Nigeria's hopes of securing Atubolu's services grow after he is left out of German squad

NIGERIA'S hopes of securing the services of Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu have received a big boost after the German football federation left him out of their recent squad to face Italy in the Uefa Nations League quarterfinals on Thursday.

Atubolu, 22, recently made history as the first Freiburg goalkeeper to go over 510 minutes without conceding a Bundesliga goal. His outstanding performances in Die Bundesliga this season have led to speculation that he will be called up for the German national team and have also alerted the Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle.

With German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann not naming Atubolu as a member of his 23-man squad for next Thursday's game, the initiative has now been handed back to Nigeria. Apparently, Mr Chelle plans to visit Atubolu in Germany to convince him to commit his international future to the Super Eagles.

Atubolu has been in the form of his life of late, keeping six consecutive clean sheets in the German top-flight. Last Saturday, he became the first Freiburg goalkeeper to go 510 minutes without conceding a goal, breaking the previous record held by club legend Richard Golz set in the 2001/02 season.

However, Mr Nagelsmann has left Atubolu out of his squad, instead selecting Oliver Baumann of TSG Hoffenheim, Alexander Nübel of Stuttgart and Stefan Moreno of Manchester City as the three goalkeepers for the forthcoming games against Italy. Had Atubolu been named in the squad and made his senior debut against Italy, he would have been cap-tied to his country of birth, Germany.

Atubolu has represented Germany at U17, U19 and U20 level and has played in 15 games for the U21 squad since making his debut for the age group in a European Championship qualifier against Latvia in March 2022. If he were to commit his senior international allegiance to Nigeria, Atubolu would have to go through a switch with global football governing body Fifa.