Italian-Nigerian midfielder Michael Folorunsho may have waved a final goodbye to his chances of ever playing for the Super Eagles, Soccernet.ng reports.
Folorunsho moved closer to committing his international future to Italy after he was included in Italy's final 26-man squad for this summer's European Championships.
The midfielder had been on the radar of the Nigerian Football Federation following an excellent campaign for Hellas Verona, where he was on loan from Napoli.
The 26-year-old scored five goals – including a sensational long-range scorcher and provided an assist in 34 Serie A appearances for Hellas Verona.
However, his brilliant displays also caught the attention of the Italian national team manager Luciano Spalletti, who handed him a first call-up in March.
But he remained on the bench during friendly games with Venezuela and Ecuador played in the United States, fuelling hopes he may eventually switch allegiance and play for Nigeria, the birthplace of his parents.
However, Spalletti named Folorunsho in his provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, and on Thursday afternoon, the Rome-born star found out he would be joining the plane taking Italy to Germany for the continent's number one tournament.
Interestingly, Folorunsho is yet to play a game for Italy but he will hope to make his debut for Italy when they face Spain, Croatia, and Albania at the European Championships.
Nigeria will look to move forward without Folorunsho as Super Eagles head coach Finidi George has several options he can work with in midfield.
For Nigeria's crucial World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin, Finidi invited Wilfred Ndidi, Raphael Onyedika, Alex Iwobi, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Alhassan Yusuf, and Ibrahim Olawoyin.
Maybe you ‘journalists’ should focus on players that are actually Nigerian, or that have indicated interest in playing for us. There’s an entire NPFL going on, but you’ll never say anything about the players there. Psheeew