The Real Reason Why Chelsea Goalkeeper Failed To Show Up For Nigeria U17s Duty

Tony Adegoke, the father of Chelsea goalkeeper Prince Adegoke, has explained why his son did not show up when he was invited to a Golden Eaglets get together in Abuja in the weeks leading up to the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup.

Adegoke's hopes of making his international debut and representing the five-time U17 world champions in Brazil were dashed by club and educational commitments.

The 2003-born netminder started in goal as Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 in the final of the Premier League U16 International Tournament on October 20.

''He didn't attend the camp because Chelsea didn't give him the permission to travel to Nigeria,'' Tony Adegoke told allnigeriasoccer.com.

''They refused to release him because of his school and he's preparing for GCSE, and also they were preparing for a competition which they won, the Premier League U16 International Tournament.

''The way they sent the invitation was not very clear enough in the sense that they said he's coming for trials.

''Chelsea told me they would have considered it if he was handed a straight call-up.''

Prince Adegoke was snapped up by Chelsea in April 2016 after he was spotted playing for the U12 team of Langley FC.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel