Çaykur Rizespor of Turkey’s stand out midfielder Ibrahim Olawoyin has been rewarded with his maiden call-up to the main Super Eagles squad after an impressive Turkish Super Lig campaign, aclsports.com reports.
Olawoyin, 26, scored eight goals for Rizespor as they ended the league campaign with a record number of points in the club’s history and he has now been called up to replace Bayer Leverkusen star Nathan Tella who was originally invited.
Tella, who won the German League and Cup double with Bayer Leverkusen in the just ended season asked to be excused from the game for family reasons, a vacuum which has enabled Super Eagles head coach Finidi George to call on Olawoyin.
Olawoyin was a delight among Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) followers when he played for Abia Warriors and Rangers International before he moved to Turkey in 2021. He has continued to churn out impressive performances while in Turkey and has now seen his great season rewarded.
Apart from his eight goals, Olawoyin also created three assists, made sixty-two successful tackles and forty-one successful interceptions as a box to box central midfielder. He also played the most minutes for Rizespor among all players in the just concluded season.
While still in the NPFL, Olawoyin represented the home based Super Eagles in an African Nations Championship qualifying game in Lagos in 2019. He started the game which ended 2-0 for Nigeria against Togo at the Agege Township Stadium.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles will face the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and Les Ecuriels of Benin Republic on Friday June 7 and Monday June 10 in Uyo and Abidjan respectively.
