Exclusive: Two new wingers and a defender appear on the Super Eagles’ friendly list

Nigeria senior national team coach Eric Chelle has included two new wingers in the squad that will contest the four-nation invitational tournament in Turkey, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The initial idea was for the tournament to be held in Jordan but it has been moved to Türkiye due to the escalation of violence in the Middle East due to the war between Israel and Iran.

Nigeria, who will not be in the world cup, will use the tournament to begin the second phase of the team’s rebuild under Eric Chelle, who led the team to a third-place finish at the AFCON in January.

They will open their tournament campaign against Iran on March 27, while Jordan will face Costa Rica in the other match of the tournament.

According to the organizer, the final round of games will be played on March 31, with Nigeria against Jordan and Iran against Costa Rica.

Chelle, who led the team to a third-place finish at the AFCON in January, has already submitted the player list for the tournament to the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), and sources say he has called up two new wingers who are in their twenties.

Both wingers come from teams in Europe and have been on the coach’s radar for some time. There is also a first-time call-up for Scottish Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez, as we previously reported.

Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo, who is the fourth new player expected to be in the squad, is still unsure due to doubts over whether the English FA will provide the necessary clearance letter confirming his change of nationality, after representing them at various youth levels.