Bordeaux winger Samuel Kalu has a point or two to prove on his return to the Super Eagles, so too goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and midfielder Frank Onyeka.
Kalu was a major doubt for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde after he recently collapsed during a game with his French Ligue 1 club.
However, he has since fully recovered to be listed by Gernot Rohr for the qualifiers.
This week, Rohr’s favourite winger celebrated his 24th birthday and he will now be expected to improve on his international statistics – 13 caps, 2 goals and 3 assists.
He will not wish to remember his last appearance for the country after he suffered a hamstring injury in a friendly against Algeria in October 2020 that sidelined him for several weeks.
South Africa-based goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and Brentford signing Frank Onyeka are two other players on the comeback trail in the Eagles.
Akpeyi has been outstanding for Kaizer Chiefs even after he lost his No. 1 shirt after the 2019 AFCON in Egypt when he was blamed for the mistake that caused Nigeria a place in the final of the tournament.
Sparta Rotterdam shot stopper Maduka Okoye and Cyprus-based Francis Uzoho are now ahead of him in the pecking order in the national team.
Will the former Warri Wolves goalkeeper be handed another chance in the Eagles posts?
‘The Tank’ Onyeka, on the other hand, has been quick to earn the admiration of the fans of his Premier League club following his 10 Million Euros transfer from Denmark.
However, it would be recalled that the energetic defensive midfielder flopped on his long-awaited Eagles debut against Algeria last October despite dazzling in training.
He will now have to prove that performance was an accident and that he has the quality to challenge fellow Premier League stars Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo for first-team spots.
