Ademola Lookman set to switch international allegiance as FIFA approve application

Ademola Lookman is set to represent Nigeria at international level after FIFA approved his application to switch allegiance on Thursday.

The 24-year-old, who is currently on loan at Leicester from RB Leipzig, has previously represented England at U19, U20 and U21 levels.

Lookman was tipped to become an England regular after helping Paul Simpson's team win the U20 World Cup in 2017.

But the Londoner, who qualifies for Nigeria through his parents, is yet to gain a senior cap for the country of his birth and has switched allegiance after a five-year pursuit.

Lookman is now eligible to play in Nigeria's two-legged World Cup qualifying play-off against Ghana next month, with a place in Qatar up for grabs.

"We are excited about this positive news because it comes as a major boost for the national team," Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)'s director of communications Ademola Olajire told BBC Sport Africa.

"He's now eligible to play for Nigeria starting with next month's matches, but a decision whether to invite him or not is the sole responsibility of the coach.

"Lookman is a great addition to the Super Eagles and after a long wait, we are delighted that he can finally play for us."

Lookman is not the first England youth international to switch allegiances to Nigeria, with Sone Aluko, Victor Moses, Shola Ameobi, Alex Iwobi and Ola Aina all doing so previously.

Former Chelsea star Moses achieved significant success following his switch, appearing in two World Cup finals and winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013.

Nigeria's pursuit of the Leicester ace started in January 2017, when they asked him to represent their youth team.

"He has Nigerian parents and we'd need to speak to him first," NFF official Bitrus Bewarang