Comments made by coach Chelle about my future were exaggerated — Victor Osimhen

Football star, Victor Osimhen has insisted that comments made by Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle regarding his club future were taken out of context and exaggerated by sections of the media.

Speaking after Nigeria successfully defended the Unity Cup title in London, Chelle explained that Osimhen was left out of the upcoming friendlies against Poland and Portugal to allow the striker focus on resolving his club future amid growing transfer speculation.

“For now we have two games, Poland and Portugal and I have lots of problems because some players have visa issues, players like (Samson) Tijani and (Abdullahi) Yusuf,” Chelle said.

“But most importantly we miss two players because Victor Osimhen may be about to change club, so I prefer he stays at home because if he plays and is not at 100 percent, it is not good.

“For Lookman, he is very tired and Atletico asked us to excuse him. We will travel with 18 players and we will see what happens after Poland and Portugal.”

Reacting to the comments, Osimhen said Chelle’s remarks had been misinterpreted and unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

 “Unfortunately, his words have been taken out of context and blown out of proportion. He has great respect for Galatasaray, follows most of our games, and never intended to create any controversy.

“I appreciate the conversation, the opportunity to represent my country, and I look forward to continuing to work with him.

“He is a great coach whom I respect a lot, and I kindly ask everyone to disregard the speculations surrounding this matter. Thank you for your consistent support.”