“I don’t know the whereabouts of my son. I have not seen him for the past three days” – James Iheanacho, Father of Golden Eaglets Star Player
Oladunjoye Opeyemi
Golden Eaglets’ star player, kelechi Iheanacho, has been declared 
missing by his parents saying they have been left in the dark over his whereabouts.
Following his sterling performance at the just-concluded FIFA under-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iheanacho is being sought after by some European clubs including Portuguese club, FC Porto, where it is being said the boy has been taken for trials by football agents.
Iheanacho’s father, James, however says concerning the destination of his 17-year-old son, that he believes football agents have taken him away without his own consent.
Iheanacho Snr said on Hot FM Owerri on Friday,“I don’t know the whereabouts of my son. I have not seen him for the past three days.”
According to unconfirmed reports from MTNFootball.com, two Golden Eaglets officials and a Portugal-based agent, simply known as Graham, may have taken the younger Iheanacho to Abuja to complete his move to Europe.
Earlier this week, Eaglets’ assistant coach, Emmanuel Amuneke was reported to have slapped an american FIFA agent, Henry Galliano, in Owerri in the earliest controversy stemming up from the player’s move to Europe. The rift between Amuneke and Galliano is believed to have come up over Iheanacho’s choice of agent, but the former Super Eagles forward has now extricated himself of blame.
“I neither assaulted nor slapped Galliano,” Amuneke told supersport.com. ”We had a heated argument over the future of Iheanacho and that was it. He (Galliano) was insulting my nation, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and our philosophies in Nigeria and I told him that. He was insulting me so I went up to him, pushed him away and told him to stop harassing me.”
“I have no business with whoever Kelechi picks as his agent. It’s not my job. I am a coach. If he (Kelechi) wants my advise on how to shape his career, I will be here as a father to help him but that is where it ends.”
Meanwhile Graham, whom Iheanacho is believed to have travelled with to Abuja alongside two Eaglets officials, was behind the summer transfer of Nigeria U-20 midfielder Chidi Osuchukwu to another Portuguese outfit, Sporting Braga.
