NFF set to battle with Dutch counterparts for Zirkzee

The Nigeria Football Federation are set to battle their Dutch counterparts for Feyenoord Rotterdam wonderkid, Jordan Zirkzee, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

The 2005-born Jordan Zirkzee holds dual nationality and is qualified to play for both the African and European powerhouses and his international future is certain to be the subject of debate in the coming years as he has not been capped by the two nations.

Joshua Zirkzee departed Feyenoord in the summer of 2017 and signed for Bayern Munich but left behind his younger brother, Jordan at the Eredivisie club.

The NFF and KNVB are currently battling for the services of the older Zirkzee and if that is sorted out, they could turn their attention to Jordan, who is also a striker, like his brother. Another similarity they share is that the two brothers played for the youth teams of VV Hekelingen Spijkenisse and Spartaan ‘20 Rotterdam before joining Feyenoord.

As it stands, Jordan Zirkzee won’t be provisionally cap-tied to the Netherlands until he plays competitively for their U-17 team.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Bayern Munich took a gamble signing Joshua Zirkzee in August 2017.

According to Kicker via Sport.de, Hermann Gerland, sporting director of FC Bayern’s youth performance center, doubted the credentials of Zirkzee despite several scouting trips made by his staff in the Netherlands and a 20-minute video clip showcasing his talent.

The then technical director of Bayern, Michael Reschke gave the green light for the deal to go through, with Feyenoord receiving a training compensation of 100,000 euros (approximately N40.5 million).

The gamble has paid off as Zirkzee was promoted to Bayern Munich’s first team less than three years after he joined the club and he’s now worth 70 times the original fee the German champions paid for his services.