Nathan Tella :Dream Comes True

He had always wanted to don the Super Eagles colours, but his wish may be achieved faster than expected. Ahead of Nigeria’s upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifier matches and with regular left winger-Samuel Chukwueze out with injury, English-born Nathan Tella is seen as a direct replacement for the former Villarreal man and Jose Peseiro has included the Bayer Leverkusen forward in his 21-man list for Lesotho and Zimbabwe encounters

Ahead of Nigeria’s  2026 World Cup qualifier matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe on Thursday and Sunday respectively, Super Eagles head coach, Jose Paseiro is contending with injuries to some of his first team players and as a result, some fresh faces have been drafted into the team.

One of such beneficiaries is Bayer Leverkusen’s forward, Nathan Tella, who has never hidden his intention to don the colours of the three-time African champions as he was seen as a direct replacement for injured AC Milan winger, Samuel Chukwueze.

The former Southampton forward has received his debut call-up to represent the Super Eagles in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

The Super Eagles will face Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the coming week, but injuries to key players may pose a selection challenge for the Portuguese coach, who had already seen Tella as a replacement for Chukwueze.

Tella, a talented footballer born to Nigerian parents in England, has expressed his strong desire to represent the Super Eagles on the international stage.

“I’ve always said for the last three or four years that Nigeria is a big part of my life – even though I’ve been an ‘England boy’ from London all my life. If I got the chance to play for Nigeria, I would be more than happy and accept it. I’ve already told my parents and friends that I would do that,” he mentioned, as quoted by Bild.

Reports suggest that discussions have been ongoing behind the scenes, and Super Eagles head coach has included the 25-year-old winger in his squad for the upcoming matches.

The winger, who made his move to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, gained attention for his impact during Burnley’s return to the English Premier League while on loan from Southampton.

“He has been doing really well and before anything else, I must mention his effort. It’s so important to point that out. He has goalscoring ability but many with that ability don’t put the work in for the team but he does. He has all the tools and helps us in so many ways, not just goalscoring.” said Burnley boss, Vincent Kompany during Tella’s successful loan spell at the club.

Tella’s addition to the national team is anticipated to provide depth and excitement to the Super Eagles’ lineup as they prepare to face Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

Despite being only 24 years old, Tella has a wealth of experience and is a well-travelled player, playing for Arsenal and Burnley.

The England-born Leverkusen striker has explained the rationale behind his decision to play for Nigeria.

A graduate of Arsenal’s prestigious Hale-End Academy, Tella could’ve easily chosen to represent the Three Lions, but rather, felt a strong calling to play for Nigeria.

The midfielder sent a “come get me message” to the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF after declaring his intent to play for Nigeria.

“I feel like it’s always been a big part of my life. I was born in London and I’ve been in England all my life, but at the same time my parents and grandparents are Nigerians, so I feel like it’s the bright route to go down so I wanna do something that makes my family proud as well,” the 24-year-old said in an interview with OmaSports TV.

Tella he’d been speaking with the two-time Bundesliga rookie of the month-Victor Boniface on how it feels like to play for Nigeria. “I’ve asked him quite a bit and at Southampton I had Joe Aribo as well, so I spoke to both of them just to see what it’s like, but obviously, I’ve been with Victor and he’s been telling me what’s it like so if I get the chance, I’ll love to play with him there,” he added.

With the Super Eagles squad stacked with impressive attackers, Tella believes he can be a part of them if he continues to work hard.

“It’s a very talented national team, but I’ve always liked a challenge myself. The reason I’m here is to push myself and challenge myself. I wanted to play with better players, and with the national team, you’re playing with the best players in the country. By all means, I want to get to know them, play with them, learn from them and then get the opportunity to improve,” the right-winger mentioned.

Tella initially started out life as a footballer in Arsenal’s youth academy, where he spent 10 years before moving to Southampton as a 17-year-old in 2017 – just three months before his 18th birthday and following unsuccessful trials at both Reading and Norwich. With Saints, Tella made his professional debut in the EFL Trophy for the club’s U23 side during the 2017/18 campaign and went on to earn a first senior appearance with a two-minute cameo against Norwich in the Premier League on 19 June, 2020.

It was away from Southampton that Tella delivered his best season, though, as he helped Burnley to the 2022/23 Championship title while his parent club suffered relegation from England’s top-flight. Tella was the club’s top-scorer with 17 goals in 39 league appearances as Burnley romped the division and collected 101 points in the process.

———————Tella started the following season brightly with Southampton, scoring one goal and registering another assist in three outings before Leverkusen got his signature in August.

Bayer Leverkusen snapped up Tella from Southampton in the summer to fill Moussa Diaby’s shoes.

“Lots of young players from the Premier League have had the chance to play in the Bundesliga and were able to improve significantly here. And I find the stadiums and the whole fan culture exciting,” – Tella said after penning a five-year deal with Die Werkself

“We have gained a fast winger who can score, who brings experience with him but also has the potential to develop,” Leverkusen sporting director, Simon Rolfes had expressed.

Although not a like-for-like replacement with Diaby in some regards, Tella being right-footed and the Frenchman a lefty, there are key similarities between the pair. Like his predecessor, Tella is a pacey winger who loves dribbling at his opponents and in 2022/23 finally paired his standout traits with a deadliness in front of goal which he previously hadn’t shown consistently.

Diaby also stepped up his game that season and, although you won’t see Tella cutting on his left from the right as much as the France international, he too can play all across the front line and will look to stretch defences by running in behind as much as possible.

Born in Lambeth, a borough of South London, to Nigerian parents, Tella is able to represent both England and Nigeria. He hasn’t played youth football for either of the nations, but has made it clear that it’s the Super Eagles that he’d like to represent on the world stage.

“I would love to play international football,” Tella told HampshireLive in April, 2023. “That’s always been a dream of mine. If I went away with Nigeria, it would be something new and new experiences bring out the best in players… I’m always keeping an eye on AFCON. I’m Nigerian, so I always want to focus and watch the games.”