Chelsea-Owned Striker Ugbo Confirms He Has Opted To Represent Nigeria Over England, France

Published: January 09, 2021

Chelsea-owned striker Ike Ugbo has confirmed that he has pledged his international future to Nigeria over England and France, and he's now working towards acquiring clearance from FIFA.

Allnigeriasoccer.com exclusively reported exactly four weeks ago that the London-born Ugbo has started the process of filing a one-time change of association which is necessary as he previously played competitive matches for England U17 national team, and he's hoping the paperwork is completed before Nigeria's Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers with Benin and Lesotho.

The Nigeria Football Federation have been monitoring the progress of Ugbo for approximately three years, having held secret talks with the striker in London before the Super Eagles pre-World Cup friendly with Serbia in March 2018.

If the paperwork goes through, Ugbo is hoping to represent Nigeria at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Ugbo revealed : "The paperwork is not quite in order yet, but my agent is working on it. Playing a World Cup is every footballer's dream, isn't it?"

The 22-year-old Ugbo is having a banner season at Cercle Brugge, scoring 10 goals in 16 appearances in the top-flight.

He is now the third former England U17 international with a connection to Chelsea to switch his international allegiance from England to Nigeria, after Victor Moses and Ola Aina.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com

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