Shola Ameobi to shine for Nigeria (Video)

Having just made his international debut for Nigeria, Shola Ameobi has reignited a potential headache for Alan Pardew come the African Cup of Nations in January.

Newcastle’s three main strikers now all play for their respective African country, with Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse being representatives of the Senegal national team.  Luckily for Pardew, he does not need to worry about losing arguably his first choice centre forward pairing to international duty, as Senegal did not qualify for the 2013 competition.

Shola Ameobi, however, is now part of Super Eagles manager Stephen Keshi’s plans and Newcastle could be without him during the opening months of next year. 

There was a lot of talk this week of Leon Osman making his senior England debut at 31 years old, but Ameobi also made his international bow on Wednesday at the same age.  Similarly to the Everton midfielder, Ameobi is a one-club man, having remained a Newcastle player since breaking through the Magpies’ academy.

Some may say that Ameboi has not lived up to his early promise, with his most successful season coming as Newcastle won the Championship title in 2010.  The big striker scored 10 goals during that campaign in the second division, which remains the only time he has managed reach double figures in the league.

However, Shola Ameobi will always be remembered by Newcastle fans for his excellent scoring record against their bitter rivals Sunderland, where he has netted seven goals in 12 games.

Before he gained his reputation as the Black Cats’ bogeyman, a 21-year-old Shola Ameobi made his name known when he scored an equalising goal against Barcelona in the Champions League.  Ten years on, can he again make headlines on the world stage like he did at the Nou Camp?

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