Wasps flier Paolo Odogwu is set to earn a dramatic England call-up for the Six Nations, as reward for his scorching club form this season.
Odogwu has Nigerian heritage but also qualifies for Italy through his father, leading to speculation that he may become a target for the Azzurri.
However, England will act fast to secure the allegiance of this emerging sensation of the domestic game, who has made more clean breaks and gained more meters than any other player in the league so far in this campaign.
The 23-year-old from Coventry has enjoyed an eye-catching purple patch while flitting between the wing and centre in recent weeks, culminating in a man-of-the-match performance against Bath, in a pulsating Premiership clash at The Rec 12 days ago. His two tries and dazzling line-breaks appear to have convinced Eddie Jones that he is worthy of inclusion in a 28-man Red Rose squad for the annual championship, which is due to be named on Friday.
Addressing the issue of Test allegiance which had suddenly become a hot topic, he added: ‘I’m dual nationality, so I could play for Italy or England. It wasn’t something I’d thought of until it started getting blown up in the media this week! It’s just been a case of “let’s see what happens”.’ All the indications now are that something big is about to happen for Odogwu, Dailymail writes.