Club vs Country: Enyimba to recall Imo Obot from U20s

Left back Imo Obot who is currently on national duties in Abuja, www.aclsports.com reports is involved in a seeming club vs country row between Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) giants Enyimba and Nigeria’s national U20 team, 

The Flying Eagles have been preparing for their West African Zone qualification tournament (UFOA-B) for next year’s Africa U20 Africa Cup of Nations for the past six weeks in Abuja with Obot among the over twenty players in Ladan Bosso’s camp.

However, Enyimba are scheduled to commence their Total CAF Champions League campaign for the 2020/2021 season this weekend with a trip to Ouagadougou to face Burkina Faso Champions Rahimo FC and are in dire need of their player.

Obot joined the People’s Elephant from Dakkada FC and is now needed more than ever because Enyimba’s two registered left backs for last season Daniel Darkwah and Emmanuel Ampiah are out injured and highly unlikely to be fit for weekend’s game.

The other natural left back in camp is academy product Johnson Umah who is also carrying a thigh strain. Enyimba head coach Fatai Osho hinted last week during the Gov Okezie Ikpeazu pre-season football tournament that his side has written to have Obot join them on the plane to Ouagadougou.

“We have made our request and he is our property. We are in a very crucial stage now and you can see a lot of attack on the left were slowed down because we were playing with a right back at that position,” said Osho to www.aclsports.com after fielding Stephen Manyo, a right back in the left back role against Plateau United.

On the other hand, Flying Eagles coach Ladan Bosso is said to be a huge admirer of the Akwa-Ibom born left wing back and with the UFOA B tournament now scheduled to commence on December 5 in Benin Republic, he is facing a dilemma on whether or not to let Obot leave.

This is because participation in the first leg game will mean that Obot would have missed about one week of final preparations for the tournament while the other worry is Enyimba’s second leg game against the Burkinabes scheduled for the Enyimba Stadium in Aba on Sunday, December 6, a day after the UFOA-B tournament would have started in Cotonou.