Fast rising Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli is yet to decide on a decision to play for the senior national team of Nigeria despite contact with coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro, OGN can exclusively reveal.
Peseiro confirmed in November that he is keen on hearing from the 21 year old who has played in 13 league games this season on if he is willing to switch allegiance from Italy to Nigeria. Okoli has represented Italy from U19 to U21 but his last cap came in 2021.
“Yes, we will try. After this friendly match against Portugal, there will be time to talk to him and to understand his decision, ” Peseiro told Tuttomercatoweb in November last year.
“Whether he wants to play with us or not. I will talk to him through Lookman: I will present my model to him. , what do I think of him, the project we can have together with Nigeria “.
OGN exclusively gathered that the defender hasn’t gotten back to the coach after the first contact leaving the door open to possible switch to Nigeria in the future. Peseiro however wants him now in the team possibly for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers games in March.
Okoli is per what we gathered still weighing up his options and he will rather wait till the end of the season before making a decision. It is believed that his present run of games in the Serie A makes him to feel that he is under consideration by the handlers of the senior national team of Italy.
Daniel Martins
