'He has just been bought by Nottingham Forest' - Iheanacho recalls how scouts spotted him and Diomande
'He has just been bought by Nottingham Forest' - Iheanacho recalls how scouts spotted him and Diomande
FC Midtjylland striker Stanley Iheanacho has revealed how he and Ousmane Diomande earned the attention of scouts after attending a trial in Denmark.
Iheanacho joined the Danish Superliga club after impressing the talent spotters together with Ivory Coast international Diomande.
After spells with Midtjylland and their sister club Mafra, the centre-back transferred to Sporting CP, before a celebrated move to two-time European champions Nottingham Forest this summer.
A product of FC Heart Academy, Iheanacho also had a stint with Mafra, before returning for a second spell with FC Midtjylland in June.
FC Midtjylland have had several Nigerian players on their books over the years, largely due to the club's long-standing collaboration with the FC Ebedei in Nigeria.
Iheanacho took a different route to Denmark, attending a scouting camp at the beginning of 2022 where a large number of African players were given the chance to showcase their abilities.
In quotes relayed by bold.dk, Iheanacho said: "I came for a trial training. So we were a lot of African players who came from different countries, and there were only three of us who were chosen.
"It was me, John Kolawole from Esbjerg and Ousmane Diomande, who has just been bought by Nottingham Forest."
Reflecting on the significance of being selected from a large pool of players, Iheanacho admitted: "It was so amazing. There were so many players who were there, so we were lucky to be selected".
One of the camp's highlights was a game against the Greenlandic national team, where Diomande impressed.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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