The son of former Nigeria international Dickson Etuhu has signed his first professional deal with English side Blackpool, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

He will link up with Matthew Blinkhorn’s Under-18’s as they continue pre-season preparations. Etuhu, who is a winger, joins the Seasiders from Accrington Stanley’s academy where he spent his youth career.

Matthew Blinkhorn on the new scholars:

“We are excited to work with Zaccai, he is a player who can make things happen in 1v1 situations. He has the potential physically to become a real handful once he gets up to speed within our programme”.

His father picked up 19 senior caps for Nigeria starting from the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, he was also a member of the team that went to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He declined an invitation to be a part of the team in 2011 under former coach Samson Siasia due to some differences, bringing a temporary halt to his international career.

The same year he honored a call up by late coach Stephen Keshi, and played in a couple of friendly games before calling time on his international career.

At club level, he played for Manchester City, Norwich City, Sunderland, Fulham, Blackburn Rovers among others.

Second division Spanish League side Almeria have offered Super Eagles striker Sadiq Umar the chance to return back to the club with his future uncertain at Real Sociedad, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

According to La Voz de Almería, the second division side are keen on reuniting with the 28 year old, who scored 43 goals in 84 matches for them, helping them to gain promotion to the Spanish top division.

He joined Real Sociedad for €20m but an unfortunate ACL injury saw him miss the entirety of his first season at the club, and since then he hasn’t found his level leading to his loan deal to Valencia in the second half of last season.

Now back at Sociedad and fully integrated in pre season training, newly promoted Elche want him to bolster their attack, with his six goals in 19 games for Valencia towards the end of last season making him a viable option to teams in Spain.

However he is not entirely convinced by their proposal. The same reason why he decided against the option of joining Turkish side Samsunspor, who were keen alongside another team in the same league in Besiktas.

For now he will continue to train with Real Sociedad pending when an agreement will be reached on his next destination.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman has reached agreement on personal terms with fellow Italian Serie A side Inter Milan ahead of a proposed transfer from Atalanta, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Lookman who has been linked with LaLiga side Atletico Madrid and also Napoli has picked Inter Milan as his next career destination, leaving both teams to thrash out terms of his transfer fee.

According to football transfer expert Di Marzio, Lookman and his representative have agreed personal terms, and Inter will proceed with the deal even without a departure.

Inter are keen on seeing Mehdi Taremi leave after just one year at the club, and Lookman who is seen as an all rounder in attack, and a proven Serie A star is the main option to take his spot.

He ticks all the boxes for the type of player Piero Ausilio and Beppe Marotta are looking to recruit, and talks have already started with Atalanta on his possible signing.

Reports say they will offer €40m, €10m less than the speculated €50m l, which will be okay to tempt Atalanta into parting ways with their prized asset, who led them to Europa League glory in 2024 with a hattrick in the 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Europa League.

New coach of Inter Milan Cristian Chivu has picked Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman as his main target in the ongoing summer transfer window, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

According to Corriere dello Sport via FCInterNews, the Nigerian has climbed to the top of the Nerazzurri shortlist with Chivu keen on his signing despite the recent acquisition of Ange-Yoan Bonny.

They are keen on seeing Mehdi Taremi leave after just one year at the club and Lookman who is seen as an all rounder in attack, and a proven Serie A star is the main option to take his spot.

He ticks all the boxes for the type of player Piero Ausilio and Beppe Marotta are looking to recruit, and talks have already started with Atalanta on his possible signing.

A fee in the region of €50m will be okay to tempt Atalanta into parting ways with their prized asset, who led them to Europa League glory in 2024 with a hattrick in the 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the final of the Europa League.

However they are not the only team in the running for his signature with LaLiga side Atletico Madrid also pushing to have the Nigerian in their attack for next season.

Daniel Martins

Former Nigeria U17 star Umar Abubakar has explained the reason behind his decision to snub the chance to join fellow Belgium side Anderlecht from Gent, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Voted as the best player for the B team of the Belgium side after scoring 21 goals in 27 games he was surprisingly not offered fresh terms when his deal at the club expired.

They made a u-turn and offered him fresh terms but around that time it was too late as his representative were already neck deep in negotiations with Portuguese side Famalicão, who beat away competitions from a host of side notably Anderlecht for his signing.

His representative Mohammed Labeeb explained that it was the promise of first team football, that made the move to Portugal the best option for the 19 year old who is already looking forward to making a mark at the club.

” After his performances last season we asked for a pathway to the first team at Gent and it wasn’t forthcoming. There was a push by Anderlecht but they were also not providing any guarantee on his first team chances. So the decision to move to Famalicão even though he could have made more money elsewhere”, Labeeb told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Abubakar also mentioned the same reason in an interview with the official website of the Portuguese side, while announcing his four year deal from Footwork Football Academy of Nigeria.

“I’m very happy to have signed for Futebol Clube de Famalicão. I know it’s a good team, made up of good players, some of whom are very young, and led by a strong coaching staff,” he began, praising the fact that “it’s a club that has had good championships in Portuguese football and has the ability to provide top-notch conditions for its players to enhance their quality.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Coach of newly promoted English Premier League side Sunderland Régis Le Bri has outlined the plans he has outlined the the plans he has for former Nigeria U17, U20 forward Ahmed Abdullahi, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Signed on deadline day during last summer transfer window from Belgium side Gent, the forward had his progress slowed down by an injury making it almost impossible for him to make an impression at his new base. He was however a regular for the U21s.

Following his full recovery, the 21 year old was handed a role in the first team for their first pre season game at South Shields at the weekend, and he made the best of it.

He scored the final goal of his side’s 4-0 win as he latched on to a through ball from Eliezer Mayenda and rounded the goalkeeper before rolling home. A confident finish that caught the attention of everyone who saw the game.

He was subsequently included in the travelling party for their pre season tour, and the head coach say it will be the perfect time to see how he fits into their plans for next season.

“We weren’t able to see Ahmed last season because of injury, but now he is ready to start and it means he can have a full pre-season,” said Le Bris. “We’ll get to know the real Ahmed, now.

“He is still very young, so we don’t know exactly what his potential is. It will be interesting to see him through a full pre-season.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international defender Chidozie Awaziem is set of a return to French Ligue 1 side Nantes from MLS side Colorado Rapids, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Awaziem is familiar with the club as he spent the 2017/2018 season on loan to them from FC Porto. He was close to joining them in 2022, but due to the complex nature of his deal with Boavista the deal didn’t materialize.

An agreement has however been struck this time with his MLS side Colorado Rapids for a deal worth around €1m, that will see him sign a three year deal after just six months with the United States outfit.

The 28 year old has played for numerous clubs: Rizespor (Turkey) in 2019, Leganés (Spain) in 2019-2020, Boavista (Portugal) in 2020-2021, Alanyaspor (Turkey) in 2021-2022, Hajduck Split (Croatia) in 2022-2023, Cincinatti (United States) in 2024 and then Colorado, still in MLS.

At international level , he hasn’t been in the frame since the 2023 AFCON where he was a bit part player for the Nigerian team, that went all the way to the final before losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire.

Daniel Martins

Atlético Madrid is working on a deal to sign Nigeria international Ademola Lookman deal from Italian Serie A side Atalanta, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

According to football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Lookman is highly appreciated my Diego Simeone and he wants to add him to the attack of his team, despite the signing of Thiago Almada from Lyon.

Simeone is strongly pushing for the deal, but they face huge competition from Italian champions Napoli who are also in the running for the Nigerian. Sources say they are leading the race for his signing because he prefers to remain in Italy.

The reigning Africa player of the year is open to leaving Atalanta, where he is a cult hero after firing them to their maiden European trophy with a hattrick in the final of the UEFA Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen, which handed them a 3-0 win in 2024.

Atalanta will demand for a fee in the region of €50m, but in the main time he is back in training with the team preparing for the start of next season. His exit is however highly possible.