Nigeria, England fight for Manchester City defender, Tosin Adarabioyo

The latest player to be caught up in a tug-of-war between Nigeria and England, is Manchester City starlet Tosin Adarabioyo.

The highly-rated central defender has been tipped for senior international honours, having represented England juniors all the way up to Under-19 level.

However, the 20-year-old is being targeted by Nigeria, his country of heritage.

Adarabioyo was made available for loan by City, during the final 48 hours of the transfer window, following the arrival of Aymeric Laporte. But a deal failed to materialise, with the youngster named on the bench by Pep Guardiola, for City’s 3-0 win over West Brom on Wednesday night.

It has emerged that Super Eagles handler, Gernot Rohr, was planning to watch him play at senior level, before deciding whether to tempt him with a place in their World Cup squad.

Nevertheless, Nigeria’s concrete interest in Adarabioyo remains.

The Eagles have successfully persuaded Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi, who have both played for England at junior level, to change their international allegiance in recent years.