The story of Akwa United free scoring midfileder Alhassan Ibrahim popularly referred to as Mu’azam won’t be complete without visiting the issues that stifled his growth.

Back in 2012 when Nigeria U-17 coach Manu Garba finished screening for the next badge of cadet players for Nigeria, the one player whose name was on everybody’s lips was Ibrahim Alhassan.

The midfielder who loves to play just behind the main striker was a beauty to behold during the qualifiers for the African U-17 Youth Championship which was hosted by Morocco in 2013.

Mu’azam missed out on the tournament after falling short of the mandatory MRI Scan, but English Premier League giants have seen enough in the two qualifiers against Niger Republic and Guinea Conakry, hence they slapped in a bid for his services.

His agent (names withheld) killed the deal, when he insisted on taking control of negotiations instead of working in tandem with the intermediary who brought the interest from the English Premier League giants.

He subsequently tried out with some clubs in Europe but an ankle injury stopped him from joining any of the teams despite his performance, and his lack of club football subsequently cost him a spot in the 2015 Nigeria U-20 team for the World Youth Championship.

That exclusion happened to be the kick he needed to get his career back on track, as he joined Wikki Tourist last year and played a role in Godwin Obaje emerging as the highest goal scorer in the league.

He moved to Akwa United before the start of this season, and his form has once again gone back to 2012 where he was the big hit in a Nigeria team ahead of the likes of Manchester City Kelechi Iheanacho and Watford’s Isacc Success.

So far he has found the back of the net seven times as a pseudo striker, a strike rate that has made him one of the feared forwards in the Nigeria Professional Football League, and a show of why Arsenal pulled the stop to sign him in 2012.

* Ade Emmanuel

Efe Ambrose has failed to deny or confirm rumours of interest in his services from English Premier League side Stoke City.

Ambrose has hit a rich vein of form at Scottish Championship side Hibernian, where he is on loan from newly crowned SPL champions Celtic and it has lead to talks of a move to Stoke City.

He will be a free player in the summer, and the 28 year old whose move to English Championship side Blackburn Rovers collapsed due to work permit issues might earn a move to England.

The issue of work permit won’t be an issue in the summer, as he is due for Scottish citizenship at the end of the current season in two months time.

” I have never hidden my desire to move to England. I love the league, the culture and the environment but for now am focused on helping Hibernian gain promotion to the Scottish top flight”, Ambrose told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” As for the question you asked me about Stoke City’s interest, all I can say is that am open to offers and I have received some. Soon I will decide, summer is close you know”.

* Daniel Martins

Former Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh once again proved his technical abilities as head coach of Dutch side Fortuna Sittard in their 1-1 draw against promotion chasers MVV Maastricht.

Oliseh has taken to life as coach of troubled Fortuna Sittard brilliantly by taking the club out of the relegation spot following his appointment in January.

In the game against Maastricht, his team struggled to keep Arsenal loanee Kelechi Nwakali quiet in the opening exchange but he quickly addressed the anomaly and his team seized the initiative.

He ordered his players to close in on the talented midfielder whenever he is on the ball, and it worked for his team with the frustration leading to Nwakali picking up a booking 15 minutes from full time.

The boys of Oliseh are now seven points away from the drop zone, a feat which if sustained will see the coach’s stay at the club extended by a further two years at the club.

* Osas Mahawi

Barcelona maintain their push for the La-Liga title with a 4-1 win away to La-Liga struggling team Granada, who were reduced to ten men following the sending off of Uche Agbo.

Agbo was sent off after two bookings within a space of 90 seconds, but the first yellow card he got for a foul on Neymar should have at least earned him a warning from the referee.

The on loan Watford defensive midfielder was sent off with his team trailing the La-Liga champions 1-2, a scoreline which escalated quickly to 1-4 following his controversial sending off.

Despite the controversial nature of his booking, the 21 year old has a reputation for going into the referee’s book as he has been booked 12 times this season, while he has also taken the walk of shame twice this season.

He joined Watford this season from Granada where he has spent the last five seasons but was immediately loaned back to the La-Liga side by the Premier League outfit.

*Daniel Martins

Super Eagles and Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi has given his reaction on the chance he missed in their 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the English Premier League.

Iwobi replaced Danny Welbeck with 13 minutes left to play in the game, and almost gave his side all three points few minutes to the end of the game, when he came close to finishing a move he started from his half at the other end.

His fierce drive beat Willy Cabbaliero but went just over the bar much to the frustrations of the 20 year old, but he insist it’s a fair result judging by the quality of the opposition.
“We’ll take the result but we could have nicked it at the end. I had a good chance to score but unfortunately we’ll have to settle for a point. I thought I could have added a bit of energy to our attacking force, and that’s what I tried to do.
” It was an intense game with a lot of aggressive tackles, a lot of running and sprints, so I tried to add energy when I came on”, he told the official website of Arsenal

* Daniel Martins

Highly rated Nigerian teen forward Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure took his season tally to four goals in the league with a goal in their 1-2 loss to league giants Shakhtar Donetsk.

The 19 year old shocked the league leaders in the play-offs with the opening goal in the 31st minutes, further cementing his status as one of the break away teen of the season in Ukraine.

Bonaventure has found the back of the net in previous league games against Olimpik Donestk, Stal Kamianske and Dynamo Kyiv in his debut season in the League.

However he ended up on the losing side as goals from Gustavo Blanco and Taison helped Shakhtar Donetsk recovered from going behind to win the game 2-1, despite ending the game with 10 men.

* Osas Mahawi

Gent got off to a flying start in the Belgium play-offs with a 2-0 win in a bad tempered game against Club Brugge thanks to a brace from their Nigerian forward Moses Simon.

Four Nigerians in Anderson Esiti, Moses Simon, William Troost-Ekong and Samuel Kalu were on from the start for Gent, and the first caution of the game was picked up by Kalu nine minutes into the game.

Moses Simon was however on hand to draw his side level in the 25th minute following a nice ball from Kalu to bring scores to 1-1.

Simon made it 2-1 to his team with his second goal of the game from the spot at the end of the first 45 minutes to put his side in the lead going into the break.

While Simon goals put his side up in the game, numerically they were reduced to 10 men when his Nigerian compatriot Troost-Ekong was sent off for two bookable offences in a space of three minutes, in the 47th and 50th minute precisely.

The red card was the first of his career, and it didn’t prove too costly for his team as they hanged on to claim all three points and their first win in their first game of the Belgium play-offs.

* Osas Mahawi

Portuguese side CD Feirense moved up the table in the league with a 2-1 win away at Belenenses thanks to a late goal from their Nigerian forward Oghenekaro Etebo.

Juanto Ortuno gave Belenenses a 17th minute lead, which they hanged onto till the half-time break, but nine minutes after the hour mark Edson Paraiba levelled the scores for the visitors.

The game appeared to be heading for a stalemate until one minute to full time when CD Feirense Nigerian star Oghenekaro stepped up to net what ended as the winner from the spot.

He now has two goals in the league as he scored his first league goal for the Portuguese side before the international break in their 3-2 win over Chaves. So far he has found the back of the net three times in all competition.

* Daniel Martins

Dutch side ADO Den Haag eased their relegation worries with a 4-1 win over Roda JC Kerkrade in what was a battle between two teams battling to stay in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Super Eagles latest invitee Tyronne Ebuehi was on from the start for the Dutch side and put in a performance at right back, which suggest why coach Gernot Rohr views the 20 year old as the solution to his right back problems.

Ebuehi was very solid in defence for his team, and was also very effective in turning defence into attack, which helped his team put the opposition defence under pressure especially at the start of the game.

His performances was particularly impressed as he won most of his tackles without picking up a booking, and showed good turn of pace to recover when he appears to be out of position.

In the same game former Nigeria U-20 captain Abduljelil Ajagun started for Roda but was replaced after 46 minutes, as Roda slumped to 17th on the 18 team table, while victory sees ADO Den Haag stay a spot ahead of them.
* Prince Michael

Captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria John Obi Mikel scored his first goal for Chinese Side Tianjin Teda to power them to a 2-0 win over Chongqing Lifan in the Chinese Super League.

Mikel recovered from a knock that was supposed to keep him out for ten days, and was handed a start by coach Jaime Pacheco, who also picked Mikel’s Nigeria national team teammate Brown Ideye to lead the attack.

The former Chelsea ace who now plays as a central defender, showed his predatory instinct in the 48th minute when he reacted quickly to tuck home the opener for his team after the Lifan goalkeeper parried a well hit drive from Mbaye Diagne.

During the course of the game, the 29 year old proved his effectiveness at both ends of the pitch as he made two vital clearance to deny Lifan goal scoring opportunities.

A hard an injury scare in the 90th minute when he went down unchallenged and had to be taken off the pitch for medical attention with what looked like a re-occurence of the injury that he suffered in the earlier game.

However it proves not to be the case as he returned back to the pitch and lasted the entire duration of the game, while Ideye was substituted after 65 minute further extending his wait for a goal in China.

* Daniel Martins