Izuchukwu Okosi
Super Eagles head coach Jose Peseiro has hinted that he is on the lookout for new talents to improve the quality of the Nigeria senior national team.
The Eagles in the early hours of Thursday in Nigeria lost 2-0 to World Cup-bound Costa Rica in the team’s penultimate games for the year 2022.
The three-time African champions will face Portugal in their last game of the year in a high profile international friendly next week Thursday, November 17, just three days before the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
To this end, Peseiro has revealed that he has scouted a number of prospects with Nigerian heritage including Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli who is clubmate with Nigeria international Ademola Lookman.
Okoli has lit up the Serie A with some great performances and is also an Italian U-21 international but is eligible to play for Nigeria through his parents.
Peseiro stated unequivocally that Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman will have a role to play in brokering a meeting between both parties.
“We want to convince him to play for Nigeria. We will try,” the Portuguese tactician said of the centre back who is considered a future asset for the senior national team of Italy.
The Azurri just like Nigeria did not qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The focus for Nigeria will focus on the 2023 Africa Cup Nations qualifiers from March 2023.
“After this friendly match against Portugal, there will be time to talk to him and understand his decision whether he wants to play with us or not.
“I will talk to him through Lookman’s brokerage. I will show him my model, what I think of him, the project we can have together with Nigeria,” Peseiro whose last job was with the Venezuela national team told sports journalists.
Okoli has played 12 Serie A matches for his club this season.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
