Despite their current blistering form at club level, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has reportedly left out the duo of Kelechi Iheanacho and Tolu Arokodare from Nigeria’s squad for the forthcoming Unity Cup in London.
Iheanacho has been in impressive form for Celtic FC in Scotland, but Chelle appeared unconvinced by the striker’s resurgence. Instead, the Malian tactician handed opportunities to emerging forwards Owen Oseni of Plymouth Argyle and Rafiu Durosinmi, who currently plays for Pisa Sporting Club in Italy.
In the same vein, Arokodare’s fine form for Wolverhampton Wanderers was not enough to earn him a place in the squad, as Chelle opted instead to recall Terem Moffi, who recently won the Portuguese league title during his loan spell at FC Porto.
With the latest development, Nigeria’s attack for the Unity Cup is expected to be led by Moffi alongside Oseni and Durosinmi, while Femi Azeez has also been included among the attacking options.
Moffi is likely to spearhead the Super Eagles’ frontline in the absence of Victor Osimhen. The striker missed Nigeria’s recent Africa Cup of Nations campaign due to inactivity following his departure from OGC Nice amid reported issues with supporters of the French club.
Oseni’s inclusion is regarded as one of the major surprises in the squad announcement. However, sources close to the team revealed that Chelle has been impressed by the striker’s pressing ability, movement, work rate, aggressive attacking style and overall goal contributions this season.
Durosinmi has also remained under consideration by the coaching crew despite struggling for consistency since joining Pisa in January. The striker was previously named in Nigeria’s provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations but failed to make the final cut.
Nigeria will open their Unity Cup title defence against the Zimbabwe national football team, with victory potentially setting up a final clash against either the India national football team or the Jamaica national football team.
Chelle had earlier disclosed that the Unity Cup would provide an opportunity to assess fringe players, emerging talents and prospects from the Nigeria Premier Football League as he continues to shape his preferred squad ahead of upcoming major international tournaments.
