According to reports, the club already informed Ighalo of their decision to hold on to him during the AFCON period using the late arrival of his invitation letter from the Nigeria Football Federation as their excuse.

Odion Ighalo

Saudi Arabia club, Al Shabab has reportedly said that Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo won’t be permitted to take part in the senior national team of Nigeria for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

According to Naija Sports, the club already informed Ighalo of their decision to hold on to him during the AFCON period using the late arrival of his invitation letter from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as their excuse.

They claimed they didn’t receive his invitation letter within the days stipulated by FIFA for clubs to be notified about their players going away for a tournament with their national team.

It’s a similar excuse English Premier League side Watford gave on another Nigerian player in Emmanuel Dennis before the player decided not to honour the call up. Just like Dennis, it’s now up to Ighalo to decide if he wants to be at the tournament or not.