Ebere Eze reached a deal with Pinnick to feature for Nigeria if the Eagles qualified for World Cup

CRYSTAL Palace playmaker Ebere Eze had reached a conditional agreement with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) last year to feature for the Super Eagles on the condition that the team qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

Eze, 24, has been the subject of a tug of war between Nigeria and England over the last two years, with both nations desperately fighting for the services of the mercurial playmaker. Having already played for the England U21 team competitively, Ebere will, however, need to undergo a switch through Fifa before he is eligible to feature for Nigeria's Super Eagles.

A former Arsenal schoolboy, Eze made his competitive debut for the Young Lions in a European U21 Championship qualifier against Albania in November 2019. However, former NFF president Amaju Pinnick was desperate to get Ebere, just as he successfully wooed diasporans Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Joe Aribo and Josh Maja.

Nigeria initially made the move to cap Eze by inviting him to train with the Super Eagles in March 2017 ahead of a friendly with Burkina Faso but could not bag him as the friendly was later cancelled. Since then, however, the NFF has been desperately trying to recall the playmaker with little success.

In the weeks leading up to the 2022 World Cup play-off against the Black Stars of Ghana, Mr Pinnick arranged a face-to-face confidential meeting with Eze at his home in London.  At the meeting, Ebere agreed to represent Nigeria at the World Cup in Qatar if the Super Eagles qualified for the tournament.

However, the plan went up in smoke after the Black Stars beat the Super Eagles to the 2022 World Cup ticket. It is not yet clear of new NFF chairman Ibrahim Gusau has held any talks with Eze or if he plans to do so.