As many as four Nigerian players born abroad were contacted by head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle to play for his team at the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Chelle has been very busy combing Europe for the best available talent to play for the senior national team of Nigeria, and so far has succeeded in luring Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Alebiosu.
Ryan wasn’t the only player targeted by the coach who uses a proxy to approach these players with a source saying Femi Seriki of English Championship side Sheffield United was also approached, but declined to be a part of the team for the AFCON.
Seriki is only just returning from injury and wants to stamp his authority in the team, rather than leave for the AFCON which will run for six weeks. He is however open to playing for Nigeria in the future.
The story is the same for Everton midfielder Tim Iroegbenum who also picked making his mark in the Everton team rather than head to the AFCON.
Upon his appointment as coach of the Nigerian team, Chelle per what we exclusively gathered met Monaco’s forward George Ilenikhena in a bid to convince him to play for Nigeria, but the 19 year old isn’t ready to make a commitment yet although he hopes to be in the French national team setup soonest.
Chelsea bound Emmanuel Emegha of Strasbourg was seen Chelle as a like for like replacement for top striker Victor Osimhen, but he picked playing for the Netherlands as his first priority and made his international debut during the last break.
