Nigeria never in my plans ―Tammy Abraham

Tammy Abraham says there was never any prospect of pledging his international future to anyone other than England, despite Nigeria making overtures to him earlier this year.

Abraham was born and raised in London but is eligible for Nigeria through his father, who is friends with Amaju Pinnick, president of the country’s football federation. Abraham and his father met with Pinnick in September, which led to claims that he had promised his future to Nigeria, claims that the Chelsea forward quickly denied.

Now, after being called up to Gareth Southgate’s England senior squad for the friendlies against Germany and Brazil, Abraham maintains that there was never any real prospect of him playing for Nigeria.

“I was pretty set on England really,” said Abraham, who has scored four goals in 10 starts since joining Swansea City on loan in the summer.

“Playing in the Premier League meant it would be nice to play in the England team as well.

“It was flattering [that Nigeria wanted me], but for me my main focus was here,” he continued, when asked if they had “rolled out the red carpet” to persuade him to represent Nigeria.

“They tried to, but like I said the main focus was England. I see myself as being a long-term England player ― I am 100 percent focused here to try and get into that team.”