Highly respected Dutch agent Erik Patrick has slammed the attitude of most players of the World Youth Championship 2015 winning team of Nigeria, labelling their taste of clubs as outrageous.

So far only six players from the team have secured moves abroad, while their captain Kelechi Nwakali and forward Orji Okonkwo are the only ones playing professional football in the Netherlands and Italy.

Okonkwo has made the biggest leap so far among the lot as he has played in the Serie A for Bologna, even though Nwakali fine form for Dutch side MVV Maastricht has earned him plaudits, they are in the second division in Holland.

Injury and fitness issues have delayed star forward Victor Osimhen from making his debut for Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, and according to Patrick their teammates all want to move to top clubs like the aforementioned trio.

” Recently I tried taking one of the boys to Slovenia but the numbers the club were quoting as transfer fee is unbelievable. They all want to move to Arsenal, Wolfsburg or Bologna like Osimhen, Orji and Nwakali. It’s crazy”, Patrick told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” I won’t mention names but most of them are driven by money even their family members view them like gold mines. I am seriously afraid most of them won’t progress unless to accept to start small and grow big”.

Owngoalnigeria.com understands that Nigeria U-23 defender Ndifreke Effiong won’t be offered a deal by Norwegian side Lillestroem after failing to impress the team handlers during a short trial.

Effiong spent around three weeks with the Norwegian side before returning back to Nigeria in February, where he has returned to playing league games for Abia Warriors.

Sparingly used by Nigeria at the Rio 2016 Olympics, there were reports that talks over a possible contract is ongoing with Lillestroem, but our checks revealed he has been told he won’t be offered a deal.

The club presently has one Nigerian who is still testing with them in Mathias Ogwuche Adah in their training camp in Spain, after letting Effiong and Shammah Tanze leave over failure to impress.

Presently Lillestroem has two Nigerians Innocent Bonke and Ifeanyi Matthew on their payroll following the transfer of Fred Friday in the summer to Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

A player like Chelsea wing back Victor Moses would have made the difference for Arsenal in their bid to lift the English Premier League title according to Graeme Souness.

The former Newcastle manager feels the presence of the Nigerian in Arsene Wenger’s team could have changed the fortunes of the Gunners

Souness stated that the Gunners who are 10 points behind Antonio Conte’s men lack intensity and physicality in the midfield while criticising the signings of Arsene Wenger for the fall in the title challenge.

The former Liverpool skipper believes the wing-back will be the perfect buy for the Gunners to solve their midfield crisis since the departure of Patrick Viera.

“I used to think Arsenal were only a couple of world-class players away from winning the title, most notably a holding midfielder and striker,” Graeme told The Times.

“Now they look as many as five or six away from being contenders.

“A big reason for this has been the type of midfielder the Frenchman has signed in the past decade. This was a manager who won his first Premier League title with two giants – in every sense – in midfield.

“Yet since Patrick Viera left the club in 2005, we have seen no one in the robust mould of him or Emmanuel Petit.

“I look at Cesc Fabregas, Tomas Rosicky, Andrey Arshavin, Samir Nasri, Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and they are all technically gifted ball-players.

“Yet they are all the same nicey-nicey types. You wouldn’t say Marcos Alonso or Victor Moses are better technically than any of those, but an injection of the intensity and physicality they have shown for Chelsea this season would have significantly improved Wenger’s squad.”

Fit again AS Roma Nigerian teen right back Nura Abdullahi has given his opinion about rumours linking him with a possible move to Barcelona in the future.

Nura who is highly rated by manager of Roma Luciano Spalleti was heavily courted by the Catalans after dazzling against them in a UEFA Youth League tie, but a minor heart surgery last year brought about a lull in their interest.

The 19 year old suffered a serious injury on his return from the heart surgery, and after another prolonged period out of the pitch, he marked his return with a 45 minutes display for the Primavera side in their 5-3 win over Crotone at the weekend.

Asked by Owngoalnigeria.com about his take on the rumours linking him to Barcelona, the Kaduna born forward poured cold waters on the speculations by pledging his loyalty to Roma.

” Barcelona?, It was a joy to be linked with them in the past but for now I want to repay Roma for their trust and patience with me. I want to stay here for as long as am wanted. Roma is home to me”, Nura told Owngoalnigeria.com.

Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr says the defence of his team remains his priority ahead of the resumption of the World Cup 2018 qualifiers, and the start of 2019 AFCON qualifiers.

Nigeria will take on South Africa in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers before taking on Cameroon in back to back World Cup 2018 qualifiers, which will go a long way in determining the leader of the group.

Rohr has in the past lamented his lack of options regarding full backs, and in a chat with Owngoalnigeria.com restated his worries over the defence of his team.

” We are blessed with quality players in midfield and attack. But we could do with some more players in defence. To be able to achieve all we have in mind, we need options all over”, Rohr told Owngoalnigeria.com

” Talks are ongoing with some players, and we are also monitoring some as well. We are confident of having a possible solution before our next game”.

Super Eagles defender Musa Mohammed has been presented to the fans and media of Bosnian side Fudbalski Klub Zeljeznicar following his loan move from Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir.

The Nigerian who found games hard to come by at high flying Turkish side Basaksehir, has been in fine form for the Bosnian side in friendly games ahead of the commencement of the second half of the season in Bosnia.

Yesterday he had a thirty minute run out after coming on as a substitute in their 2-0 win over FK Velez Mostar, bringing to three the number of games he has played for the team since his move.

He will be hoping for a similar run of games when the league resumes in six days time, when they take on 4th place Krupa, who are two points behind his 3rd placed team.

Former coach of the senior Nigeria national team Samson Siasia has lost out in his bid to be named coach of Premier South African League (PSL) side Orlando Pirates.

Siasia applied for the job alongside other coaches but the club picked 54 year old Swede Kjell Jonevret as their new manager, and he will be assisted by Harold Logendi.

The appointment of Jonevret brings to an end Siasia’s hopes of landing the job, but the coach who lead Nigeria to a bronze medal finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics is also in the running to be named coach of the Rwanda national team.

Siasia made the final shortlist of eight coaches who are in line to be named coach of the Amavubi in the coming days, and he is still in the running for head coach of the national team of South Africa.

Sunday Oliseh’s fine run as coach of Dutch side Fortuna Sittard is down to the effort of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) according to a member of the Technical Committee of the Nigerian football house.

Oliseh has tasted defeat just once since taking over the reins as coach of the troubled Dutch second division side, a run that includes three wins, and two draws.

He has succeeded in piloting the team from the bottom of the table to 16th on the log, and according to various Dutch media outlet he has instilled a winning mentality and spirit in the team.

However Garba Lawal, a member of the NFF technical committee believes the chance given to him to manage Nigeria helped prepare him for the role he is excelling in right now.

” You have to credit the NFF for trusting Oliseh with the national team job, yes he didn’t do too well but the opportunity to handle top stars prepared him for his current job”, Garba Lawal told Owngoalnigeria.com

” The players he is handling now, are no where near to the ones we have in the national team with all due respect. That opportunity given to him made him who he is now with Fortuna Sittard”.

On loan Arsenal teen midfielder Kelechi Nwakali recovered from an insipid display in his last two games with a man of the match performance for MVV Maastricht in their 0-0 draw with FC Eindhoven.

Nwakali was adjudged the best player of the match, where he put in a dominant display in the midfield even though his team fail to pick up all three points at home.

After the game, the 18 year old who is on a season long loan to the Dutch second division side posed with former Arsenal legend Kanu Nwankwo with his Man of The Match Award.

The award was his third of the season, a sign of how well the talented teen who captained Nigeria to U-17 World Cup glory in 2015 has flourished since his move to the Dutch side.

He is expected to push for a spot at Arsenal when pre season resumes ahead of the start of the 2017/2018 season, if he is granted a work permit.