Who would have thought that Ahmed Musa will return to play professional football in Nigeria at a point in his enviable career?
Well, Ahmed Musa’s return to the Nigeria Professional Football League further proves that Change is one of the constants in life.
It’s no longer new that the former CSKA Moscow winger has agreed to join his former club side, Kano Pillars on a short-term deal according to a statement on the club’s official website.
Reports also have that Ahmed Musa insisted on inserting a clause that allows him to leave for Europe at any time when a better deal comes knocking. Kano Pillars obliged according to sources.
The winger is set to be unveiled and presented to the fans before the commencement of the second phase of the league.
Ahmed Musa’s return has been considered as a welcome development not just for Kano Pillars but also for the league as well. But it appears that some football fans have some reservations about his move.
Without an iota of doubt, he has been one of the most consistent Nigerian players abroad over the last 10 years considering his exploits at VVV Venlo, CSKA Moscow, and Al Nassr before he left the club last year.
At 28, one would have expected that decent European clubs should have been jostling for his signature in the January transfer window, however, the winger couldn’t reach a deal with any, not even Westbrom that seemed to close.
One of the criteria considered for any invited players to the Super Eagles is his all-around consistency at the club level in Europe. A good number of the current crop of Super Eagles are starters in their clubs which justifies their inclusion.
Fans went ballistic when Ahmed Musa who hasn’t played active football in months was invited to the Super Eagles camp during last month’s AFCON qualifiers.
Gernot Rohr defended Musa’s inclusion and even went ahead to say he won’t play any of the two matches but he did. Musa was used as a second-half substitute in Super Eagles’ 3-0 over Lesotho at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
With the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers coming up next month, Ahmed Musa perhaps must have thought that his place in the team might be under threat considering that staying clubless won’t help matters and the wave of Nigerian attackers currently doing well in Europe.
Also, he must have examined the John Ogu situation. The former Hapoel Beer-Sheva midfielder has been clubless for the past six months after his recent move to Al Adalah ended abruptly. The midfielder has been unable to secure a move to Europe since then.
One might disagree but Ahmed Musa’s move to Kano Pillars is not too far away from an act of desperation to remain in the Super Eagles team and also to shut the mouth of critics up. After all, a stitch in time saves nine.
