I played with Eze and told manager not to pick him, but he proved me wrong

Adebayo Akinfenwa has revealed that Eberechi Eze had to convince him of his worth in the early days of his career.

The pair lined up together for Wycome Wanderers when Eze joined the club on loan from Queens Park Rangers in 2017, but the iconic striker has admitted to having some doubts about him at the very start.

Aged just 19 at the time, the Crystal Palace star showcased his huge potential whilst at Adams Park, scoring five goals in 20 appearances in League Two, and opened his account with two stunners in a 3-1 win over Cambridge United.

And it was Eze’s performance that day which helped to convince Akinfenwa of his enormous ability.

Appearing on the Talkin’ Balls*** podcast, the cult figure reflected on his introduction to the England international.

He recalled: “Eberechi Eze came in, and don’t get it twisted, in training we knew he was a baller.

“But, we were Wycombe, we played direct football, we played back to front, we didn’t use the midfielder, didn’t play through the lines.

“[Gareth] Ainsworth didn’t used to play us like that.

“So when you get someone that’s that tecky [technical], you’re like: ‘Alright we get it, but we need somebody that’s just gonna win the ball back and do diagonals, because that’s how we play’.”

Wycombe’s all-time top goalscorer in the EFL then explained that he was not convinced that Eze’s talent would translate across in English football’s fourth tier.

So much so in fact, that he suggested to manager Ainsworth that he leave the youngster on the bench for the tough fixture against Cambridge.

He went on: “I remember I sat down. Ainsworth used to call me in in the morning, say: ‘Look, this is what I’m looking to go for on Saturday. What are your views? We’re playing Cambridge away’.

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“He’s like: ‘I’m thinking of starting Eze’.

Akinfenwa continued: “I was like: ‘Gaffer, Cambridge are massive, a big team man.

“So I’ve gone: ‘Gaff, you know what? I think we’ve got to stay in the game, then bring Eze on and we’ll shut it down’.

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Despite this, Ainsworth stuck to his initial decision, and was proven right by Eze in spectacular fashion.

The creative player opened the scoring with a sumptuous half-volley on his right foot in the 48th-minute, before curling in an equally brilliant second with his left foot just nine minutes later.

And his former teammate was only too pleased to eat humble pie on this occasion, as he fondly remembered: “Anyway, we got the starting XI, Eze’s starting.

“He scored his two debut goals in that game, two goals of the season in that game, we won. Top left, top right!”

He went on: “I remember after it, taking him to the crowd afterwards and saying: ‘This brother here is [incredible]’.

“And I remember going to the gaffer and saying: ‘You know what Gaff, this is why I won’t be a manager’.”

Despite leaving a huge impression on all at Wycombe during his time there, Akinfenwa is not the only person who Eze has had to prove wrong during his rise to the top.

The 26-year-old was being turned down by four clubs before penning his first professional contract at QPR.

Eze had already been rejected by Arsenal, Fulham, Reading and Millwall by the time he signed a deal with Rangers in 2016, aged 18.

But his time at Wycombe ultimately got his career up and running, as he then returned to Loftus Road to make over 100 appearances for the club, scoring 20 times and was named in the 2019/20 Championship Team of the Year.

He then joined Palace for £17million in August 2020, and has earned countless plaudits for his displays since then, earning a first senior England call-up in May 2021.

He would eventually make his debut two years later in June 2023, and then featured three times during the Three Lions’ run to the final of Euro 2024.