Liverpool midfielder rejects England to play for Nigeria

Reports has it that a major Liverpool midfielder has rejected the Three Lions of England in a bid to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. The state was issued by His representatives who thought to be expecting the Nigerian Football Federation to send an invite for the versatile Liverpool player.

As the senior national team of Nigeria continue their drive towards convincing players with dual nationality to pledge their commitment to the team, one name has been added to the mix.

New coach Jose Peseiro has already succeeded in convincing former Germany youth international Jordan Torunarigha to pledge his future to the team. He is also reportedly in talks with on loan Napoli midfielder Michael Folorunsho, who is spending the season on loan at fellow Serie A side Hellas Verona.

The coach confirmed he has on his radar and wishlist Caleb Okoli of Atalanta, who is presently impressing for Frosinone in the Italian Serie A. Another player has now entered the discussion and possibly the manager’s list of potential targets.

That player is Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who according to his representatives is aware of his Nigerian roots and can represent Nigeria at senior international level. He has represented England at various youth levels but his last call up came in 2022.

Now at the age of 22 and getting regular run of games with six appearances to his name already, he is still not in the frame for a possible England call up, and we sought to know from his representative if he is aware that he can play for the Super Eagles as made public by his girlfriend last year, when she posted her roots alongside his own.

” Of course he is aware. His grand parents are Nigerians. He was born and raised here, so playing for Nigeria is something that hasn’t crossed his mind but you never know what the future holds”, he rounded up saying.

Liverpool will look to bounce back from their controversial defeat to Tottenham when they visit high-flying Brighton this weekend.

The Reds were robbed of a goal during that game as Luis Diaz saw a legitimate strike ruled out for offside, and a mix-up in the VAR room meant the goal didn’t stand.

Jurgen Klopp has called for a replay, but that’s unlikely to happen.

Instead, they will look to push on and go on another unbeaten run but games don’t come much tougher than Brighton away right now.

The Seagulls have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and sit inside the top six.

But they were thrashed 6-1 by Aston Villa last weekend, so Roberto De Zerbi will be looking for a response at home.

Brighton vs Liverpool: Date and how to follow

This Premier League game is set to take place on Sunday, October 8.

Kick-off at the Amex is scheduled for 2pm.

The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League, with their coverage set to start at 1pm.

Sky Go customers will be able to stream the action via their laptops and mobile devices.

Brighton vs Liverpool: Match facts

Brighton won 3-0 against Liverpool in their last Premier League meeting in January – the Seagulls have never beaten the Reds in consecutive league games, with this their 29th such meeting.

Liverpool won their first six Premier League matches against Brighton across the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. In the last three seasons, however, the Reds have just one league win against the Seagulls (D3 L2).

Brighton have won five of their seven Premier League games this season (L2); they did, however, lose 6-1 at Aston Villa last time out (the first time they’d conceded 6+ goals in a league game since April 2012 vs West Ham). The Seagulls haven’t lost back-to-back Premier League games since October last season (v Tottenham and Brentford).

Liverpool’s 17 game unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end last weekend against Tottenham. The last time they lost back-to-back matches in the competition was their two games prior to that 17-game unbeaten streak (v Bournemouth and Manchester City).

Brighton’s seven Premier League games this season have produced 33 goals (F19 A14). Only Manchester United in 2001-02 (35), Arsenal in 2009-10 (34) and Manchester City in 2019-20 (34) have seen more goals in their opening seven games to a Premier League season.

Liverpool have had four players sent off in the Premier League this season; it’s the first time in the competition’s history that a side has been given four reds in their opening seven games of a campaign. Indeed, Liverpool’s four red cards in their last six Premier League games are as many as in their previous 178 matches combined.

Brighton have both scored and conceded in each of their last 11 Premier League games since a 3-0 victory at Arsenal in May. During this period, either Brighton (6 times) or their opponents (3 times) have scored 3+ goals in nine of those matches.

Solly March has either scored (2) or assisted (3) five of Brighton’s last eight Premier League goals against Liverpool, netting a brace and setting up a Danny Welbeck goal in this exact fixture last season. His five goal involvements against the Reds are his most against an opponent in the competition.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has only been involved in more Premier League goals against Man Utd (14) and West Ham (13) than he has against Brighton (6 goals, 6 assists in 12 apps), with seven of these coming in his six appearances at the Amex Stadium. Overall, Salah has been involved in 17 goals in his 15 trips to the south coast in the top-flight (v Brighton, Bournemouth and Southampton), scoring 11 and assisting six.

Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister made 98 Premier League appearances for Brighton scoring 16 goals. He could become just the second player to score both for and against the Seagulls in the competition, after Dan Burn.