German champions Bayer Leverkusen are open to offers for Victor Boniface in the January transfer window with an unnamed Saudi Arabia outfit and a team from the English Premier League reportedly weighing up a bid for him in the ongoing January transfer window.

Boniface took Germany by storm last season in his debut year scoring a total of 21 goals and ten assists in 34 games across all tournaments. This season he has been hampered by injury since November and only made his return yesterday, when he was named on the bench in their 1-2 loss to Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League.

He still has six goals from ten league games and one from three games in the UEFA Champions League. Despite that the club feels he is not unsellable and have set a asking price of €50m as the least they will consider.

According to SkySports Germany in a report by Plettigoal some of the people involved in the move think that it could get concrete before the close of the ongoing window. It’s partly why the club halted talks about an extension to his deal which is set to expire in 2028.

Daniel Martins

Fans of Turkish side Galatasary booed Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen after their 3-3 draw against Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League yesterday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen scored the third goal to put them 3-1 up before the Ukrainians staged a remarkable comeback to level the two goals deficit courtesy of Andriy Yarmolenko. They hanged on to pick a memorable point away from home.

Prior to their second goal, Osimhen wasted a very good chance to kill the game and in the process extend his infamous record of the most chance missed in the history of the UEFA Europa League.

Despite the fact that he has scored 15 goals this season with four in the Europa League he has also missed 16 big chances so far in six games, twice the amount that Brian Brobbey of Ajax who is in second place.

In the league where he has 11 goals, Osimhen has also missed 12 big chances and after the game against Hatayspor over the weekend where he scored the lone goal in a 1-1 draw fans still expressed their unhappiness with his wastefulness.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Top division side Lazio have told English Premier League campaigners Brighton and Hove Albion that they are not interested in transfer talks about Nigeria international midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

According to La Lazio Siamo Noi, the Seagulls are interested in signing the 23-year-old who joined the Biancocelesti last summer on a loan deal from Turkish side Hatayspor with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.

After initially struggling to nail down a spot in the team, he has found his feet with coach Marco Baroni playing him to good effect in other roles higher up the pitch, a lot different from his traditional role as a central midfielder.

Brighton were said to have inquired about the possibility of signing him in the January transfer window, but were told in clear terms that he isn’t available for transfer either now or in the summer.

Juventus were also credited with an interest in luring the Nigerian who has six senior caps and two goals. He spent his formative years at Manchester City before a move to Sheffield Wednesday where he blossomed in two years and earned the move to Hatayspor.

Daniel Martins

Top division Portuguese side Rio Ave have completed the signing of relatively unknown Nigerian striker Naziru Shuaibu after his splendid run in front of goal for low division side AR São Martinho, OwngoalNigeria.com reports.

Shuaibu moved to Portugal two years ago at the age of 18 after he was spotted by scouts in Nigeria and he joined the U19 of Pacos, but after a year he was allowed to leave the club on a free transfer.

He landed at São Martinho and immediately made his mark for the 3rd division side and caught the attention of lot of top teams in Portugal. He picked Rio Ave because they presented a project that will likely see him make the step up from their U23 to the first team in a matter of months.

Signed on a two year deal, the club will be hoping the 20 year old matches his record of 12 goals in 18 games for São Martinho in just the first half of the season. Already the low division side have announced his departure.

Daniel Martins

Head coach of Atalanta Gian Piero Gasperini says the club is yet to find a replacement for Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman after his latest goals in their 5-0 win over Sturm Graz in the UEFA Champions League, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

After scoring in the weekend against Napoli, the reigning Africa Player of the year was rested for the visit of the Austrian side, but showed his quality with the fourth goal upon his introduction at the half time break.

Lookman headed home in the 90th minute after a nice combination play between Juan Cudrado and De Ketelaere, which resulted in a cross by the former setting up Lookman for his 4th goal in six games in the UEFA Champions League this season.

It also took his goal count for the season to 14 in 26 games in all competitions, and speaking about his decision to rotate players which had a good effect on the win, Gasperini however admitted that the club still haven’t found a replacement for the Nigerian.

“We have to be careful because we’re missing a replacement for Lookman and De Ketelaere, unless Zaniolo becomes that type of player. I believe that the attack is fundamental, having players who can come in and be decisive is important. Samardzic is doing well now, it’s a team that can grow”, he explained before revealing that they will likely not sign another forward in the transfer market.

“It seems to me that the club doesn’t want to do anything, I have to think about the present”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria B team midfielder Jide Fatokun has penned a two year deal with Sudanese giants Al-Merrikh from Nigeria Professional Football League side Remo Stars, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fatokun was one of the stars of the second leg win for the Nigerian B team helping them secure a 3-1 aggregate win over Ghana in the qualifiers. It was the first time the Nigerian team made it to the CHAN tournament since 2018.

He was one of the players who caught the eyes of the newly appointed coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle, and was tipped to train with the main team when they converge for the world cup qualifiers in March.

His move to Sudan could possibly rule him out of the CHAN Championship, which is meant for players playing in their domestic leagues. CHAN serves an important role in African football by giving more exposure to local players and helping boost the development of domestic leagues.

It provides an opportunity for players who may not have the chance to play in international leagues to showcase their talents.

It also allows teams to build cohesion and pride around homegrown talent, which can eventually translate into success at other tournaments like the AFCON or FIFA World Cup.

The tournament was originally billed for next month but was postponed to August by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) due to the lack of readiness of one of the hosts of the tournament.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria international goalkeeper Maduka Okoye who is in the eye of the storm following a raid at his house as part of investigation into a betting scandal have been removed from the list of registered players by Italian Serie A side Udinese, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Okoye is facing the prospect of a five year ban from football if found guilty of deliberately picking up a yellow card in their game against Lazio in the Italian Serie A.

With Udinese leading 2-1, Okoye was issued a yellow card for time wasting in the 90th minute, which can be seen as normal, but betting patterns on the goalkeeper receiving a yellow has prompted investigators into sensing it as an anomaly.

According to Messaggero Veneto, the prosecutor office in Udine opened an investigation into the yellow card following reports of a series of bets for significant amounts linked to his yellow card during the match against Lazio played on 11 March 2024.

The house of the Nigerian goalkeeper was searched by investigators alongside that of another suspect, Diego Giordano, owner of a pizzeria frequented by Juventus footballers. Following a complaint by a betting agency Sisal, through an algorithm created to identify anomalies.

Udinese have now replaced him in their list of registered players for the season with newly signed goalkeeper Egil Selvik in their 25 man squad for the season, although it’s not clear if it’s due to the allegations or the wrist injury which will likely keep him out for the rest of the season.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One time target of the senior national team of Nigeria Michael Kayode has completed a loan move to English Premier League side Brentford from Italian Serie A side Fiorentina, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Over the weekend Kayode was left out of the squad for the game against Torino by coach Raffaele Palladino with the move said to be in the final stages. As first reported by Violanews, the Premier League outfit signed the Italy-U21 international on a paid loan, with an option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the season for a fee of around €16m.

A target of the former coach of Nigeria Jose Peseiro who wanted him to switch nationality and play for Nigeria, the 20 year old has failed to build on his storming performance in his breakthrough season. Losing his right back spot this season to Dodo.

This season he has made just five appearances in the league, a far cry from when he made 26 appearances and got the attention of the coach of Italy Luciano Spalletti, but injury robbed him the chance to make his senior bow for Italy, hence his eligibility for Super Eagles still remains.

However, Fiorentina are aware of the player’s potential, which is why they would like to include a buy-back clause in the deal, allowing them to bring Kayode back to the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Daniel Martins

Fresh from scoring the lone goal in their 1-1 draw against Hatayspor in the Turkish League Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen was once again on target for Galatasary in their 3-3 draw against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League.

Osimhen powered home the third goal for his side via the spot to hand them a comfortable 3-1 win at a time when it seems like the Ukrainians were pushing to find a way back into the game.

They however leveled scores with Osimhen guilty of missing a clear chance to put the game to bed before a double from Andriy Yarmolenko handed the visitors a shock draw.

For Osimhen it was his 15th goal in all competitions with 11 coming in the league and the rest in the Europa League. He has maintained his focus despite reports of a possible departure before the close of the January transfer window.

He is reportedly on the wishlist of a couple of teams who are said to be weighing the option of using the break clause in his loan deal from Napoli to sign him on a permanent deal in the ongoing January transfer window.

However he has insist that he is not keen on a move away and will rather wait till the summer, when his buyout clause is expected to drop to around €70m per the agreement that led to his departure in the summer.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman