Ladan Bosso explains why he invited foreign-based pros to beef up Flying Eagles attack, midfield 

Nigeria U20 boss Ladan Bosso has explained his thinking behind handing call-ups to foreign-based professionals to beef up the Flying Eagles squad instead of looking the way of eligible players in the Nigeria Premier Football League.

Nigeria struggled in attack at the 2023 Africa U20 Cup of Nations, scoring only four goals in their first five matches,while there are concerns over the fitness of influential midfielder Daniel Daga ahead of the tournament in Argentina. 

Joel Ideho (Arsenal), Ebenezer Akinsanmiro (Inter Milan), Victor Eletu (AC Milan), Ume Emmanuel and Tochukwu Nnadi (both Botev Plodviv) are among the foreign based players invited to attend a training camp in Abuja with a view to their possible inclusion in the final squad for the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup. 

Asked to confirm the invitation of foreign-based players to join the Flying Eagles, Bosso replied : "Of course. We have invited so many of them particularly attackers even from the local league. In the Nigeria Premier League, the first seven highest goalscorers, only two can be looked at.

"All others have issues of irregularities from their documentation and this has been the problem we are having.

"We can still lay hands on those outside because certainly their documentation is already clear because they are already playing abroad. I don't have problems with their documentations.

"I have not secured them now, we just sent letters for them to come. By the time I feel the players can justify what they are here for, then we come out with their names."

Nigeria were drawn in Group D of the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup alongside Italy, Brazil and Dominican Republic. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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