England under 21 striker, Tammy Abraham has pledged his loyalty to the FA, contrary to reports that he has agreed to join the Super Eagles of Nigeria after meeting with the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick on Wednesday in London. Sky Sports reports that the Chelsea's Striker who is currently on loan at Swansea City issued a statement on Thursday confirming he remains committed to England.
His statement read "Contrary to reports in the media today I would like to clarify that I have not agreed to switch my national team allegiance. I can confirm I met the President of the NFF after our last game against Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday given he is a friend of my father."
"However, any suggestion that I have made a decision to change my international representation is incorrect and wide of the mark. I have informed The FA that I remain available for selection for England," he added.
Abraham's sudden change of plan may not be unconnected with efforts by Swansea Manager, Paul Clement to frustrate Nigeria's quest to land the talented player in the Super Eagles. Dailymail reports that on Thursday Clement advised the player not to switch allegiance to Nigeria. He made his remark during a pre-match conference ahead of an encounter with Watford on Saturday.
'For me, from my point of view, I hope he stays with the English national team. I'm not sure he'd be better off career-wise, I'm saying it because I'm English and he's a good English talent, so you want him involved with your national team.'
'Ultimately, it's the decision of the player. In some cases, they'll make the choice because they see a better opportunity, a chance of playing more regularly at international level and in other cases, it's because it's where they believe they're from and they want to represent the country where they were born or where their parents were born and it's in their culture.'
'Whatever their reasons are, it's down to the player to decide. The fact that he's come through the English system, first at Academy level and also playing for the English national teams, I think that puts them at an advantage,' he added.
