Red-hot Watford striker, Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis, has swiftly denied media reports quoting him to have said that he would shun any invitation to play for Nigeria at the prestigious African Cup of Nations tournament, kicking off next month in Cameroon.
Emmanuel Dennis, who was voted Watford player of the month of November after scoring six goals and providing five assists in 13 Premier League appearances for Watford this season, was reported in a Nigerian online portal, owngoalnigeria.com, to have told officials of the Nigeria Football Federation that he was not ready to play for the Super Eagles at Africa’s flagship tournament, 2022 AFCON.
In a swift reaction to the report , Emmanuel Dennis, who is in his first season in the exciting and very competitive English Premier League and has been holding his own against some of the best and talented players in world football, debunked the report by owngoalnigeria.com, adding that he never told any reporter that he will not play for the Nigerian senior team in Cameroon
The 24 year old former Club Brugge of Belgium striker said the report was fake news, pointing out that it was always a thing of honour, pride and joy for him to put on the famous green and white stripes of the Nigerian national team.
“This is fake news. Very false report. I never said such. It is a fabrication of the website and it is totally untrue”, said Emmanuel Dennis, who is in the running for a call-up to the Super Eagles squad for next month’s African Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon.
He added that like every patriotic Nigerian footballer that he was ready to play for his fatherland, adding that it was wicked and evil of anybody to fabricate the report that he would turn down an opportunity to serve the country.
Meanwhile, Watford manager, Claudio Ranieri, has hailed Emmanuel Dennis, saying the Nigerian goal poacher is a very fantastic finisher.
Emmanuel Dennis who has been in chart-bursting form this season after teaming up with the English Premier League club, scoring his sixth goal in 13 league matches in the Hornets’ 2-1 loss to Chelsea last Wednesday.
Dennis goal against the reigning Champions League champions Chelsea makes him the first Watford player to score in three consecutive Premier League matches in a row since Troy Deeney in February 2017.
Despite the loss, Ranieri was full of adulations for his star player Dennis, who was a thorn in the flesh of Chelsea defenders, saying he’s however, not surprised by the display of the Nigerian top performing striker, after his previous exploits against Real Madrid in the Champions League in the 2019/20 season.
“I’m not surprised because he (Dennis) is a very good player. He scored twice at the Bernabeu! Anyone who scores two at the Bernabeu is not a normal man,” Ranieri told the club website.
“He has speed, intelligence, he is generous, and I like how he plays. He has to improve because he is young, but I have a very good relationship with him, and all of my players.”
24-year-old Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis, who joined Watford from Club Brugge, has also won Watford November Player and Goal of the Month awards.
He was also ranked the fourth most in-form player in the on-going Premier League campaign.