England Boss Explains Why He Called Up Nigeria Target Tammy Abraham

England boss Gareth Southgate has explained why he handed Tammy Abraham, Joe Gomez and Ruben Loftus-Cheek their maiden invitations to the senior national team.

The Nigeria Football Federation had tried to woo the talented Chelsea loanee to represent the Super Eagles at the 2018 World Cup, only for him to make a U-turn and pledge allegiance to his country of birth.

Abraham has been rewarded with his first-ever call-up to the Three Lions after netting 5 goals in 13 appearances for Swansea City this season.

''We are in a position now where we have qualified for the World Cup,'' Gareth Southgate told the English Football Association official Twitter account.

''We always wanted to then look at the team and how it might evolve and these two matches are an opportunity to look at new players, different way of playing and I think the beauty of being in this position I'm in I know all the young players in the system.

''These lads are players who right through the age groups have been recognized as being among our best players, are playing well with their clubs and having a good impact.

''This is a great opportunity to see if they can ft into the senior team, and they've got the chance to stay there if they do well.''

The good news for Nigeria is that Tammy Abraham cannot be cap-tied to England until June 2018 (If he's selected for the World Cup), meaning the Nigerian Federation will not throw in the towel now.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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