Nigeria loses out on Carney Chukwuemeka as Fifa approves his switch to Austria

NIGERIAN Football Federation (NFF) officials have missed out on securing the services of former Chelsea winger Carney Chukwuemeka for the Super Eagles after global footballing body Fifa officially approved his switch to Austria.

Chukwuemeka, 22, was born in Vienna, Austria, to Nigerian parents but grew up in Britain and featured for the England youth teams, representing the country from U-17 to U-20 level. This means that to play for Austria at senior level, the player had to go through a formal switch with Fifa.

In 2022, Chukwuemeka signed for Chelsea after his heroics in the European U19 Championship and at the time was considered one of the hottest young prospects in the English Premier League. Named in the U19 Euro Team of that Tournament, he joined Chelsea from Aston Villa almost immediately, after attracting attention from the likes of Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Arsenal, among others.

On February 3, 2025, Borussia Dortmund signed Chukwuemeka on loan until the end of the season, with an option to make the move permanent. Currently playing for Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund, Chukwuemeka, a creative midfielder, had been on the NFF's radar for several years.

However, Nigeria, like England have now lost out on the player, who is now likely to make his senior international debut for Austria later this month. Austria are due to take on Ghana and South Korea in friendlies on March 27 and 31, respectively, with Chukwuemeka almost certain to play some role in both games.

Chukwuemeka, who had earlier in his career likened himself to Paul Pogba, was so sought after at one stage that the England manager Gareth Southgate visited the Chelsea training ground as part of plans to woo him. In 2023, Chukwuemeka featured for England at the U20 World Cup but he has not received a senior call-up, which is what most likely prompted him to switch his allegiance to Austria.