Former Super Eagles forward and now FIFA agent Stephen Makinwa in an exclusive interview with Footy-Africa has expressed delight after securing deals for Nigerian youngsters Olamide Fawaz and Yusuf Jimoh.
“I ran a scouting programme last November, and that was how I discovered them. I spotted them, took an interest in them, and decided to develop them and follow their careers from there. They are attacking players, as those are the types I prefer. I hardly make mistakes when selecting them, and I mostly go for attackers because I was once an attacker, and I believe I have a lot of experience in that area.”
“The Serbia deal was what we eventually went for, but we had a few options before that. For Yusuf, it was the first option I tried for him. He went there on trial and passed, and he was supposed to go back home to get his work permit before returning.”
“During that process, I concluded the deal for Fawaz. We had other options for him too, but the idea was for him to go there without a trial, and I pushed for that. They trusted me, and when he went there he was signed without a trial. That was it.”
“There were other teams interested. For Yusuf, that was the first club we tried, and it was straightforward. For Fawaz, we started earlier and had clubs in Slovenia, Croatia, Israel, Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Serbia, but because he got injured, he missed out on some of them. We had to push the Serbian club to take him without a trial, and they did.”
The two teenagers have signed long-term contracts with Serbian side GFK Dubocica from the Inspire Sport academy in Nigeria, and they now begin a new chapter in their young careers.
Makinwa, who played for Lazio, Reggiana, Como and Atalanta among other clubs, has quickly become one of the fast-rising agents in the game.
