Head coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has settled on three goalkeppers for Nigeria’s first World Cup 2018 qualifiers against Zambia in Ndola.

Rohr has picked the trio of Emmanuel Daniel, Ikechukwu Ezenwa and Carl Ikeme as his shot stoppers for the clash in October, shelving any plans of a recall for former Super Eagles goalkepper and captain Vincent Enyeama.

The German coach confirmed he will hold talks with the Lille shot stopper in France but the timing and crucial nature of Nigeria’s first clash against Zambia has forced him to put the plans on hold until at least after the game.

” Same goalkeppers are going to be called up, Ezenwa, Ikeme and Daniel. For now Ikeme is still the first choice goalkepper we don’t have any fear or concern about his abilities” a source told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” Enyeama might be called up in the future but for now, he is not in our plans. He hasn’t shown enough commitment to return back to the team. We will use what we have as they are also very good goalkeppers in their own right”.

Despite failing to play in any of FC Porto first team games so far, Owngoalnigeria.com can reveal that Super Eagles invitee Chidozie Awaziem is still a part of manager Nuno Espirito Santo first team plans.

Awaziem has been restricted to playing games for the B team who are in the second division in Portugal where he has made five appearances so far. But the 19 year old got sent off in the 34th minute in their last league game against Freamunde, a game they ended up losing 1-3.

His sending off was narrowed down to the frustrations of being asked to drop a level down to the B team after impressing for the main team last season. Where he made 10 appearances and scored once in the Cup game against Benfica.

However the man who has been a stalwart for the B team in the past, even when they won the league last season held talks with the upper ends of the club last week and he was assured he is part of the long term plans of the club.

His presently contract has five years to run with a buy out clause of over £20m inserted in it to ward off potential suitors from luring the highly rated teen defender.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are confident that captain of the Super Eagles Mikel John Obi will play a big role in convincing teen defender Ola Aina to snub England for Nigeria when the time is ripe.

Aina who has a Nigerian father is highly regarded as one of the young promising full backs in England, where he has represented the country at various youth level before his first team debut for Chelsea.

Now a firm member of the first team. His international future is surely going to be a tussle between England and Nigeria, but a member of the Technical committee of the NFF revealed to Owngoalnigeria.com that Mikel will give Nigeria an edge in the battle to cap the teen defender.

” We are yet to have a need for him. But if it arises on the instruction of the coach, then we will to be honest with you rely on Mikel to persuade him to switch allegiance to Nigeria” He told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” Mikel is capable of doing much more than that, you have to be at the Olympics to believe me, we are confident he will convince Aina to play for Nigeria. Yes he will play a very big role.”

Former Tottenham Hotspur trainee Musa Yahaya has been promoted to the main team of Portuguese giants FC Porto after just three months at the club.

Yahaya has been training with the first team since after the international break after impressing the coaches during training when most of the first team players were away on international duty.

18 year old Yahaya rise at FC Porto is a testament of his quality as he is yet to play a single game for the B team, where he was suppose to spend most of his time upon his signing this summer.

We gathered he could make his first team debut in the coming days in either the League Cup or the Portuguese Cup base on which comes first.

Known for his slick skills, pace, tricks and finishing, he was a part of the Nigeria U-17 team that won the World Youth Championship in 2013 and also played at the U-20 World Cup two years ago in New Zealand.

At the last Under-20 World Cup. His Rabona assist to Isacc Success in Nigeria’s 2-4 loss against Brazil was a big hit on the internet, in a game he also scored.

Italian Serie A side Bologna will have as many as three Nigerians on their payroll before the end of the season following the capture of another Nigeria U-20 player.

The Serie A side already has Nigeria Olympic bronze winning striker Sadiq Umar in their ranks on loan from Roma while Nigeria Under-20 forward Orji Okonkwo joined on a permanent deal from Football Academy Abuja.

Kingsley Michael, childhood friend and U-17 and 20 teammate to Orji Okonkwo will team up with Bologna next year as soon as he clocks 18, according to the agent who brokered the deal that took Orji to Bologna.

” It’s a done deal, Kingsley Michael will join Orji in Bologna once he clocks 18. The deal was agreed, same time like that of Orji but he wasn’t up to the age of signing a professional contract. So he will join up next year” He told Owngoalnigeria.com.

The duo were part of the Nigeria team that failed to qualify for next year Africa U-20 Youth Championship. They were also part of the all conquering Under-17 team at the last World Cup in Chile.

Nigeria Olympic striker Aminu Umar rounded up scoring for his Turkish side Osmanlispor in their 2-0 Europa League win over Romanian outfit Steau Bucuresti.

The Romanians had their case made worse after Gabriel Enache was sent off for two bookable offenses in the 4th and 45th minute of play which lead to his sending off.

Umar struck with 16 minutes to go in the encounter adding to Cheick Diabate 64th minute opener to help them run out 2-0 winners.

21 year old Umar now has four goals in the Europa League after scoring a hattrick in their qualifying round tie against Zimbru before heading to the Olympic with the Nigerian team.

He won bronze medal with the Nigerian team, scoring two goals in the process but his performances were not sufficient enough for new manager Gernot Rohr to include him in his squad for Nigeria’s AFCON 2017 dead rubber tie against Tanzania.

Israeli side Hapoel Beer Sheva were shock 2-0 winner over Italian giants Inter-Milan in the first round of matches of the group stage of the Europa League.

The champions of Israel had their Nigerian duo of John Ogu and Anthony Nwakaeme on for the entire duration of the game decided at the Guiseppe Meazza Stadium.

Although they didn’t get on the score sheet they put in a performance that played a big role in the shock victory. That moved them to the top of Group K as joint leaders with English Premiership side Southampton.

Goals from Miguel Vitor and Maor Bar Buzaglo gave the Israeli side all three points in front of a stunned capacity crowd at the home ground of the 2010 UEFA Champions League winners.

Manchester City rave of the moment Kelechi Iheanacho is not new to winning accolades for his goal scoring prowess, after a picture of him receiving the top scorer award at a youth tournament six years ago surfaced on the internet.

The man whose goal decided the Manchester derby 2-1 in favour of Manchester City ahead of their city rivals Manchester United, followed up his goal over the weekend with another in yesterday’s 4-0 drubbing of Borussia Monchengladbach.

Six years ago, he won the top scorer award at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Under-13 Championship organised by former president of the football governing body in Nigeria Alhaji Sani Lulu.

A picture of a frail looking 13 year old Iheanacho receiving the top scorer award from NFF board member Ahmed Fresh proved he has been in the business of scoring goals for a while.

Few years later, three years precisely he took the world by storm at the Under-17 World Cup, finishing as top scorer and MVP at the tournament held in the UAE.

He landed in Manchester City a year later and after two fine performances in back to back pre season tour, he was finally handed a chance in the main team last season which he grabbed with both hands.

FC Ifeanyiubah head coach, Rafael Everton and Wikki Tourists striker,
Godwin Obaje, have been named Manager and Player respectively for the
month of August in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) –
League Bloggers Awards (LBA).

Everton becomes the first South American to win the prestigious
monthly award as a manager in the NPFL.

The FC Ifeanyiubah coach was picked ahead of El-Kanemi Warriors
trainer Ladan Bosso as well as Solomon Ogbeide of Sunshine Stars and
Paul Aigbogun of Enyimba for the month under review.

The Brazilian navigated FC Ifeanyiubah through difficult fixtures
against fellow title contenders, Enugu Rangers and Wikki Tourists,
defeating both teams 2-0 and 1-0 respectively and that feat had in
between a 1-0 win at Warri Wolves having early lost 0-2 at Plateau
United. This meant that Everton helped the Nnewi club earn nine points
in four matches.

Ogbeide fell short from clinching the manager’s award as Sunshine
Stars took eight points from 15 in August.

Aigbogun and Bosso, unbeaten with Enyimba and El-Kanemi respectively
in August, took seven and eight points in that order.

Obaje has now been named the NPFL-LBA Player of the Month for the
second time this season after first winning the award in May. The
league’s top scorer netted three goals in August, including a brace
against MFM FC as Wikki won 2-1.

He then netted another goal that could only help his club to win a
point at home against Lobi Stars in a 1-1 draw on the last day of
August.

Samad Kadiri of Sunshine Stars, Ibrahim Ajani of 3SC and FC
Ifeanyiubah’s Chijioke Alakwe scored two goals apiece and their
efforts proved inadequate to knock off Obaje’s individual input for
August.

Everton and Obaje will be presented their awards later this month.

PAST NPFL-LBA WINNERS THIS SEASON

February 2016
Player: Frederick Obomate (Rivers United)
Manager: Kennedy Boboye (Abia Warriors)

March 2016
Player: Chisom Egbuchulam (Enugu Rangers)
Manager: Imama Amapakabo (Enugu Rangers)

April 2016
Player: Okiki Afolabi (Sunshine Stars)
Manager: Imama Amapakabo (Enugu Rangers)

May 2016
Player: Godwin Obaje (Wikki Tourists)
Manager: Paul Aigbogun (Enyimba)

June 2016
Player: Emeka Nwabulu (Wikki Tourists)
Manager: Abdu Maikaba (Wikki Tourists)

July 2016
Player: Abdulrahman Bashir (Nasarawa United)
Manager: Zachary Baraje (Plateau United)

George Akpayen

For: NPFL-LBA