Is it now time to hand Chuba Akpom the Super Eagles jersey after four years?

Chuba Akpom has been firing all cylinders since Michael Carrick took over Chris Wilder at Middlesbrough.

The 27-year-old has so far scored 16 goals and assisted 3 times in 23 domestic league games for Boro, including one against Wigan Athletic where he scored a hat-trick.

A number of Premier League teams, who are aiming to strengthen their attack for the remainder of the 2022–23 season as well as the next campaign, have shown interest in him as a result of his strong performance for the North Yorkshire side.

The international level will need Akpom’s brilliance when the time for national competitions comes knocking, not only at the club level.

Akpom, whose parents are from Nigeria, was born in London and has participated in a few youth international matches for England, including one in 2015 with Gareth Southgate’s under-21 squad.

But despite Akpom’s commitment to play for Nigeria, the Super Eagles have yet to provide him a Super Eagles shirt to wear as a representative of the country’s national team.

One may argue that among the pool of attackers available to the Super Eagles under Gernot Rohr, Akpom’s performance with the Greek team P.A.O.K. FC could not have caught his notice.

However, the attacker, who now leads the championship team with 16 goals in 23 appearances for Boro, has recently raised answers, which should include Jose Peseiro’s, who is searching for the ideal squad in his quest to get the Super Eagles team back to winning ways.

Nevertheless, given the amount of excellent Super Eagles talents who are competing at the top of their games in various leagues, the forward may have to fight his way into the squad.

Taiwo Awoniyi is now sidelined for his club’s encounter, but Akpom will battle it out for a spot on Peseiro’s lineup against Victor Osimhen, who has been outstanding in Serie A, and Lookman, who is following alongside him in goals.

But given that Akpom has been eager to represent Nigeria since 2019, it is perhaps appropriate to suggest that Peseiro should give him a call now that his performance is strong.