John Herdman: It was a 3-year process to land Ike Ugbo for Canada

If nothing else, John Herdman is persistent.

Don’t try putting a roadblock directly in front of the Canadian men’s team coach. He’ll only bust through it, or find a way to navigate around it, and continue down the same path before eventually arriving at his intended destination.

A day after forward Ike Ugbo announced his plans to switch national associations from Nigeria in order to represent Canada, Herdman revealed it was a long process that was rife with many obstacles early on. Herdman ran into a brick wall when he first contacted Chelsea FC three years ago about wanting to talk to Ugbo, then a member of the Blues’ youth setup, about the possibility of playing for Canada.