Nathan Tella: England-born Leverkusen striker opens up on why he prefers to play for the Super Eagles

Despite being only 24 years old, Nathan Tella has a wealth of experience and is a well-travelled player, playing for Arsenal and Burnley.

England-born Leverkusen striker, Nathan Tella has explained the rationale behind his decision to play for Nigeria, Soccernet.ng reports.

A graduate of Arsenal’s prestigious Hale-End Academy, Tella could’ve easily chosen to represent the Three Lions, but rather, felt a strong calling to play for Nigeria.

Soccernet.ng earlier reported that the midfielder sent a “come get me message” to the NFF after declaring his intent to play for them. The player finally explains why.

“I feel like it’s always been a big part of my life. I was born in London and I’ve been in England all my life, but at the same time my parents and grandparents are Nigerian, so I feel like it’s the bright route to go down so I wanna do something that makes my family proud as well,” the 24-year-old said in an interview with OmaSports TV.

With core Nigerian names, Nathan Adewale Temitayo Tella, an attacking partner with Boniface, mentioned he’d been speaking with the two-time Bundesliga rookie of the month on how it feels like to play for Nigeria.
“I’ve asked him quite a bit and at Southampton I had Joe Aribo as well, so I spoke to both of them just to see what it’s like, but obviously, I’ve been with Victor and he’s been telling me what’s it like so if I get the chance I’ll love to play with him there,” he added.

With the Super Eagles squad stacked with impressive attackers, Tella believes he can be a part of them if he continues to work hard.

“It’s a very talented national team, but I’ve always liked a challenge myself. The reason I’m here is to push myself and challenge myself. I wanted to play with better players, and with the national team, you’re playing with the best players in the country. By all means, I want to get to know them, play with them, learn from them and then get the opportunity to improve,” the right-winger mentioned.

Tella opened his Leverkusen account in their Europa League 2-1 win at the Aker Stadion in Norway against Molde.