Ademola Lookman and Victor Boniface were named in the 31-man provisional list of Nigeria’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa.
Lookman is currently training away from the Atalanta squad following his failed move to Inter Milan, and he doesn’t look like he is going to be integrated into the team.
The current African Player of the year lack of game time will affect his match fitness, and the nature of Nigeria’s forthcoming matches requires Eric Chelle to have his best legs in prime form.
Nigeria needs six points from September’s World Cup qualifiers to stay in contention for a ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Similarly, Victor Boniface’s proposed move to AC Milan fell through.
In the immediate, the forward may not be part of Erik ten Hag’s plans, particularly with the signing of Christian Michel Kofane.
Following the failed move, Boniface has since returned to Leverkusen, and it is expected that he begins training.
Nonetheless, without game time going into the World Cup qualifiers, his situation also poses some concerns for the Super Eagles head Coach.
Boniface, an estranged figure since making his international debut for Nigeria, has been capped 13 times, but the forward has just a goal to show for it.
In the past there had been calls for the 24 year-old to be dropped owing to both on and off the pitch incidents.
However, all eyes will be on Eric Chelle who is expected to name his final squad for the games in the coming days.
Nigeria are currently fourth in Group C with seven points, six points behind group leaders South Africa.
The group also includes Lesotho, Rwanda, Benin, and Zimbabwe. Nigeria has one win from six matches.
