Fulham defender Calvin Bassey is confident the Premier League club will cope with the absence of Nigerian trio Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze and himself when they depart for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Bassey underlined his importance on Saturday night by scoring in Fulham’s 3–2 away victory over Burnley, a match in which Chukwueze also made his mark by providing the assist for the winning goal.
Despite their growing influence at Craven Cottage, the Super Eagles defender believes Fulham possess enough depth to navigate the busy period without them.
“We just try to give our best and we’re fortunate to be playing for Fulham,” Bassey said.
“If you see our squad, you’d know we have amazing players. We’ll be missed, but they’ll be fine.”
Iwobi has been a key figure in Fulham’s midfield this season, starting all 16 Premier League matches, while Bassey has featured regularly at centre-back with 15 league starts, scoring his first goal of the campaign against Burnley.
Chukwueze, currently on loan from AC Milan, has also grown into a regular starter after a series of impactful substitute appearances earlier in the season.
Should Nigeria, three-time AFCON champions, progress all the way to the final in Morocco, Fulham could be without the trio for up to eight matches including high-profile fixtures against Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
