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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has given U-23 coach, Samson Siasia approval to invite four members of the FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning Golden Eaglets to the camp ahead of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Senegal.
They invited players include U-17 World Cup MVP Kelechi Nwakali; tournament’s top scorer Victor Osimhen, and the two full-backs John Lazarus and Udochukwu Anumudu.
On why he chose the players, Siasia said: “I have been monitoring the progress of these boys while the team was being built by my brother, Emmanuel Amunike.
“Don’t forget we were in the same hotel and used the same pitch to train and I have been impressed with what I saw them do in Chile, so I think what I just did was rewarding them for a job well done.
“Their invitation is only to tell other players that they too can progress to the senior cadre if they are level headed and keep working on their game. For me age is not a factor; if they can give me what I want, then they will be part of my team to Senegal. But they must justify their invitation for no player in my team has an automatic place.”
Siasia added that he has with the approval of the NFF given the four invited players one week to rest with their families before joining up with the rest of the squad in Gambia where the team will be putting finishing touches to their preparations for the U-23 AFCON.