Nigerian striker Nathan Tella has praised Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso and club colleague Adam Flojek for scoring his first goal for the Bundesliga club, Soccernet.ng reported.
Tella was relieved and happy after scoring his first goal for Bayer Leverkusen in Thursday night’s 2-1 win against Molde FK in the second round of the Europa League.
The 24-year-old winger has struggled with a difficult start to his career at the German Bundesliga club after signing the heftiest summer transfer fee of €23.3 million from Southampton.
Tella, who missed all of Bayer Leverkusen’s preseason games, struggled to secure a place in the starting eleven, making just four appearances, two of which came as a substitute.
However, Tella, who scored 19 goals in all competitions for Burnley last season, finally found success at Bayer Leverkusen, doubling his team’s lead with a low shot into the far corner following Molde’s free-kick in the 18th minute. . Adam Flojek.
On Bayer Leverkusen’s official website, the Arsenal academy product praised the support of coaches Alonso and Flozek.
“Of course, it’s a great feeling. More importantly, we won. Personally, I’m really happy to have scored my first goal,” Tella said.
“It was a tough start here, but the coach assured me that I will play a lot of games and gain confidence. Today was a good step for me.”
“I’m a striker. I always want to be involved in the goal, whether it’s scoring or setting up the goal. In the last game in the Europa League, we had a chance, but we didn’t want to take advantage of it. I couldn’t do it.
“If I had the chance today I wanted to take it and luckily Adam made a great pass. He did all the hard work for me. I was able to succeed because of Adam.”
Tella’s desire to play for the Super Eagles
While Tella’s club career is taking off, his international Ambitions remain on hold.
Born and raised in England, Tella honed his skills at Arsenal’s academy before moving to Southampton in 2020.
However, he burst into the limelight during a fantastic loan spell at Burnley last season, scoring 19 goals and providing five assists in 45 appearances.
Tella is eligible to play for England and Nigeria, but has never played for either national team.
In a recent interview, he reiterated his desire to wear the green and white of Nigeria, saying:
“For the last three or four years, I have always said that Nigeria is a big part of my life, even though I have always been an ‘England boy’ from London. ”
“If you had the chance to play for Nigeria, you would gladly take it. You were not just drafted.
“For that purpose, I have to work and earn money.” If I have a chance to play, I would like to prove myself here. I want to grow further and help the team and the club. If he gets an international call-up, that would be a bonus. ”
However, Tera must continue to be patient in order to earn an international call-up.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) recently announced the 25-man squad for friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique for the African Cup of Nations in January.
Tella’s name was not in the squad, but his Bayer Leverkusen teammate Victor Boniface secured a spot as Nigeria put the finishing touches on their AFCON preparations.
