Sam Wallace at the Telegraph has this afternoon reported on an interesting developing story at Chelsea.
According to their Chief Football Writer, teenage prodigy Landon Emenalo, currently playing in Chelsea’s academy, is the subject of a tug of war between the FA and the USA football association as both parties seek to secure the 16 year old’s future.
He’s eligible for both nations and also Nigeria through his father Michael, who was appointed director of football at Chelsea shortly after Landon’s birthday. And as he gets older and continues to impress as a box to box midfielder, the dispute is only going to get more intense.
He’s been called up to the England U17 team by Neil Ryan for games later this month – but played earlier this year for the USA team of the same age group. That’s unsustainable, and decision time is surely coming.
Emenalo another top talent coming through Cobham
We’ve see players in this situation plenty of times before, and it’s never easy. There are a lot of competing interests, and a lot of people with a stake in their future who can put pressure on them. Hopefully having a father who is so successful in football is helpful for the youngster.
If we had to choose, we’d rather see him play for England. There he’ll have lots of other Cobham teammates to play with, and also will avoid endless long international break trips back and forth over the Atlantic.
But despite his immense talent it’s still too early to project too far forward. Let’s worry about his next few years of development
Until he makes a senior appearance for one country or the other in a competitive game, he can always switch allegiances. Perhaps the most sensible move is to stick with England through the age groups, then possibly switch to the USA if there is no clear path to first team senior action with the Three Lions.
