Eric Chelle will reportedly hand a Super Eagles invitation to a Nigerian striker playing in the Spanish La Liga after impressing in the first half of the season.
Chelle is going through the list of players he wants to call up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers group stage matches in the March international break.
The Malian manager has reportedly submitted a 31-man shortlist to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), from which he will extract 23 names for the games against Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
Nigeria need to win both games next month to get their qualifying campaign back on track after a dismal start with three points from the opening four matches.
Eric Chelle set to invite Uche
Multiple reports in the Nigerian media have been speculating different names who were on the 31-man shortlist Chelle submitted to the federation.
According to Score Nigeria, Getafe forward Christantus Uche is set to be included on the list after impressing in the first half of the Spanish La Liga season.
Chelle will reportedly visit Spain to check on the defensive midfielder, who has been deployed mostly as a striker by head coach Jorge Bordalas due to multiple injuries in the squad.
According to the NFF, the manager has been visiting Nigerian footballers in Europe, checking in with Moses Simon in France, and Alex Iwobi and Wilfred Ndidi in England last week.
As noted by Transfermarkt, he has two goals and two assists in 23 La Liga games this season, having played as a centre-forward, an attacking midfielder, and a second striker.
His versatility could prove effective for Chelle as he could occupy multiple positions in the manager’s preferred 4-3-1-2 formation.
Chelle receives massive boost
Legit.ng reported that Chelle received a boost ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier after a player was tried in a new role at his Premier League club.
The Super Eagles are short in central defence and EPL side Southampton have begun playing midfielder Joe Aribo in central defence due to injuries in the team.
