'I haven't watched Dessers closely' - Eguavoen explains why Feyenoord striker was snubbed AFCON

Nigeria's caretaker manager Augustine Eguavoen has explained his thinking behind the decision to omit Feyenoord striker Cyriel Dessers from the Super Eagles Africa Cup of Nations roster.

The 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner handed late call-ups to Slavia Prague's Peter Olayinka and Olympiakos' Henry Onyekuru after Emmanuel Dennis and Victor Osimhen withdrew from the 28-man finalized roster - something that did not go down well with Dessers who took to social media to vent out his frustration before deleting his post.

The odds were stacked against the Belgian-born center forward making the squad list as he wasn't originally included by former coach Gernot Rohr in the country's 40-man provisional squad for the tournament in Cameroon.

The Racing Genk-owned striker has been enjoying a new lease of life since his loan move to the Eredivisie giants, scoring nine goals in 21 outings mostly from the bench.

"Dessers I spoke to the President about it. I have watched Olayinka in Champions League game against Inter, I haven't watched Dessers closely so because of the time factor that's why I decided to stick to people that I know.

"Onyekuru he came in because Dennis is out and Onyekuru has always been around with the team, Dennis has not always been around the team.

"Olayinka was named in the 40-man list and I didn't want to go outside the 40-man list".

Dessers hasn't been invited to the Super Eagles since making his international debut in a friendly against Tunisia on October 13, 2020.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel