Nigeria’s head coach, Eric Chelle, has revealed his intentions to improve the Super Eagles squad with new faces if he is given the opportunity to continue in his role beyond the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Speaking about his future with the national team, Chelle expressed his willingness to build on the current group should the Nigeria Football Federation decide to retain him after the tournament.
“If God grants me the opportunity to coach the team after the tournament, I will be happy to bring in more players,” Chelle said at his pre-match conference ahead of the third-place match against Egypt.
The coach also reserved special praise for Fulham defender Calvin Bassey, highlighting his consistency and development throughout the competition.
“Since last January, Bassey has been the most involved player. He has improved in every match over the past year, and his performance was better than in the last match,” the coach noted.
Despite Bassey’s absence due to suspension, Chelle described the defender as one of the standout performers at the tournament.
“The Africa Cup of Nations is a crazy tournament, and he has performed brilliantly. For me, if I had to choose the best centre-back in the tournament, I would choose Calvin Bassey,” Chelle said.
