Abubakar Umara, the manager of Flying Eagles winger Tahir Maigana, who had completed a permanent move to Hungarian top-flight side Zalaegerszegi TE (ZTE), in an exclusive interview with Footy-Africa revealed that the decision to move to Hungary was driven by footballing reasons rather than financial incentives.
Maigana signed a three-year contract with the option of an additional year.
“I discovered Tahir in my hometown of Maiduguri back in 2022 and brought him, alongside about 22 other players, to Abuja for trials,” Umara exclusively told Footy-Africa. “Tahir made the Nigeria U-20 team, while another player from that group is currently in the Flying Eagles camp preparing for the WAFU B Championship.”
“From the first day I saw both of them, who are naturally left-footed players, I knew they had the potential to become world class.”
To aid his development, Maigana was sent on loan to feature in the Nigeria Nationwide League One (NLO) before spending four months training in Dubai.
“When he returned, he joined the Flying Eagles camp in Katsina ahead of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations,” Umara explained. “He featured in every game at the tournament, mostly coming off the bench, and started one match.”
“He also made Nigeria’s squad for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, where he played all four matches. In fact, he was the only attacking player in the Nigerian team who was never substituted during the tournament.”
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His performances quickly attracted attention from several clubs across Europe and North America.
“Crystal Palace, Burnley, Benfica, Brentford, Seattle Sounders, NEC Nijmegen and clubs from the Gulf all showed interest. We received about eight or nine offers in total,” Umara revealed. “After carefully considering every option, we decided that Hungary was the best destination for him.”
According to Umara, regular first-team football was the deciding factor behind the move.
“At ZTE, he will go straight into the first-team setup and, hopefully, continue his development. We looked at his progress, not the financial package. That was our priority. There were clubs offering better financial terms, but we wanted a place where he would play senior football immediately instead of joining an Under-21 team, which was what clubs like Crystal Palace and Burnley were proposing.”
Umara also reflected on Maigana’s remarkable rise through Nigeria’s youth ranks.
“Tahir was dropped from Manu Garba’s U-17 team, but he never stopped improving. He eventually earned a call-up to the Flying Eagles while he was just 16 years old and was the youngest player in the squad. A lot of people believed he wouldn’t cope because of his age, but he proved everyone wrong.”
The 18-year-old joins the Hungarian club from Abuja-based FC Wireless after attracting widespread interest following his impressive performances for Nigeria at both the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
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Renowned for his pace, trickery, Maigana emerged as one of Nigeria’s standout performers on the international stage, prompting interest from several clubs across Europe.
In confirming the signing, Zalaegerszegi TE revealed that a number of clubs were chasing the Nigerian youngster, but Maigana ultimately chose the club’s project because he believed it offered the best pathway for his development.
Now in Hungary, Maigana will be hoping to continue that upward trajectory as he embarks on the next chapter of his career with Zalaegerszegi TE, where he is expected to feature with the senior team from the outset.
