The 24-year-old winger is eligible for England, but he wants to play for the Super Eagles instead
Bayer Leverkusen winger Nathan Tella has revealed that he wants to play for the Super Eagles of Nigeria despite being eligible for England, Soccernet reports.
Tella was born in England and has spent most of his life in England. He started his football journey at the Arsenal Academy before switching to Southampton in 2020.
However, the 24-year-old right-winger rose to prominence after an impressive campaign with Burnley last season while he was on loan at the club. He registered 19 goals and five assists in 45 appearances for the Clarets.
Following his impressive campaign, Tella completed a €23.3million transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window, and he has made three appearances for the club so far.
While the 24-year-old looks to be on a good path at club level, he is yet to find his feet on the international stage.
Tella is eligible for England and Nigeria, but he has not played for any of the two countries. He has previously shared his desire to play for the three-time African champions, but in a recent interview, he reiterated it.
This comes after the NFF released a list of 25 players for the friendly games against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique later this month.
“I’ve always said for the last three or four years that Nigeria is a big part of my life – even though I’ve been an ‘England boy’ from London all my life,” Tella said per Bild.
“If I got the chance to play for Nigeria, I would be more than happy and accept it. I’ve already told my parents and friends that I would do that.
“You’re not just nominated like that. You have to work for it and earn it. I want to prove myself here if I get the chance to play. I want to develop further, help the team and the club – if a call comes for an international call-up, that would be a bonus.”
Tella has to show some level of consistency before he can break into the Super Eagles fold. Nigeria is currently blessed with strikers, but there is hardly any competition for Samuel Chukwueze on the right. If he can raise his game, like his teammate, Victor Boniface, he could win a call-up.