Ibini-Isei, 17, debuted for the Mariners in the final round of last season's A-League and is being closely watched at Bluetongue stadium.

The exciting striker has signed on for another year at the A-League club but after that his future is unclear.

However, with Australia's national youth teams passing him over, he is also available to play for the Super Eagles - a move his mother signalled could be on the cards after the apparent snub.

"At the moment he has tried but not made any progress with Australia so if time goes by and he feels things aren't going to work for him [with Australia] we might take him over to Nigeria and see how it goes there," Juliana Ibini-Isei told au.fourfourtwo.com today.

She claimed her son's name has been mentioned back home with Nigeria constantly scouting the globe for eligible players to play for the CAF powerhouse.

She also said her son was "disappointed" not to make the national U/17s or U/20s. "With that he's thinking, 'what am I gonna do here?' But because he's on their [Nigerian FA] website I think they'll keep an eye on him and see how he goes."

However, other African players are making progress in the green and gold with Kofi Danning (Ghana and Sydney), Kamal Ibrahim (Ethiopia and Melbourne Heart) just two of an increasing number who are progressing through the national system.

Ibini-Isei's younger brother Josh, 15, is also catching the eye. The Westfields Sports High student is rated by his club Marconi's first team coach Lee Sterrey.

"He's certainly a future star," Sterrey told au.fourfourtwo.com today.

Bernie Ibini-Isei is a product of the Marconi-Blacktown pipeline in western Sydney. The teenager moved to Sydney as a three-year-old from Port Harcourt.

He arrived with his family which including younger brother Josh (pictured with mother Juliana) and a younger sister who is also said to be a keen footballer.

The Mariners are becoming a cosmopolitan mix Australian-born midfielder John Hutchinson debuting for Malta, the country of his heritage, last year.

And Scottish-bred playmaker Mike McGlinchey became a New Zealand international and is set to play at the World Cup for the Kiwis.  

"Both my boys can play for Nigeria if they want to," added Juliana. "We're dual citizens so it's up to Australia if they want him. He's working hard so we'll see how it goes.

"It's up to him at the end of the day. But at the moment he's just finding his feet."