Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle held talks with Newcastle United winger Jacob Murphy on playing for his team in the world cup qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
30 year old Murphy who hasn’t been capped by England at any level has been consistent for Newcastle the past two seasons, and it caught the attention of Chelle.
Chelle was quick to reach out to him after hearing of his Nigerian roots, but the winger refused to commit his international future to the Super Eagles, preferring to wait for a call up from the coach of England .
However it is believed that he will have a change of mind if Nigeria qualifies for the world cup, but Chelle will likely not pursue him any further as he sees it as a close chapter after his initial rejection.
” I can reliably tell you that Chelle had contact with Murphy on playing for Nigeria but he prefers England. It could change if we qualify for the world cup but I guess it might be late for Chelle, who is in the final stages of building this team”, a chieftain of the NFF revealed.
This season, Murphy has two goals and 1 assist in games despite his team’s poor start to the season in England.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
