Nigeria women's national team coach Justin Madugu is monitoring the progress of Bayern Munich forward Edna Imade, while hoping the 23-year-old will opt for the Super Falcons ahead of the Spain national team.
Madugu addressed the uncertainty surrounding Imade in an interview with Nigerian Football, after she enjoyed a breakout season with Granada CF before moving to Bayern in the offseason, and then joining Real Sociedad on loan.
Despite her strong performances in Spain and having been raised in the European country, Imade has yet to fully commit to representing Nigeria, where she was born, at international level.
"I've been following her progress, just like that of many of our players overseas," Madugu said.
"She had an excellent campaign with Granada last season (scoring nine goals in 11 starts) and already doing well on loan at Real Sociedad, and she is aware that we are monitoring her performance.
"Despite several efforts, writing to her club and even reaching out through some of our players in Spain last season, she is yet to fully make up her mind. Whatever she decides, we respect her decision and wish her good luck."
The coach acknowledged reports suggesting that the player's representatives may be exploring a possible switch to Spain, but insisted that the door remains open.
"I was reliably informed that she was initially keen about playing for Nigeria," Madugu said.
"I don't want to feel that her representatives are making the decision difficult for her due to speculated interest from the Spanish national team, but we truly value her talent, just like many others we have in the team, and we would be glad to give her the chance to represent Nigeria.
"We want the best players, both home-based and abroad, to give us a blend of strong mentality, character, quality, and experience."