'Our job is to watch' — Finidi George speaks on inviting Michael Olise, Chelsea's Lesley Ugochukwu

Super Eagles head coach Finidi George has responded to calls to invite foreign-based players who are eligible to play for Nigeria.

The 53-year-old has stated that it is not his responsibility to convince players to join the national team.

He explained that the task of persuading players who are eligible to play for Nigeria falls under the jurisdiction of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Nigeria is reportedly working on convincing Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise and Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu to play for the Super Eagles due to their Nigerian heritage.

Speaking on this development, Finidi George, who has recently been appointed as head coach, emphasized that his role is to identify and watch for talented players, not to handle the process of switching their national allegiance.

"There's paperwork, procedures, you have to speak to these players, and that is not my job. We have people at the NFF that have been doing that in the past and in the future, they will continue to do that," he said.

The in-form Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman was the last player to commit his national allegiance to Nigeria, following in the footsteps of other players like Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina, Semi Ajayi, William Troost-Ekong, and Leon Balogun, among others.

WDN