Belgium side Genk won’t be releasing Nigeria U23 forward Stephen Odey for the 2019 Africa U23 Cup of Nations, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
The club initially replied the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) that Odey will be allowed to join the camp of the Nigerian team by the end of this month but 24 hours after his goal in the UEFA Champions League against Liverpool, Genk have now reversed the decision.
Genk believe the striker will be needed as the season progress and can’t risk letting him leave for a month anymore due to the fact that he has looked good in the last few games after a slow start to life at the club which made them to initially agree to allow him join the Nigeria U23 team.
Tipped to continue as the lead striker of the team at the tournament, Genk refusal to release him means coach Imama Amapakabo will now continue his search for another striker ahead of the Championship which serves as qualifiers for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
