Nigeria international striker Sadiq Umar is beginning to have doubts if his desire to return to Valencia on loan from fellow La Liga side Real Sociedad will happen, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Following the conclusion of his loan deal with Valencia in the second half of last season, where he scored six goals in 19 games, powering the team from 19th position to a mid table finish, he returned back to Real Sociedad following their refusal to trigger a €9m option to sign him permanently.

His agent brought several options to the forward with teams from Turkey, Qatar and also Spain interested in his signing, but the 28 year old refused all the options made available to him.

He is only willing to accept a move to Valencia and has already communicated his desire to take a pay cut to make the deal happen, but Valencia’s loan offer of €500,000 plus a bonus until the end of the season was rejected by Real Sociedad.

Their current loan fee proposal is lower than the one paid in January for just six months (with variables, it cost €1.5 million). The standoff is making the Nigerian to have a rethink on other options he rejected earlier.

With just six days left in the transfer window, Radio Marca reports that the lanky forward is beginning to have second thoughts if the move will happen, and now wants to try out other options with his desire still strong on leaving Sociedad who are also pushing for his permanent exit to recoup the €20 million paid for his signing from Almeria.

Daniel Martins

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle will cut players from his preliminary list of players for the upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle will make the decision after the round of games this weekend in Europe with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), pushing to have the coach name a 25 man list as against his desire for a 23 man list.

NFF feel the fact that some players are walking the thin line of suspension could see some players miss the crucial second game of the series away to group leaders South Africa.

A compromise is expected to be reached on the number, and if as expected the coach decides to heed to the advice of the NFF. The players listed below are the ones expected to make the final cut.

Super Eagles provisional list

GOALKEEPERS

STANLEY NWABALI

AMAS OBASOGIE

ADEBAYO ADELEYE

DEFENDERS

WILLIAM TROOST-EKONG

CALVIN BASSEY

OLAOLUWA AINA

BRIGHT OSAYI-SAMUEL

BRUNO ONYEMAECHI

IGOH OGBU

CHIDOZIE AWAZIEM

FELIX AGU

BENJAMIN FREDRICKS

MIDFIELDERS

ALEXANDER IWOBI

FRANK ONYEKA

WILFRED NDIDI

FISAYO DELE-BASHIRU

RAPHAEL ONYEDIKA

CHRISTANTUS UCHE

FORWARDS

ADEMOLA LOOKMAN

SAMUEL CHUKWUEZE

VICTOR OSIMHEN

MOSES SIMON

NATHAN TELLA

CYRIEL DESSERS

TOLU AROKODARE

Sevilla striker Jerome Akor won’t be a part of the senior national team of Nigeria for the upcoming world cup qualifiers after picking up a muscle injury that will keep him out of action for three weeks , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

“The Nigerian striker has an injury to the long adductor muscle of his left thigh and will be out against Girona FC,” the club announced with a brief statement on their official website.

He is expected to be out till October at the earliest, effectively ruling him out of the Nigerian team for the upcoming games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively after making the provisional list of 41 players made public by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

Since joining Sevilla seven months ago from French Ligue 1 side Montpellier he has only played in six official matches without a goal so far. No thanks to the injury that wrecked his ambition upon his signing in January.

Akor made his debut at the Coliseum in Getafe, coming on for the last 9 minutes and, after spending five weeks injured with a muscle injury in the right rectus femoris , he played 7 minutes against Athletic Club, 25 minutes against Real Betis and the full 90 minutes against Atlético de Madrid.

After playing his first game as a starter, he suffered an identical ailment in the same area with an estimated prognosis of at least two months of convalescence that made him miss the remainder of the season.

Ade Emmanuel

The decision of head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle to hand a first time call up to young goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt has stirred up a lot of debate since it was made public.

Harcourt who is the first choice of the Nigeria U20 and also was in goal for the Nigerian CHAN team in their 2-0 win over Congo in their final group game, following their exit after losing their first two games.

Chelle decided to pick the 15 year old ahead of other goalkeepers in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), when he picked four goalkeepers in his preliminary list for the upcoming world cup qualifiers games against Rwanda and South Africa respectively.

” It’s a decision of the coach and you have to respect it. He said because the player who is the first choice of the youth team should be the future of the main team. That’s why he is there”, a source revealed.

” Harcourt is young and will benefit from interacting and training with the senior team. The other goalkeepers in the league are about the same age or older than the ones ahead of them at the moment, and it’s not like they are better so a young goalkeeper is better to have as understudy”, he explained.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international striker Tolu Arokodare has agreed a move to English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers from Belgium side Gent, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Arokodare who finished as top scorer in the Belgium top division last season has been widely tipped to leave the club in the ongoing summer transfer window, and feels fascinated by the plans of Wolves leading to a decision on a five year deal.

The lanky forward is now waiting on Gent to reach an agreement with Wolves on his transfer fee which is projected to be around €20 million. The Belgium side are open to his departure.

Wolves agreed a fee for the transfer of another Nigerian forward in Uche Chrisantus with La Liga side Getafe, but fail to do the same with the player’s camp leading to a halt in the progress of the deal.

It appears they have now settled for Arokodare’s international teammate and will use the €20m agreed with Getafe to push to he move to completion in the coming days.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria international defender Gabe Osho has agreed a four year deal to join English League one side Cardiff City form French top division side Auxerre, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osho who have started in Auxerre’s first two games of the new season in France extended his initial one year deal at Auxerre to two years just before the start of the new season.

He has however decided to return back to England after leaving the country following the relegation of Luton Town FC from the English Premier League two years ago. A move that will delay his desire for add more caps for Nigeria at senior level, where he presently have just two.

Widely expected to be in the Super Eagles list for the upcoming world cup qualifiers owing to his strong start , he was a shock omission from the list made public just like his decision to swap the French Ligue 1 for the third division in England.

Daniel Martins

The agent of Nigeria international midfielder Uche Chrisantus has pulled the brakes on his imminent transfer to English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers from Getafe, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Both clubs have already reached an agreement on the transfer fee for the 22 year old, which is said to be in the area of €22 million. A deal confirmed by the president of the La Liga side Angel Torres.

“We have to sell. We are ruining La Liga by continuously selling”, he said after their 2-1 win over Sevilla two days ago.

“I am forced to sell him, I have no other choice. Tomorrow he undergoes the medical and the deal is signed with wolves”.

However, the striker’s agent has yet to give the green light to a move to the Premier League , leaving the deal on hold , but with all possible scenarios open and his future very close to being decided .

They said issues like the pay package proposed by Wolves and also the way Jorge Mendes the agent representing the club in the deal have left doubts in the mind of the camp of the player. However an agreement could get me reached if the grey areas are strengthened out.

Daniel Martins

English Premier League side Fulham are closing in on a deal that will see the Nigerian contingent at the club swell to three with just six days left in the ongoing summer transfer window, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The club already have two established senior international for Nigeria in Calvin Bassey, who was voted the club’s player of the year last season, and Alex Iwobi who picked up the man of the match award in their 1-1 draw against Manchester United over the weekend.

Buoyed by the success of the aforementioned duo, they are now back in pursuit of a third Nigeria international with talks advancing on a deal to sign Samuel Chukwueze from AC Milan.

They failed with a loan bid in January, but are now hoping to reach an agreement for the 26 year old, who hasn’t found the expected level since joining the Serie A side two summers ago.

Head coach of the team Massimo Allegri is open to his exit despite giving him minutes in their 1-2 opening day defeat in the league against Cremonese.

Daniel Martins

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has reacted strongly to claims by coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle that they are planning on replacing him, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chelle while speaking with veteran Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana at the CHAN tournament, said he saw reports about plans by the NFF to fire him, with a replacement already lined up.

That claims has been dismissed as false and nothing but a mere distraction by a member of the technical committee of the NFF, and also a player of the team.

” No one has made any plans to sack Eric Chelle. Like we all know the first part of his deal ends in October, after which they will be a review of his performance pending on where and how we finish in the world cup qualifiers. We are fully focused on the upcoming games in September”, he revealed.

A player in the team revealed that the coach reached out to express his concerns over his job, but he assured him that if there are such plans the NFF would have reached out to certain players.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman