Nathan Temitayo Tella was born and bred in England to parents with Nigerian roots but recently opted to don the colours of the Super Eagles.
Newest Super Eagles player, Nathan Tella described his past week as the best he’s ever had after getting a National Team call-up, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 24-year-old winger scored his maiden Bundesliga goal in a breathtaking counter-attack against Union Berlin, a few days after his call-up was announced.
Born and bred in England, Tella joined Leverkusen from Southampton last summer in a deal worth about £20 million, alongside Victor Boniface.
Speaking with OmaSports TV, Tella expressed his happiness to have been bestowed the opportunity to represent Nigeria.
“When I first found out about the call-up, I was really happy. Having that opportunity to represent the country is a massive feeling for me. To get the call-up and then score my first Bundesliga goal for Leverkusen is massive. It’s probably been the best week of my year,” The ex-Southampton player said after his side’s game against Union Berlin.
Being a former teammate of Joe Aribo, and a current teammate of Die Werkself’s new poster boy, Victor Boniface, Tella has explained he’s looking forward to playing with the best players in the country.
“I spoke to Victor, Joe Aribo and Alex Iwobi as well. For me, I’m just looking forward to playing with the best players in the country and what I can learn from all of them, as well as implementing my style of the game and trying to play well. I’m looking forward to it.”
With a maiden Bundesliga goal and the national team call-up in a week, the winger is chock-full of confidence and wants to help the team whenever he’s called upon.
“I’m still on a high from getting the call-up, and I want to take the excitement and the confidence from the goal to the national team and hopefully have a good week with them, I’ve only been to Nigeria when I was little and I look forward to going back. Victor has assured me that he’ll look after me,” the winger added.
The Super Eagles will face Lesotho on Thursday in a bid to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Tella primed to make a possible debut.
