Former Super Eagles midfielder Etim Esin has sparked a debate about Nigeria’s midfield identity, arguing that Ademola Lookman, despite his exceptional club form, does not fill the creative number 10 role the Super Eagles desperately need.
One of the sharpest debates in Nigerian football right now is about who, if anyone, plays the number 10 role for the Super Eagles. Former international Etim Esin has entered the conversation in no uncertain terms, insisting that Ademola Lookman does not fulfil that function for the national team the way he does for Atletico Madrid, and that Nigeria remains without a genuine creative playmaker since the golden era of Jay-Jay Okocha.
Speaking on the Play Zone Podcast, Esin said the Super Eagles continue to search for a traditional creative midfielder in the mould of himself, Henry Nwosu and Jay-Jay Okocha. “Lookman fits into that category, but not entirely for Nigeria,” Esin said. “At his club, he executes that role exceptionally well, but when it comes to Nigeria, I think we still require that creativity in the midfield.”
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The Architect and the Magician
Esin elaborated on what a genuine number 10 brings to a team. “He is the architect and magician within the squad. He facilitates action. Even if he does not score, he can provide an assist and influence the game. Having such a player in your squad instills confidence,” he said. The former midfielder went further, describing how a true playmaker draws multiple defenders and creates space for teammates, something he believes is currently absent from Eric Chelle’s squad.
“You must intimidate the opponent and make them aware that you possess a player capable of drawing two or three defenders, creating space, and delivering a pass for someone. I think we still need that in our national team, which we currently lack,” Esin remarked. It is a pointed observation, and one that many Super Eagles fans have privately shared for years.
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Lookman’s Super Eagles Record in Context
To be fair to Lookman, his Nigeria numbers are genuinely impressive. The Atletico Madrid forward has scored 11 goals and provided 10 assists in 43 appearances for the Super Eagles since making his debut in March 2025 during a goalless draw against Ghana. Those are productive returns by any standard. He has given Nigeria a match-winner in the final third and is currently the team’s most important attacking player.
But Esin’s point is a positional one, not a quality argument. Lookman, by nature, is a wide forward or an attacking winger who drifts inside. He creates and scores, but he doesn’t control the tempo of a game from a central creative position. Nigeria’s rivals know how to prepare for his runs. A pure number 10, the kind Okocha was in his prime, would add a different dimension: unpredictability from the middle of the park, the ability to pick the pass before anyone else sees it.
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📌 Did You Know?
- Jay-Jay Okocha, widely regarded as the greatest number 10 in Super Eagles history, scored 14 goals and provided numerous assists across 73 appearances for Nigeria between 1993 and 2006, including two appearances at AFCON and two at the World Cup.
- Etim Esin played as an attacking midfielder for the Super Eagles during the 1990s, representing Nigeria at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA, where the Super Eagles reached the Round of 16 before losing to Italy.
- Ademola Lookman was born in Wandsworth, London, and represented England at youth level before switching his international allegiance to Nigeria. He made his senior Nigeria debut in a friendly against Ghana in March 2025.
- Lookman’s hat-trick in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final for Atalanta against Bayer Leverkusen, where he scored all three goals in a 3-0 victory, is one of the most celebrated individual performances by a Nigerian player in a European club final.
- Henry Nwosu, referenced by Etim Esin as another classic Nigerian number 10, represented the Super Eagles in the 1980s and was known for his technical dribbling ability and creative passing from deep midfield positions.
- Nigeria’s current squad has no player who has started 20 or more Super Eagles matches primarily as a central attacking midfielder, reflecting the positional gap Esin is identifying. Most of Nigeria’s creative output comes from wide areas rather than central pockets.
- Atletico Madrid, Lookman’s club side, qualified for the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the 2025/26 season, meaning the Nigerian international is playing at the highest level of European club football right now.
