Chelsea youngster Adrian Akande turns down offer of playing for England U16 for Golden Eaglets

CHELSEA winger Adrian Akande has turned down an opportunity to play for the England U16 national team opting instead to feature for Nigeria's Golden Eaglets with a view to playing on the African U17 tournament taking place in Tanzania this month.

Akande, who turns 16 later this year, is English has rejected an offer to join up with England ahead of the forthcoming Montaigu Tournament. He had been asked to meet up with the Young Lions on Friday April 12 at Hilton Cobham Hotel ahead of the squad’s departure to tournament starting in France on April 14.

Instead Akande has accepted an invitation from Golden Eaglets coach Manu Garba to join Nigeria's U17 team in Abuja. Next week, the team will depart for the African U17 tournament, which will also serve as World Cup qualifiers, where Nigeria will face hosts Tanzania on April 14 before meeting Angola and then finishing their group games on April 20 against Uganda.

Akande, who has already undergone an MRI scan, has been asked to send in his passport details by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Born in England in 2003, Akande decided to play for Nigeria after he held talks with (NFF) president Amaju Pinnick and coach Garba watched him play.

England on the other hand will be heading to the Montaigu Tournament, considered a prestigious youth tournament. In France, England is drawn alongside Argentina, Ivory Coast and Portugal in Group B.