Tosin Kehinde: Manchester United youngster chose Nigeria to play with Iwobi, Mikel

Tosin Kehinde currently plays for Manchester United's under 23 side.

Manchester United youngster Tosin Kehinde has revealed that he chose to represent Nigeria ahead of England because of Super Eagles players Alex Iwobi and Mikel Obi.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, but brought up in the United Kingdom, Tosin currently plays for Manchester United’s U-23 side in the Premier League 2.

Tosin chose to represent Nigeria over England after a meeting between his family representatives, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr.

The 19-year-old has now revealed the reason behind his decision to snub England for the Super Eagles.

In a report by the BBC, Tosin stated that he has always been drawn to Nigeria despite being raised in the UK.

He said, "Nigeria has always been a part of me. I was born there. My whole family are Nigerian. I come from a very strong Nigerian background so the influence has always been around me,"

Tosin also spoke about representing the Super Eagles and how the possibility of playing alongside captain John Mikel Obi and Alex Iwobi influenced his decision to choose Nigeria.

"When you are growing up, when you see players like Jay Jay Okocha, how good he was and the current crop of players such as Alex Iwobi and Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi, the desire to get the opportunity to play for Nigeria has always been there really," Tosin said

Tosin also revealed that he intends to break into Jose Mourinho’s first team at Old Trafford after he joined the junior set up at Manchester United at just seven years old.

"I hope to play in the first team, that's every player's dream and my dream also.

"The manager's [Jose Mourinho's] continued belief in the youth and giving people opportunity has made me feel that if I keep working hard maybe I can get the opportunity as well," Tosin said

Tosin is hopeful for a debut for the first team after the breakthrough of colleagues Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, Axel Tuanzebe and Timothy Fosu-Mensah.