Manchester City refuse to release Ayotomiwa Dele-Bashiru to feature in Wafu tournament

ENGLISH Premier League giants Manchester City have refused to release Nigerian teenager Ayotomiwa Dele-Bashiru denying him permission to join the Flying Eagles for the West African Football Union (Wafu) U20 championship.

Dele-Bashiru, 19, is a promising central midfielder who has already represented England at the U16 level but has decided to play his senior football for Nigeria. He was invited to be a part of the Nigeria U20 team for the Wafu championship in Benin Republic but Manchester City has stopped him from honouring the invitation due to club commitments.

Popularly called Tom Dele-Bashiru, the six foot midfielder is now on the verge of breaking into the Manchester City first team, having made his professional debut in 2017. This season, he has made nine appearances for the club's U23 team and also represented them in the U23 Uefa Youth League.

Nigeria had been hoping that if he featured in the Flying Eagles, he could progress from there into the senior team.  His younger brother 17 year old Fisayo Dele-Bashiru who is also a midfielder, plays for the ‎Manchester City U18 team and has played in eight games in the U18 Premier League so far this season.