Newcastle United striker Shola Ameobi has revealed his delight at being called up by Nigeria to play Venezuela on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old has represented England at Under-21 level but has never appeared for the senior team.

Ameobi, who was born in Nigeria, has received international clearance to represent the African country and is looking forward to starting his international career.

"I'm really excited about it and hopefully I can go and meet up with the rest of the guys and see where we go from here," said Ameobi. "My focus right now is getting through this week and really looking forward to the game next weekend against Swansea.

"You'd be a fool if you didn't want to play at the very highest level and certainly I'm no fool. I want to play at the top as every other player does - that's what drives me and that's why I'm still here wanting to play in the Premier League.

"Newcastle United will always be number one for me, that is the bread and butter so that is something we'll look at."

Newcastle host Swansea City on Saturday in the Premier League.