SCORENigeria can exclusively report that the Super Eagles have insisted on Victor Osimhen for the forthcoming 2027 AFCON qualifiers despite a plea of his Turkish club Galatasaray.
A top official informed SCORENigeria that the Turkish champions asked that Osimhen be left out of the AFCON qualifiers as he is still recovering from injury.
However, the NFF have since responded by making it very clear to the Turkish champions that the striker is a key player for Nigeria in two “very crucial matches” against Madagascar and Guinea Bissau.
That was why he was named on the final 24-man squad for the qualifiers.
“Galatasaray got across with a letter to the NFF asking that Osimhen not feature in the qualifiers, but the NFF replied that they wish for the player to be available for selection as he is key to the crucial qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea Bissau,” an official told only SCORENigeria
“He is always the first name on Eric’s (Chelle) list and so he does not want to take any chances for these two matches.”
As this is an international break imposed by FIFA, it is therefore mandatory for the club to release the player.
In Turkey, the pressure is also on for Osimhen to feature in tomorrow’s tricky derby at Trabzonspor.
After five rounds of matches, Galatasaray, who are gunning for their 26th Super Lig title, are just a point ahead of second-placed Besiktas with 13 points.
