Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle has officially announced that star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will not participate in the upcoming international friendlies against Poland and Portugal. The Nigerian side is set to face Poland in Warsaw on Wednesday before traveling to Leiria to take on Portugal on June 10th.
Although both players were originally included in the squad announced two weeks ago, Chelle revealed they have been excused for different reasons. Speaking to the Super Eagles media, the Malian tactician explained that Atletico Madrid requested Lookman be left out due to fatigue, while Osimhen needs to finalize his club future with Galatasaray.
‘We miss two players because Victor Osimhen maybe he is about to change club so I prefer he stays at home because if he plays and is not at 100 percent it’s not good,’ Chelle stated. ‘For Lookman, he is very tired and Atletico asked us to excuse him.’
The Super Eagles recently secured the Unity Cup in London after a convincing 3-0 victory over Jamaica in the final. With Osimhen and Lookman absent, Chelle will need to rely on other attacking options as the team prepares for these challenging European fixtures.