remaining 13 Premier League
games playing for less than an hour.
The lag in playing time was certain to
have an effect .
International football though is a
delicate beast needing a bit of
subjectivity, especially for sides not
exactly bursting at the seam with top
level talent . For a player who is
obviously more talented than most his
country has to offer, the country will
still persist with him even if his playing
time at his club side leaves a lot to be
desired.
If that were the case for Musa , then ,
there is no discourse to be had per his
call- up but the current realities in the
Super Eagles allows for more objectivity
with the criteria for selection including
playing time and form.
Alex Iwobi for example , despite his
sparse minutes with Arsenal , will get a
call- up because of his talents and
unique skill - set in the Super Eagles . But
same cannot be said with Musa whose
searing pace on the wings has been
replaced with Moses Simon ’ s directness ,
and more - controlled running . His place
in the squad also seems to impede the
ascent of Henry Onyekuru who is more
naturally talented than Ahmed Musa .
Onyekuru had a brilliant last season
and has begun this season in like
fashion with Anderlecht, scoring his
fifth goal of the season but the former
Eupen winger has the Musa - shaped
shadow cast over him. Thus , he is only
good enough for the standby list while
on the other hand, Ahmed Musa has not
featured in a league game this season
with Leicester City. Against
Bournemouth in the weekend , Musa was
not good enough for the bench as
compatriots Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi
Iheanacho featured in Shakespeare’ s
side.
The winger has not been in any of
Leicester ’s matchday squad in the
English Premier League this season . It
was depressing to see the 62 - time
capped Super Eagle bursting his lungs in
the development squad against Chelsea
U23 while his teammates had a crunch
tie the next day against Liverpool in the
League . The former Super Eagles
captain was sent to the U23 squad to
gain match fitness due to a lack of
playing time .
For the Zambia game , it is all cast in
stone , Musa is in the squad and will
probably get a late cameo but going
forward , the difficult, slightly awkward
and uncomfortable conversation about
Musa ’s invitation is meant to be had
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