They won't play for Nigeria - Ex-Super Eagles star Siasia fires shots at Iwobi, Lookman, others

Samson Siasia has weighed in on the increasing number of foreign-born talents now playing for the Nigerian national team.

The Super Eagles have always been blessed with enormous talent, with stars like Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman following in the footsteps of legends such as Jay-Jay Okocha and Kanu Nwankwo.

However, a new trend has emerged, with several current stars, including Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and William Troost-Ekong, having been born outside Nigeria.

Siasia, a member of the 1994 Nations Cup-winning squad, compared his generation with the current one, noting that the stars of his era had to fight their way up through the local system before earning a chance abroad.

Speaking to Emmanuel Babayaro on UTVAfrica, Siasia highlighted the difference in their journeys.

"The crop of players we had during that era, 1990-1998, were great players that left the shores of Nigeria, went to Europe and came back, not now that we are bringing in players from Europe to come and play for Nigeria - two different things," Siasia stated.

"Kids that were born in Europe or went at an early age doing well for their clubs are back to play for the national team."

Siasia believes that many of these players only choose to represent Nigeria because they were not selected by their country of birth.

"If they had a chance to play for a European country, great players, they won’t come," he said.

"We struggled and made it to Europe but they were born."

The Super Eagles are set to return to action in October for their World Cup qualifiers with two crucial games against Lesotho and Benin.