Nathan Tella is proud to earn his maiden call up to Nigeria’s senior national, saying it’s privilege to join a team with quality players.

Tella named in the Super Eagles squad to face Lesotho and Zimbabwe in 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Born in England, Tella is eligible to player for the Three Lions and Super Eagles, but decided to pledged his international future to the African giants.

“It’s always been about representing Nigeria,” Tella told BBC.

“I am proud of my British and Nigerian sides and lucky to have both backgrounds. Of course, we have both worlds, but ours is a proper Nigerian home (with) culture, food and tradition.”

The 24-year-old started his journey to stardom with Arsenal academy, and played for Burnley and Southampton in England.

He joined Bayer Leverkusen last August, and plays alongside superstar Victor Boniface.

“The players in the squad are talented and to compete against them in order to represent a massive nation like Nigeria is the stuff of dreams,” Tella added.​

“Nigeria is undoubtedly one of the biggest in African football and the passion of the fans is on a different level.”

With Samuel Chukwueze missing from Nigeria’s roaster, Tella is likely to get a chance to make his debut when Nigeria face Lesotho and Zimbabwe next week.