Steven Gerrard’s side has started making plans to have Nigeria players available for the Old Firm derby scheduled for January 2

Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has stated he has received a call from Rangers seeking for the late arrival of Joe Aribo, Leon Balogun and Calvin Bassey for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

Rangers are hoping to have the Super Eagles players available for the Old Firm derby against Celtic on January 2 before they depart for the international assignment that will start later that month.

Aribo and Balogun are established players in the Super Eagles fold and they have been invited for their 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde on November 13 and 16 respectively.

Although Bassey did not make Rohr’s latest selection, the German coach highlighted how the Italy-born defender could strengthen his team after his maiden invitation in October.

The Super Eagles are in Group D with Egypt, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau, and they are scheduled to begin their quest for a fourth continental title against the Pharaohs on January 11.

“We need good preparation, we need the players at least 10 days before but like you know in the UK, they play,” Rohr was quoted by Scottish Sun.

“Somebody called me from Glasgow already. They have the derby Rangers vs Celtic on the second day of January and asked if we can let the players play.

“We have a lot of problems to prepare the team, but I think we will have most of our players at least 10 days before.”

Nigeria will first aim to end the second round of the World Cup qualifiers as Group C leaders. Progress will see them advance to the play-off round.