Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis Finally Breaks Silence After Call-up Saga

07/01/2022 Muslihat Shaka AFCON 0

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Watford striker Emmanuel Dennis has finally broken his silence after the whole AFCON call-up saga between the Nigeria Football Federation and his club.

Dennis was initially called up to the Super Eagles AFCON squad given the fine form he has been in this season with his club in the Premier League. However, the club refused to release their star play, claiming the NFF didn’t send the invitation in time.

This led to a back and forth saga between Watford and the NFF which ultimately ended with Dennis’ call-up being revoked.

The NFF accused the English club of “barring fangs” as regards to the release of the striker and decided to replace him in the provisional squad.

Speaking on camera, Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen revealed that the striker was under pressure by the club and felt “threatened” not to honour Nigeria’s invitation.

The 24-year-old may have found himself between a rock and a hard place and never came out to publicly address the saga.

Dennis was pleased when he was invited to represent his country for the AFCON. He took to social media to express how happy he was to have been called up to the Super Eagles squad. However, it was not to be as he was ultimately denied the opportunity.

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On Friday, Dennis’ silence was broken via a tweet on Twitter where he wished the Super Eagles a successful tournament ahead.

“Wishing the Super Eagles of Nigeria success in the upcoming competition – The African Cup Of Nations (AFCON),” Dennis wrote.


Dennis has been in fine form for relegation-threatened Watford this season scoring eight goals and providing five assists in his maiden season in the Premier League.

The former Club Brugge man was involved in his side’s 1-0 loss to Spurs last time out but was hooked off at the interval. His coach Claudio Ranieri revealed Dennis seemed “tired” and had to be substituted.

Dennis will now have to focus his attention on helping a struggling Watford avoid relegation while his Nigerian counterparts partake in the AFCON.

The Hornets are 17th on the table having managed just four wins and a draw in the 18 matches they’ve played so far this season.

Despite his club’s struggles, Dennis continues to impress but his hard work is ultimately undone by their defence which has shipped in 36 goals so far; an average of two goals per game.

The forward was once again rewarded for his form bagging both the Watford Player Of The Month and Goal Of The Month awards for December.

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Muslihat Shaka
About Muslihat Shaka 520 Articles
Just another girl passionate about football.

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