NFF chairman holds fence-mending meeting with Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis

NIGERIAN Football Federation (NFF) chairman Amaju Pinnick has met with Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis in a fend-mending mission aimed at resolving the spat with the player after he shunned an invitation to feature for Nigeria during the African Nations Cup.

Called up for the Super Eagles squad taking part in the 33rd African Cup of Nations which took place in January and February of this year in Cameroon, Dennis withdraw from camp after his club Watford refused to let him go. Watford claimed that they did not receive the players invitation within the stipulated 10 days despite the fact that it released other players for the tournament.

Most English Premier League clubs released their African players for the Nations Cup, albeit reluctantly but in the case of Watford, they just refused to let Dennis go. What makes the club's argument more bizarre is that the club allowed Super Eagles centreback William Ekong to go to the Nations Cup and to make matters worse, Dennis's replacement was released about a week after he was called up.

Other Watford players who featured in the tournament apart from Ekong include Moroccan pair Adam Masina and Imran Louza and Senegalese winger Ismaila Sarr. It is believed that Dennis was considered too important to the club's fortunes as he is their biggest source of goals, hence why the club's board failed to sanction releasing him.

This snub by Dennis had led many commentators to say his international career was over as the NFF would never invite him again. However the NFF chairman Amaju Pinnick and the Eagles coaches Augustine Eguavoen and Emmanuel Amunike is currently in the UK visiting Nigerian players and met with Dennis yesterday during a trip to Watford.

Dennis who has not featured for Nigerian since November 2020, was not part of former manager Gernot Rohr's plans, despite impressing earlier this season. However, yesterday, he met with Mr Pinnick alongside club team mates William Troost-Ekong, Samuel Kalu and Peter Etebo in Watford.

Mr Pinnick described the meetings as a chance to have clear the air talks, adding that he did not want Nigeria to simply be making up the numbers at the World Cup this winter. It also offered the new coaching crew with a chance to meet the players.

"In furtherance to my tweets regarding our plans to ensure we qualify for this year’s Fifa World Cup in Qatar, we’ve held a series of meetings in London with our Super Eagles players. It was me, the team secretary, the coach and the technical adviser of the team.

"The ministry of youth and sports development, led by the honourable minister Sunday Dare, also had a zoom meeting with over 30 players of the Super Eagles squad. Aside the chance to introduce the new members of the coaching crew to the team, it was also a chance to have clear the air talks.

"I'm so proud of the commitment and zeal I'm seeing and getting from the team. From players like Etebo, Kelechi, Troost and the new lad, Lookman, the message was and is clear that we will play at the World Cup and give a good account of ourselves.

"We are not going to Qatar to make up the numbers. We are going to give it our best so, I'd like to, again, thank the honourable minister, and although it might sound like a broken record at this point but his support is truly massive," Mr Pinnick added.