Has Nigeria coach Eric Chelle reached out to Tosin? Update on Chelsea star's international future

The international future of Chelsea star Tosin Adarabioyo has been the subject of intense speculation ever since his move to Stamford Bridge last summer.

Born in the English capital London, the central defender qualifies to represent the Super Eagles through his parents, but the English Football Association made the first move to secure his services, capping him at U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels.

Nigeria could be faced with defensive issues in the near future as the likes of William Troost-Ekong, Semi Ajayi, Kenneth Omeruo and Leon Balogun are nearing the end of their international careers. 

As the Nigeria Football Federation's Technical Director and Super Eagles coaching staff search Europe for solid central defenders, Tosin's name continues to be mentioned.

Leicester City star Caleb Okoli, who is leaning towards representing Italy, has been identified as another possible target, together with versatile Werder Bremen defender Felix Agu.

The Nigerian Federation have already bagged Auxerre centre-back Gabriel Osho, who played a cap-tying game against Benin in November 2024 but was not called up for the recent World Cup qualifiers. 

Reports suggest that Nigeria boss Eric Chelle spoke with Tosin in February when he visited England to hold talks with Fulham's Alex Iwobi and Leicester City's Wilfred Ndidi ahead of the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches with Rwanda and Zimbabwe. 

Allnigeriasoccer.com can exclusively confirm with certainty that reports suggesting contact between the Malian coach and Tosin are completely false.

Eric Chelle has not yet reached out to Tosin since his appointment as Nigeria coach in January 2025.

Former Super Eagles manager Jose Peseiro contacted the former Fulham star about playing for Nigeria.

Peseiro had indicated he intended to speak with Tosin again, but since his exit, none of the Super Eagles coaches — including Eric Chelle — have contacted the player.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Copyright ANS
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from allnigeriasoccer.com