The race to sign incredible Ojodu City FC striker Hafiz Umar Ibrahim for 700,000 euros involves AC Milan and Inter.
The 18-year-old striker from Kano has been making an impression on a number of teams thanks to his outstanding exploits at the 2024 Viareggio Cup.
According to Soccernet.ng exclusively, Inter and AC Milan have emerged as the top suitors for Ojodu City FC striker Hafiz Umar Ibrahim, a promising Nigerian player.
The 18-year-old is also being pursued by Portuguese teams FC Porto and FC Braga, as well as Italian teams Fiorentina and Sassuolo.
At the Viareggio Cup, one of the top football competitions in the world for young players and academies, the teams were able to observe his talent. After three Nigerian teams and one team from Congo Brazzaville advanced to the final four, the 74th edition of the competition will be won by an African team for the first time.
Hafiz Ibrahim: who is he?
In the competition, Ibrahim has nine goals to his name. He scored back-to-back hat tricks in Ojodu City’s 5-0 triumph over Westchester United of the United States and their 4-0 quarterfinal triumph over Honved, a Hungarian club.
Ibrahim said to Soccernet.ng, “I’ve never seen a defender that can intimidate me.” “Playing and scoring goals is all I want to do.”
“I want my team to win the tournament and I want to be the highest scorer,” he declared.
Ibrahim, a young striker from Kano, is expected to dazzle the football world with his abilities. He compares himself to Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku.
Standing at 1.9metres, he uses both feet and has also scored with the head in this tournament. Even though he has limited education, Ibrahim speaks Hausa and Pidgin English very well.
Hafiz Umar Ibrahim, Ojodu City FC. Photo by Lolade Adewuyi
He has told Soccernet.ng about his hopes of becoming a professional footballer so that he can take his family out of poverty. He was once a trader in the Kano market to help them make ends meet.
What is his market worth?
Soccernet.ng can exclusively reveal that the player is being put on the transfer market for between 500,000 to 700,000 euros by his agents.
The interest in him has grown and smaller clubs that were interested at the beginning of the tournament have now been priced out.
Teams from Eastern Europe and the Serie D were the first to show interest after Ojodu City’s first two matches. His agents decided against committing to their trial requests, preferring to wait till the end oTheir patience was well worth the wait as the striker has now become the leading scorer of the tournament, making the giants of Italian football take notice of his talent. His worth has risen commensurately.
A move to one of the teams would secure his future and an opportunity to help his family live a better life.
Ojodu City FC will take on Beyond Limits FA in the semi-finals for a chance to reach the finals.f the tournament.
