The international future of on loan Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli is still not clear as he is yet to decide on representing either Italy or Nigeria at senior level, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
22 year old Okoli is eligible for Nigeria through his parents even though he has represented Italy at various youth levels starting from the U19 to U21, making a total of 25 appearances.
His last involvement came in 2021 and with no sign of a breakthrough into the senior national team, the former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro last year said he will convince the defender who is shining bright at Frosinone in the Serie A, where he is on loan to switch nationality to Nigeria.
“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 2022.
“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 “.
We can exclusively report that despite openly courting the defender who has made 27 appearances this season, Peseiro didn’t at any point in time hold any discussion with the player or his representative on playing for the Super Eagles.
” Peseiro didn’t speak with Okoli. When I saw the statement credited to Peseiro I had to ask him if any contact has taken place and he said none at all. Even before the AFCON we had the same discussion and he said at no point was he contacted. A decision can only be made when there is contact. So fingers crossed for now”, his representative told OwnGoalNigeria.com.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
