Ranges star Joe Aribo is an 'adorable' asset for Nigeria and can help lead them to African Cup of Nations glory, according to the man who handed him his international dream.
Aribo is a certainty to start for the Super Eagles in Sunday's Round of 16 clash against Tunisia with Nigeria warm favourites to progress.
If Nigeria reach the semi-finals as expected, it would rule out Aribo for the Old Firm showdown against Celtic next month.
And the Rangers star's form in the tournament has been praised by ex-Nigeria boss Gernot Rohr, who was axed by the African nation last month just before AFCON.
Rohr persuaded him to represent Nigeria and reckons the country are reaping the benefits.
He said: "Joe is adorable and very polite. He listens, he is quite reserved and doesn't talk a lot, but he can do it, if he has to.
"He is on form at exactly the right time for the tournament and for Nigeria.
"He is a player who tends to stay in the shadows, but he is technically excellent and can make the difference with his left foot.
"When I called him up for the first time, he scored a goal as soon as he came into the side. It was a friendly match in Ukraine after the last African Cup of Nations when we were looking at new players.
"He played really well in that first match and remained in the starting line-up from then on as long as he was fit, because he has had some injury problems and had Covid.
"He is a box-to-box player who gets forward from deep. He likes to beat his man and go for goal."
