SUPER Eagles skipper, John Obi Mikel is trying to persuade Ola Aina to switch allegiance from England to Nigeria after the right-back impressed during his Chelsea debut in the EFL Cup.
Aina, who penned a new deal with the West London club this summer, currently represents England at youth level but would qualify to play alongside Mikel through his Nigerian parents.
Mikel holds his Blues teammate in high regard, though the 20-year-old defender is yet to fully come round to the idea.
"I keep asking him: 'When are you going to come and play for Nigeria?' and he jokes: 'Whenever you come and invite me I will play!" Mikel told Goal. "I think it is something that we would have to discuss.
"If he wants to play, we would have to speak to the federation and make sure that he really wants to play for Nigeria. If he is ready, we can talk about, but in the few times we have talked about it, he hasn’t given me a very positive, decisive answer to take back to the FA.
"I need a positive answer for me to take the case forward to the FA. We will see what happens."
