England U21 coach, Lee Carsley has confirmed that Nigeria-eligible youngster, Michael Olise, would have been called up to the Young Lions squad for their upcoming European Championship qualifiers later this month but the Crystal Palace star chose to stick with France.
Olise could become provisionally cap-tied to the French Football Federation on March 24 when Les Bleuets will clash with Faroe Islands in an U21 EURO qualifier.
The 2021 Super Eagles invitee was a target for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), with former technical adviser, Gernot Rohr naming the winger in an expanded squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifiers with Benin and Lesotho.
The plan was for the NFF to tie up Olise’s international future ahead of France and England, but the player didn’t show up in camp, adaeventsnews gathered.
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Speaking about Olise, Carsley said as quoted by Daily Mail, “You cannot force anyone and I try to stay away from capping someone just to stop them doing something else. It is not something I would want to do.
“We have a responsibility to not just cap a player and then restrict their future. We always want to provide a real connection, so they enjoy representing England.
“We made Crystal Palace and the player aware that we were interested and he has chosen to go to France and that is his prerogative.”
