The next Troost-Ekong Eric Chelle cannot miss for Super Eagles pre-World Cup tournament

Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has a problem that most international coaches would love to have. 

Nigerian football is producing defenders again, real ones, the kind that win duels, command their area, and make life genuinely difficult for opposing strikers. The competition for places in the Super Eagles backline is growing.

But after Friday night in Turkey, one name has moved to the front of that conversation in a way that Chelle can no longer ignore.

Chibuike Nwaiwu, 22 years old, the uncapped former Enyimba versatile star, who is now ready.

For those encountering the name for the first time, a brief introduction is in order.

Nwaiwu came through the Nigerian football system via Enyimba, the club that has quietly produced some of Nigeria's most dependable professional exports over the years. 

From there, he moved to Europe, spending time with Austrian side Wolfsberger AC before completing a winter move to Trabzonspor in Turkey.

The numbers from his career tell the story of a player who has been steadily building toward this moment. 

Last season, he was involved in five goals for his former Austrian club, four scored, one assisted, a remarkable return for a player operating in a defensive role. 

At Wolfsberger, he added one more goal in 16 appearances before his departure. And now, in just seven games for Trabzonspor, he has scored twice and contributed an assist.

Those are not defender statistics. Those are the statistics of a player who changes matches from the back and that distinction matters enormously when you consider who Nwaiwu could replace in the Nigerian consciousness.

William Troost-Ekong retired from international football leaving a void that goes beyond defending. 

The former Super Eagles captain was renowned for something specific, his ability to arrive in the opposition box from set pieces and score goals that changed the course of matches. 

It is a rare quality in a centre-back, the kind that forces opposition coaches to assign markers and adjust their defensive shape even at corners and free kicks. Nwaiwu does exactly the same thing.

Friday night against Karagumruk was the most complete illustration yet. A goal-saving block in the 19th minute. A towering finish at the back post in the 47th, staying forward from a set piece with the instinct of a natural goalscorer. Two goals in seven games for Trabzonspor. Four in his last full season.

The profile is almost identical to what Troost-Ekong gave the Super Eagles for years, a defender who defends brilliantly and then punishes you at the other end when you least expect it. 

Nigeria has been searching for that profile since Troost-Ekong's retirement. The search may be over.

This is where it gets particularly interesting. After Nigeria's defeat to Morocco at AFCON 2025, Chelle made a public commitment that deserves to be held up against current events.

"If God gives me the chance to be the coach after AFCON, I'll love to bring in more players for the team," he stated.

Those were not empty words. They were a promise from a coach who understood, even in the pain of elimination, that the Super Eagles squad needed fresh blood, new profiles, and the courage to look beyond the established names. 

Chelle identified the need himself. The Jordan tournament is his first real opportunity to honour that commitment.

Nwaiwu is exactly the kind of player Chelle was talking about. Young, in form, technically developed through European football, and performing at a level that demands international recognition. 

If the Super Eagles coach meant what he said in Morocco, the Trabzonspor defender should be on the plane to Amman.

Chelle heads to the Four-Nation Tournament next month with specific objectives, integrate new talent, build tactical cohesion, and identify the players who can carry Nigeria through World Cup qualification and beyond.

The tournament is precisely the environment designed for a player like Nwaiwu. Low stakes enough to give him room to express himself. High profile enough to matter. 

Against Iran and Jordan, two physically demanding, tactically organised sides, Chelle will need centre-backs who can win aerial duels, read the game quickly, and contribute at set pieces in both directions.

Nwaiwu offers all three. And at 22, the development curve is still pointing sharply upward.

Nigerian football has a history of overlooking players who are performing consistently in leagues outside the traditional radar zones, England, Spain, Italy, Germany. 

Turkish football, despite producing some of the continent's most competitive matches and housing some of Nigeria's most important players right now, sometimes falls below the attention threshold.

Victor Osimhen, Paul Onuachu, and Wilfred Ndidi, current Super Eagles captain. These names have forced Turkish football onto the Nigerian radar. Nwaiwu deserves to be the next name on that list.

The Four-Nation Tournament in Jordan is not the World Cup. But it is the first step toward one. And the players Chelle identifies in Amman next month will form the foundation of everything that follows.

Chibuike Nwaiwu has done everything a player can do from outside the squad. He is secured in possession. He has scored. He has defended. He has dominated. He has sent the message clearly and repeatedly.

Chelle promised to bring in more players after AFCON. Friday night in Trabzon was Nwaiwu's application. It is time to accept it.