Former Nigeria International Jonathan Akpoborie says Warri Wolves’ Gbolahan Salami, Chisom Chikatara of Abia Warriors and Odion Ighalo of Watford can be good replacements for Emmanuel Emenike, who announced his retirement from the national team on Instagram on Monday.
Reacting to the Emenike’s exit from the Eagles, Akpoborie told our correspondent on the telephone on Tuesday that Emenike, who won the 2013 Africa Nations Cup’s Golden Boot, would not be missed.
“There are many players that can wear the number nine jersey in place of Emenike. When the home-based Eagles played against Burkina Faso, we saw Gbolahan Salami, and we saw Chisom Chikatara. Salami and Chikatara have shown they are two or three times better than Emenike.
“We thank Emenike for serving Nigeria and we will respect him for winning the Africa Cup of Nations. Ighalo is also scoring goals for his club right now. He can perform better than Emenike. So we will not really miss him in the national team.”
The former Wolfsburg forward added that Emenike, who moved to Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates this season on a one-year loan deal from Turkish side Fenerbahce, had lost form both in the national team and his club.
He said Emenike probably lost concentration after winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Akpoborie said, “Since the end of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, I’ve not seen any match that Emenike played well for Nigeria. At the World Cup, he didn’t play well. I’m not trying to condemn him now that he has left the national team, but after the 2013 AFCON, which we won, he lost form. Maybe he started thinking he was the best player after winning the Africa Cup of Nations.”