Head of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle made a startling revelation yesterday about keeping his eyes on former Monaco striker George Ilenikhena who is now at Saudi Arabia outfit Al-Ittihad.
Chelle made this known during the post match conference of the Super Eagles 2-0 win over Zimbabwe in the Unity Cup, which sealed their spot in the final of the tournament.
“We follow maybe 80 players in a week in Europe and follow 150 players in a month. So we follow a lot of players in Europe particularly Germany and England. Some of them in Saudi Arabia because we have a striker ( George Ilenikhena) who played for Monaco he is a good player”, he stated.
George was born in Lagos Nigeria but moved to France at a very young age, where he started his football career. He is yet to be giving French citizenship but he has refused to commit his international future to Nigeria
Upon his appointment Chelle reached out to the 19 year old to play for the super Eagles at the AFCON but he declined. Earlier this year he was also approached to be a part of the squad for their upcoming friendly games but he said no.
Despite that Chelle is still keen on him even though he is no longer playing for a top team following his move from Monaco to Saudi Arabia in the January transfer window.
” He sees him ( Ilenikhena) as the closest thing to Victor Osimhen at the moment. When you consider that there is no out and out replacement for Osimhen then his insistence on Ilenikhena is justified. The operational word is patience because he is still very young”, a source close to the coach revealed.
