Nigeria's senior men's national team head coach Eric Chelle has clarified his earlier comments regarding Victor Osimhen’s future at Galatasaray, insisting that his remarks about a possible summer transfer were taken out of context.

Chelle had suggested during the June international window that Osimhen was left out of the Nigeria squad while issues surrounding his club future were being resolved.

However, speaking after Nigeria’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Russia, the Malian tactician explained that his comments had been misinterpreted.

Chelle revealed that Osimhen is happy at Galatasaray and stressed that speculation over the future of a striker of his calibre is normal.

“Regarding my earlier comments about a possible transfer, they were misinterpreted. Victor likes Galatasaray, and the club is happy with Victor,” Chelle told the Russian Football Union.

“I consider him one of the best strikers in the world. When a player performs at such a level, there’s always talk of transfers around him. I never said he wanted or should leave the club.”

Chelle also disclosed that Osimhen’s failure to fully recover from an injury was the reason for his absence from the national team, despite an agreement with Galatasaray that would have allowed the striker to join Nigeria if he regained fitness in time.

“About 10-15 days before the international break, Victor got injured. We agreed that if he recovered and played for Galatasaray before the international break, the club would let him join us. But he couldn’t play in that game because he hadn’t recovered yet,” Chelle said.

The coach explained that Osimhen was initially included on Nigeria’s provisional squad list because there was uncertainty over whether he would recover in time for the international fixtures.

“We included him on the initial list because at that point we didn’t know whether he would have time to recover. There is no conflict between the player, the club, or the national team,” Chelle concluded.

Osimhen ultimately remained at Galatasaray and made a strong start to the campaign before suffering an injury, continuing to underline his importance to both his club and the Super Eagles.