Eric Chelle has secured the international futures of two England-eligible Championship players: Crystal Palace midfielder David Ozoh, currently on loan at Derby County, and Millwall winger Femi Azeez, the standout player of the English Championship season.
The Super Eagles are getting bigger and Eric Chelle is the reason why. Nigeria’s head coach has convinced two England-eligible Championship players to commit their international futures to the Super Eagles, according to an exclusive report from OwnGoalNigeria.com. David Ozoh, the 20-year-old Crystal Palace midfielder on loan at Derby County, and Femi Azeez, the 24-year-old Millwall winger, have both pledged their futures to Nigeria. Neither will be a simple administrative process, but both represent genuine additions to a squad Chelle is deliberately shaping for the next cycle of African football.
Chelle’s recruitment of diaspora players has been a defining feature of his time in charge. Emmanuel Fernandez, Arthur Okonkwo and Felix Agu have all been secured in the current cycle. Ozoh and Azeez take the total to five England-eligible players who have chosen the Super Eagles over the Three Lions since Chelle took charge in January 2025. The pattern is deliberate: identify young players of Nigerian descent playing in English football at a high level, make them feel genuinely wanted, and move quickly before England’s senior setup takes notice. Chelle has shown he can do this faster and more convincingly than any of his predecessors. Nigerian fans tracking the growing squad can check the Bet9ja sign-up bonus before the Unity Cup gets underway in London next month.
The context for both commitments is Chelle’s summer programme: the Unity Cup in London from May 26 to 30, a friendly against Poland on June 3, and a friendly against Portugal on June 10. He has been explicit that the Unity Cup is where new players get their auditions, and these two signings fit that brief precisely.
David Ozoh: The Palace Teenager With a Future
David Ozoh is 20 years old, born in the Spanish city of Valencia to Nigerian parents, and currently on loan at Derby County from Crystal Palace. He has represented England at under-18 level on five occasions, but crucially none of those were competitive games or tournaments, meaning he remains eligible to switch to Nigeria under FIFA regulations. He will need a letter of clearance from the English FA before he can officially be registered with the NFF, the same process Arthur Okonkwo went through before his commitment was formalised. Once that clearance arrives, he is immediately available for selection.
At Derby County in the Championship this season, Ozoh has been one of the brighter young midfielders in the division. His technical quality, pressing ability and reading of the game at 20 are the kind of attributes that translate directly to the international level when given the right platform. Crystal Palace, his parent club, are clearly invested in his development, and a successful summer with the Super Eagles would only accelerate his profile. Bet9ja’s YOHAIG promo code is available for fans who want to follow Nigeria’s summer programme from the Unity Cup through to the Portugal friendly.
Femi Azeez: The Straightforward One
Femi Azeez’s path to the Super Eagles is administratively simpler than Ozoh’s. The 24-year-old Millwall winger, born in England to a Nigerian father and a Spanish mother, has never represented England at any level. There is no clearance process required, no FA letter to wait for. He is eligible for England, Nigeria and Spain, has committed to none of them at senior level, and Chelle has now secured his commitment to Nigeria. Azeez has been on the radar of Nigerian football watchers since the start of the year, and the timing of his commitment, with the Unity Cup five weeks away, is perfect for Chelle to assess him in a competitive setting.
What makes Azeez particularly exciting is the form he has produced this season. He was named in the English Championship Team of the Season, a peer recognition that places him among the best performers in England’s second tier across the full campaign. Reports linking him to Premier League clubs have intensified in recent weeks, meaning Nigeria may be getting a player whose market value is about to rise significantly. Getting him committed before that interest crystallises into a Premier League move is smart recruitment from Chelle and the NFF. New Bet9ja users who want to register ahead of the full summer of Super Eagles action can find all the details at Bet9ja’s YOHAIG welcome bonus page.
What This Means for Nigeria’s Depth
The additions of Ozoh and Azeez solve two specific problems in Chelle’s squad. Ozoh gives Nigeria a young, technically gifted central midfielder with genuine Premier League pedigree behind him, an option that complements rather than duplicates what Ndidi and the current midfield group offer. Azeez gives Chelle a wide attacker with Premier League-level quality who can play across the front three, adding competition and versatility in exactly the areas where Nigeria has sometimes looked thin when injuries or absences affect first-choice players.
Together with William Osula’s ongoing discussions with the NFF, Michael Kayode’s meeting with Chelle planned for the summer, and the existing commitments from Fernandez and Okonkwo, Nigeria are building a squad that is materially stronger than the one that failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. None of that changes the qualification failure. But it does suggest the next cycle begins from a significantly higher base. Fans following every development in Nigeria’s squad rebuild can track the full picture on FootballInNigeria.com.ng ahead of Chelle’s squad announcement for the Unity Cup.
📌 Did You Know?
- David Ozoh was born in Valencia, Spain, to Nigerian parents, making him eligible to represent England through residence, Nigeria through parentage, and potentially Spain through birthplace, giving him one of the broadest international eligibility profiles of any player currently in English football.
- Under FIFA regulations, a player who has only appeared for a nation in non-competitive friendly matches at youth level, as Ozoh has for England U18, retains the right to switch international allegiance at senior level, provided they obtain a letter of clearance from the original federation.
- Femi Azeez’s father is Nigerian and his mother is Spanish, giving him a similarly broad eligibility profile to Ozoh. Having never represented any nation at any level, his commitment to Nigeria required no clearance process and is immediately effective.
- Femi Azeez being named in the English Championship Team of the Season places him alongside players who have gone on to command multi-million pound transfer fees in previous seasons, suggesting Nigeria may be securing a player on the verge of a significant career step.
- Crystal Palace, Ozoh’s parent club, have a strong track record of developing Nigerian-eligible talent, with Wilfried Zaha having represented Nigeria briefly at youth level before switching to represent Ivory Coast at senior level, providing an interesting historical parallel.
- Arthur Okonkwo of Wrexham was the first player to go through the FIFA clearance process to commit to Nigeria under Chelle’s management this cycle, establishing a template that Ozoh will now follow before he can be officially registered with the NFF.
- Millwall FC, where Azeez plays, have a long history of producing players who moved to Premier League clubs, including Ben Haim, Steve Morison and Jed Wallace in recent years, making the Championship club a well-trodden pathway for players on the verge of top-flight football.
