Following his impressive performance for the Super Eagles at the Unity Cup in May this year, Benjamin Frederick has become a regular for head coach Eric Chelle’s side.

At just 20, Frederick has become a mainstay in the side and contributed in their qualification to next month’s 2026 FIFA World Cup playoffs.

In the exclusive interview with Completesports.com’s James Agberebi, former Nigeria international Alloy Agu opens up on the youngster’s sudden progression, what makes him a very good, defender and also Super Eagles legendary defenders he can be compared to.

What are your thoughts on the surprise emergence of Benjamin Frederick?

I think he is a very solid player and has a great future ahead of him and he has displayed that in the several games he has played for Nigeria that there’s something special about him. There’s a great future because you see a great player coming up and you can see it by what he is doing, his determination and dedication.

Which Super Eagles game did he feature in that made you believe we have a gem on our hands?

For me, we can see the game he played against Benin Republic and we saw how solid the defence was and at the end of the day we saw how important the game was for Benin Republic and being able to hold the defence tight contributed to the 4-0 victory and keeping a clean sheet is a plus and something to go about.

Also Read: 2026 WCQ: We’re Happy To Be In Playoffs — Troost-Ekong

Five appearances already at just 20 years, can you recall the last time you saw this kind of talent commanding a regular shirt for the Super Eagles?

This doesn’t happen all the time and for him to do this at a crucial time that means there must be something that has been spotted in him by the handlers of the Super Eagles and he did not fail.

What are those attributes that stands him out?

He’s very calculative and very calm and that’s the attributes you need in a defender. You need a defender that is very calm and very calculative, that’s what I saw in him.

Which legendary Super Eagles defender does he remind you of?

There are so many of them that have almost the same qualities with him. When you look at Chidi Nwanu, a solid defender that doesn’t make so much harassing but knows what he’s doing. Also Stephen Keshi, Isa Shofoluwe, we have lots of them. Most of Nigeria’s defenders are very calm which you can liken him to so we expect him to grow more and gain more experience.

Does his sudden growth come as a surprise to you, knowing that he was part of a Flying Eagles side that reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina?

Him being a starter in the Super Eagles from especially a Flying Eagles that was successful in 2023 doesn’t come as a surprise to me because that’s why the Flying Eagles is there, the Golden Eaglets, these teams are there to feed the senior national team which is the Super Eagles and he has fulfilled that obligation.
Like I said it’s not a surprise because most of us also graduated from the Flying Eagles. The likes of Samson Siasia, Andrew Uwe and others graduated from the Flying Eagles and if a particular team does not do well does not mean the whole team is bad, there are some that will become great.

What lessons can be learnt from his swift graduation to the Super Eagles especially knowing that the Flying Eagles featured at this year’s U-20 World Cup?

What can be learnt from the emergence of Frederick is that we need to prepare from the grassroot which is very important, to the Flying Eagles, Golden Eaglets, Olympic team. That’s why all these young players are being groomed in order to feed the Super Eagles. What we’ve seen here now is that if we take the age grade programme very serious it can help us in the Super Eagles.

Since joining Dender in the Belgian Jupiler, he has featured at right-back and at right-midfield. How will this help is growth?

With what he’s doing with the national team he’s announcing himself to the whole world not only in the Belgian league because that’s what a good performance brings especially in different positions which is your bargaining power.

10 league appearances and over 70 minutes of action in six of the matches. Should he be trusted with more minutes or should it be step by step?

Honestly, it should be step by step and of course as the coach of the national team or the club side see the need for him to play them he can continue to play so that’s what they need. Every coach want the best player to be on the pitch at the right time to give results and I believe that’s what the club side and the national team will continue to stand and do.

He is on loan to Dender from Brentford. Do you think he has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League?

I believe every player that knows what he’s doing and capable of playing for the national team at the highest level and for his club I think that opens the door for you to play in the Premier League. I believe the Premier League will be a place for him to announce himself more to the whole world.