Gernot Rohr reveals reason he left out Paul Onuachu from recent squad

Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has revealed that he left out Paul Onuachu from his squad because he wanted to try out Umar Sadiq.
Despite scoring 27 goals this season, Onuachu was not included in the Super Eagles squad for the upcoming games against the Benin Republic and Lesotho, only managing to make the standby list.

In his place, Umar had his first call-up following his impressive season with Almeria in Spain.

The 24-year-old striker has 16 goals in 29 games for Almeria so far this season.
Rohr has come under heavy criticism for that decision, but the coach said he snubbed Nigeria's highest goalscorer in Europe because he wanted to try out another player.

"It is because I want to see somebody else. We saw him already, we know him, we know his strengths," Rohr told ESPN.

"He was a little bit unlucky each time when he has to play. It is the last moment before the World Cup qualifiers that we can test somebody else, so we choose Sadiq Umar."

Despite the snub, Rohr has however revealed that he sees Onuachu as his second-choice striker after Napoli star Victor Osimhen.

"In this position we have a number one which is Victor Osimhen. There is no question about it," Rohr added.

"If we want a number two, we can have Onuachu, we know him. But I want another opportunity to see a new player, which is Sadiq Umar."

Onuachu has managed just one goal in nine Super Eagles games and failed to impress in his last start, which came against Algeria in October 2020.