Michael Olise tells Algeria and all other suitors that he is only interested in playing for Nigeria

READING playmaker Michael Olise has told all other nations vying for his services to back off as he has already committed his international future to Nigeria putting to bed a recent last minute desperate bid by Algeria to acquire the playmaker.

Olise, 19, a mercurial playmaker seen to have a bright future ahead of him, is eligible to play for England, France and Nigeria but he has opted for the Super Eagles. This led to Nigeria’s head coach Gernot Rohr naming him on the standby list for the two African Nations qualifiers that took place in March against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

However, Olise had not been cleared by Fifa to represent Nigeria because he had featured for the French youth team as he represented France at the prestigious Toulon Tournament in 2019. In a last ditch desperate attempt to snatch the midfielder, Algeria made a bid for Olise last week, trying to use his Algerian girlfriend to lure him.

Dismissing the attempt, Olise has pledged his commitment to Nigeria, saying that he intends to feature for the Super Eagles at senior international level. He added that he has made up his mind to play for Nigeria and is hoping to feature for the Super Eagles in the two forthcoming World Cup qualifiers in September against Liberia and Cape Verde.

Around a year ago, Olise’s market value was just €800,000 but his value has gradually risen and last month it soared by €4m overnight to €12m after he was named on the Super Eagles standby list. Several English Premier League clubs are looking at him, with Leeds United said to be particularly interested after he was named as the English Football League Young Player of the Month for December 2020.