Iwobi’s Recommendation Encouraged Chelle to Invite Fulham’s Nwoko for Russian Friendly

Super Eagles coach, Eric Chelle contacted Alex Iwobi before deciding to include Fulham midfielder Chibby Nwoko in Nigeria’s squad for the international friendly against Russia. 

Nwoko has received his first Nigeria call-up for the October 6 friendly in Nizhny Novgorod, and it is confirmed that the Fulham starlet has accepted the invitation to link up with the national team in the coming days. 

The left-footed midfielder, who has three caps for England U18s, is keen to switch his international allegiance to Nigeria after previous attempts to secure call-ups to the Flying Eagles and Olympic Eagles failed to materialise.

Nwoko still has some documentation to sort out following the expiry of his Nigerian passport.

The 20-year-old is expected to begin the process of obtaining a new one, including securing a National Identification Number, with efforts being made to fast-track the process.

However, the passport situation will not prevent him from featuring against Russia as the October 6 fixture is a friendly.

Chelle’s decision to invite Nwoko followed his monitoring of the midfielder’s progress at Craven Cottage.

The Nigeria coach also contacted Iwobi and asked the Super Eagles star for his assessment of Nwoko, with the Fulham ace speaking highly of the academy graduate.

Chelle subsequently watched Nwoko make his Fulham first team debut, where he played 22 minutes against AFC Wimbledon on August 27th, and was impressed by his performance.

The Malian tactician considered naming Nwoko in the squad for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau but wants clarity on whether the midfielder made any competitive appearances for England’s youth teams. 

The Nigerian Federation is understood to be seeking clarification from Fifa on Nwoko’s eligibility, with the situation bearing similarities to that of Wrexham loanee Arthur Okonkwo, who played only friendly matches for England’s youth teams before a change of sporting nationality.

Although Nwoko was born in London, the former Chelsea academy player has roots in Umuahia South, Abia State, through his father.