Forgotten Super Eagles forward Sunday Mba has extended his stay with Turkish second division side Yeni Malatyaspor till the summer of 2018.

His new deal shows the amount of faith he has in the team regarding their chances of securing promotion to the Turkish top flight league.

Mba’s goal ended Nigeria’s wait for her first AFCON title since 1994, when he struck the lone goal that helped the Super Eagles beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in the final of the 2013 AFCON.

25 year old Mba left the Nigeria local scene for France where he spent two uneventful years with French low league side CA Bastia, before leaving the team last summer following their relegation to the amateur league in France.

Since moving to Yeni Malatyaspor, he has played in 30 league games with 6 goals to his name for the team that also has Nigeria Under-23 ace Azubuike Okechukwu on it’s book.

Super Eagles and Wolverhampton Wanderers number one shot stopper Carl Ikeme has backed heavy spenders FC Ifeanyi Uba to lift the 2016 Nigeria Federation Cup, ahead of their semi-final clash against giant killers Crown FC of Ogbomosho.

FC Ifeanyi Uba will take on Crown FC in Kaduna in one of the semi-finals tie of the oldest club competition in Nigeria, while the other semi-final will be between Nasarawa United and Enyimba FC of Aba in Ibadan.

September 28 is the new date for FC Ifeanyi Uba against Crown while the tie between Nasarawa United and Enyimba has been moved to the 9th of October, according to an announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation.

Ikeme made his preference known while making his opinion known in a pool on twitter, organised by the media officer of the Super Eagles Toyin Ibitoye on which team among the four left will most likely win the tournament.

The Wolverhampton Wanderers gave his pick by replying to the post with a jersey of FC Ifeanyi Uba with a caption that reads “my pick bro”.

Manchester City Nigerian teen wonder Kelechi Iheanacho has unknowingly added fuel to the fire that usually characterise the Manchester Derby, by calling his manager Pep Guardiola the “Special One”.

19 year old Iheanacho while speaking on the impact Guardiola has had in his career, labeled the bitter rival of the Manchester United boss the “Special One”

” He’s (Guardiola) a winner and I believe he will bring success to the club. His arrival has changed the mentality of everyone because you are starting from scratch.

” He’s the special one sent to Man City and, obviously, the special one for me”. He told The Sun.

The “Special One” happens to be the nickname of Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho, whose team will be up against bitter rivals Manchester United on Saturday.

Manager of Manchester City Pep Guardiola has dropped a big hint as to who will replace the suspended Sergio Kun Aguero, in Saturday’s Manchester Derby against Manchester United.

The manager is presently thorn between playing Nigerian teen forward Kelechi Iheanacho or Spanish forward Nolito in Aguero’s absence, and statements credited to the manager suggest Nolito could start ahead of Iheanacho.

Nolito has scored in his last two games for Manchester City, while Iheanacho is yet to get among the scorers but his recent wonder strike against Tanzania in an AFCON 2017 qualifiers tie for Nigeria puts him in the frame to start.

The Spanish manager upon the club signing of Nolito, described him as a forward who can play more than one role and could come handy in the absence of Aguero. A statement that suggest he could replace Aguero in Saturday’s clash.

However same manager once said Iheanacho has something special, when the teen prospect signed his new deal at the club that made him Nigeria’s highest earner with a salary in the region of £85,000 a week.

Roma highly talented Nigerian teen right full back Nura Abdullahi has made a quicker than expected recovery from surgery, after injury ended his campaign last season.

Nura was supposed to be out for six months, but the Football Academy Abuja prospect posted a video of himself running under the supervision of coaches of Roma on his instagram page.

Known for his pace, attacking and defensive abilities, he was signed permanently by Roma at the end of last season after a successful spell on loan from Serie B side Spezia.

18 year old Nura who is a childhood friend to Sadiq Umar who recently left Roma on loan to Bologna, is viewed as one of the best teen right full back in Europe.

Last season shortly after returning from a correction surgery, he became a top target for Spanish La-Liga side Barcelona, after impressing for the Primavera team of Roma in a UEFA Youth League game against the Catalans.

Owngoalnigeria.com understand that captain of the Super Eagles of Nigeria John Obi Mikel has been handed a new role by coach of Chelsea Antonio Conte.

The Super Eagles captain, who is presently Chelsea second longest serving player in the squad has been juggling with two different roles. Mikel plays as a defensive midfielder for Chelsea but plays in a more advanced role for Nigeria.

We gathered Conte has decided to hand him same role as he plays in the Nigeria national team as part of the sweetener, he wants to use in luring the 29 year old to sign a new deal at Stamford Bridge.

Conte signed N’Golo Kante for the role Mikel has been alternating with Nemanja Matic, raising doubts about the chances of the Nigerian getting to play games for the team this season, but we gathered that talks were held during the week, where Mikel was promised a role same as the one he plays for the Nigeria national team.

” Mikel and Conte had a chat about his role in the team, although he has been assured he will be played in the role that suits him the more by the manager. He is also ready to fill in anywhere he is needed for the team”, a source close to the player told Owngoalnigeria.com.

Chairman of the Technical and Development Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Barrister Chris Green, has lamented the poor pitch condition of the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

Green said the playing surface played a big role in the chances missed by star forward Victor Moses in the slim 1-0 win over Tanzania in the dead rubber AFCON 2017 qualifiers tie.

“Unfortunately the playing turf did not really help matters because it was stunted and very heavy to play on. We would have put the game to bed in the first half but for the poor state of the field, which robbed us of a minimum of three goals coming from the likes of Victor Moses, (Kelechi) Iheanacho and the rest of them” He told newsmen.

Generally the team played very well despite the fact we played on a field that was stunted, undulating and heavy to play on. These are all technical matters, but I was satisfied with their play and I believe if Super Eagles continue that way, we would go a long way.”

Out of favour Super Eagles midfielders John Ogu has extended his contract with Israeli champions Hapoel Beer-Sheva for a further three years, the club has confirmed in a statement.

Ogu moved to the Isreali side in the summer of 2014/2015 from Portuguese side Academica on a free transfer, and has since gone on to become one of the most influential players at his club and in the league.

The 28 year old has however not find favours with the Nigeria national team selectors in recent times. Despite winning the best foreign player in Israel last season, he still wasn’t considered good enough to be invited by new Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr for the dead rubber AFCON 2017 tie against Tanzania.

His new deal will see him earn a whopping $270, 000 dollars a season, which brings him close to the top 10 earning Nigerian players. An exclusive list which has Manchester City Kelechi Iheanacho as the country’s biggest earner at £85,000 a week.

Fast rising Nigerian teen forward Ebere Eze is slowly earning a reputation for himself as one of the best teenager at the youth set up of English Championship side QPR.

Still working his way up the ladder at the club after only arriving from Millwall this summer on a one year deal. He has taken to life on the pitch quite well and QPR could have a battle on their hand to hang on to him after his deal expire by next summer.

Eze who has scored for the Under-23s of QPR in their last two games, further proved his credentials with three well taken strike to help them beat Crystal Palace 4-1.

18 year old Eze took the match ball home, with two goals in the second half, including a 30- yard screamer into the top right hand corner of Crystal Palace net.

At QPR, he isn’t the only Nigerian on the books of the club with Romeo Akintola also turning heads following his promotion to the U-23s after a stellar campaign for the U-18s last season,

Not many have heard about the brain behind the success of the now famous Football Academy Abuja. The Nigerian Academy that has transfered over 18 players abroad in just four years.

Owngoalnigeria.com in it’s quest to unearth the secret behind the success of the academy, was told by one of the staff at the club about a certain Ahmed Lawal Dankoli, popularly referred to as “Black Mourinho” .

Black Mourinho like he loves to be called, started working with the Academy as coach in 2012 and has since gone on to better himself with refresher courses in Europe, notably Croatia and Russia.

He cuts across as a gentle, soft spoken coach but tough on the pitch especially when his instructions are not properly carried out by the players under his tutelage.

The former footballer, who had his career cut short due to an injury has used his carrot and stick approach to horne over 18 raw footballers, picked from the streets to international stardom.

Presently he boast of over 18 players abroad with Dream Team VI ace Sadiq Umar and his Roma childhood friend Nura Abdullahi top of his discoveries. Inter Milan latest teen sensation Theophilus Awua ranks among his latest.

Bonaventure Dennis, who stars for Zorya in Ukraine, Theophilus Solomon and Jamilu Collins of Istra, Aliyu Okechukwu of Split in Croatia lead the duo of Gerard Diyoke and Odion Ajayi.

Only recently Suleiman Mohammed of Spezia who has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Real Madrid joined David Okereke, another of Lawal’s protege at the Serie B side.

The list doesn’t end there as the quartet of Nigeria U-17 World Cup winners Abdullahi Alfa (Ventspills), Dele Alampasu (CD Feirense), Orji Okonkwo (Bologna) and Kingsley Michael who is also close to joining Bologna.

His secret still remains, the ability to spot talented players and groom them into international material with his unending work ethics, patience and commitment to the welfare of the teen under his tutelage.