Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle, has identified four new players who will be drafted into the squad when the team regroups for its next international engagement.
Chelle, who guided Nigeria to a third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), said the move marks the beginning of the second phase of his project with the team, focusing on injecting fresh talent.
He revealed that his attention is on young Nigerian players plying their trade in leagues across Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Scotland, and the Netherlands, noting that the idea is to discover hidden gems similar to Benjamin Fredrick, who earned his debut while playing for Brentford’s U21 side.
“You see Nigerian players are everywhere. We took young players from Belgium, Italy, and England last year into the team and you can see that they are good. There are a lot of them, at least four that I know from not-too-popular leagues, who will be with us,” Chelle said.
He added: “We got Benjamin Fredrick in England during the Unity Cup. There are a couple of them who are highly talented, playing in Czech Republic, Scotland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, and Belgium. We want to see how we can get them into the setup early.”
Although Chelle refused to disclose the identities of the players, he confirmed they will be part of the team this year, with the Super Eagles set to play several friendly matches as part of preparations for upcoming competitions.
This signals a deliberate strategy to broaden Nigeria’s talent pool by tapping into emerging prospects across Europe’s mid-tier leagues, ensuring long-term squad depth and competitiveness.
By Adeolu Johnson, Abuja
