Spanish giants Real Madrid made an offer to sign Nigerian midfielder Uche Chrisantus in the summer before his move to fellow LaLiga side Getafe, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

According to journalist Isabel Pacheco, Real Madrid were keen on signing the young Nigerian midfielder for their youth setup. However, Uche had bigger ambitions and turned down the offer in pursuit of first-team football.

In the summer when Real Madrid made the approach Uche was playing for AD Ceuta in Spain’s Primera RFEF, which is the 3rd division and the Spanish giants wanted him to strengthen their B team who are playing in the same division .

Uche opted for Getafe because of the promise of first team football, a move that has paid off as he has played in 15 games this season, scoring once in an emergency role as a striker rather than his preferred role as a central midfielder.

The 21 year old was introduced as a substitute yesterday in Getafe’s 0-2 loss to Real Madrid, but was subbed off moments later after injuring his hamstring as he attempted to hit an effort on goal.

He is heavy on the radar of the senior national team of Nigeria, and will most likely get his first chance next year when the team resumes for games in the 2026 world cup qualifiers in March.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international winger Moses Simon had one of his best games of the season for Nantes as they picked up a shock 1-1 draw away to the champions of the league PSG, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Simon who has played in 12 matches this season with three goals and four assists failed to add to his goal contribution count, but did enough to earn high praises for his performance.

The 29 year old played for 82 minutes and was by far the liveliest player for his team in attack, constantly taking on PSG right back Achraf Hakimi who had no answers to the Nigerian.

Hakimi was helpless as Simon waltzed through him with ease. So much that Vitinha had to drop to double up on the Nigerian whenever he is in possession.

Goalkeeper of Nantes Patrik Carlgren who made nine saves in the game was picked as the man of the match, but the main talking point in the French media after the game was how Simon made Hakimi to be chasing shadows whenever he is on the ball.

Coach of Italian Serie A side AC Milan Paulo Fonseca has praised the contribution of Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze for his performance in their 3-0 win over Empoli, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze dropped to the bench after starting in the 3-2 win over Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Champions League with Fonseca opting to start Yunus Musah on the right.

Fonseca explained the decision after the game, and praised Chukwueze for how he adapted his game to help out in defence as they stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to six. A remarkable turnaround after a poor start to the season.

“I’m really enjoying Musah there. Empoli play a lot of long balls and it was important to have this role to help the team. I was also very pleased with the way Chukwueze played this role, who came back into the box twice to play fifth. This module gives us balance”, he said at the post match conference.

So far Chukwueze has played in 13 games this season but has scored just once. A form that has seen him drift in and out of the starting lineup of the team this season.

One cap Nigeria international goalkeeper Adebayo Adeleye says he has given up on getting another chance to represent Nigeria 18 months after making his debut in the AFCON qualifiers game away to Sierra Leone, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Adeleye’s sole cap for Nigeria came as a result of the fact that former first choice goalkeeper Francis Uzoho was suspended and he made the most of it helping the team to a 3-2 away win.

Prior to that game he was called up on four previous occasions, and since his debut he has been part of the squad on three other occasions without getting to play. The last time he was invited was October last year.

Since then the 24 year old hasn’t been called up, but he feels with his current form at top division Cyprus outfit EN Paralimniou he deserves another chance to stake a claim to be the team’s number 1.

” I am playing at a level that is higher than Israel right now. Nigeria is my country and despite the disappointment of not getting called up in the past few months I am still available for the team”, the former Hapoel Jerusalem shot stopper told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Right now all I need is a chance to fight for a spot in the team and when you look at my performance this season you will understand why I am so confident. I will continue doing my best and hopefully the coaches will notice me”, he concluded.

This season he has played in 11 games in the top division in Cyprus where he has conceded 17 goals and kept three clean sheets. It is his debut season following his free transfer from Hapoel Jerusalem in the summer.

Ade Emmanuel

As the Super Eagles of Nigeria gear up for the resumption of the games of the world cup qualifiers in March, OwnGoalNigeria.com takes a look at five players who could be useful for the team.

Like a host of players in the team at the moment, they were born abroad but have made it known that they want to play for the senior national team of Nigeria, who are currently struggling in their world cup qualifiers group with no win and just three points from a possible 12.

The poor results mean they are 5th in the six team group, four points behind group leaders Rwanda who are tied on the same points of 7 with the second and third placed team in the group South Africa and Benin Republic respectively.

In danger of missing out on a second consecutive world cup, we pick five players who could breathe life into the Super Eagles campaign in the qualifiers.

Felix Agu: Operating as a right back. He has cemented his spot in the starting lineup of Werder Bremen with ten Bundesliga games and two goals to his name this season.

Born in Germany to parents of Nigerian descent, he is still eligible for Nigeria as he only represented Germany at U21 level in friendly games, which effectively means he won’t be needing a switch of nationality approval by FIFA.

He Initially snubbed the chance to be a part of the Super Eagles when he was approached by Rohr in 2019, but in December 2021, Agu publicly expressed his openness to play for the Super Eagles.

“At that time, I cancelled the Nigerian Association because I wanted to go to the German U21s first. Up until then, I had never been to the national team, and I wanted to get used to it.”

“I haven’t heard anything for a long time. Maybe it will come again.”

“But it wasn’t a decision against Nigeria. It was a decision to keep my surroundings that are more or less familiar.

“Now I am open to the topic,” Agu told deichstube

Justin Njinmah : The 24 year old has been one of the revelations of the season in Germany this year with two goals and two assists in eight games for Werder Bremen. Like Agu he was born in Germany to parents of Nigerian descent.

Nicknamed the German Neymar, the right winger who is yet to be capped by Germany at any level made it clear four months ago that he is open to the idea of representing Nigeria.

“I know I’m being looked at by Nigeria of course, but I can only decide when I get an invitation. Then I really would have to weigh up exactly,” the versatile forward said in an interview with German publication Kicker.

Dapo Afolayan : At newly promoted German side St. Pauli the name Dapo is associated with only good things. At 26 the winger who was born in London to Nigerian parents is among the first name on the team sheet for games.

He boast of two goals and one assist this season but his all round play has been particularly impressive for the newly promoted side. Dapo although eligible for England has his mind fixed on solely representing the Super Eagles.

Chuba Akpom : Made the decision to switch nationality to Nigeria from England where he was a youth international three years ago. But a poor club form kept him out of the team.

He found his feet at Middlesbrough and earned a big transfer to Dutch side Ajax, where he hasn’t done badly but not at the level he was in the English Championship. Former Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro spoke about him but didn’t cap him, and even recently interim coach Austine Eguavoen confirmed he is on his radar, but at 29 Akpom will no doubt have fears on if he will ever get to play for the Super Eagles.

Kingsley Ehizibue : Got his first call up to the Super Eagles in 2017 but opted for the Dutch U21 team. He was handed another chance in 2021 but this time around it was discovered that some administrative issues will make it impossible for him to represent Nigeria.

However the 29 year old confirmed the issue has been fixed, but despite his form at Udinese where he has played in all of their 13 games in the Serie A he hasn’t been given a look in to stage a fight for the right back position of the Super Eagles.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Coach of Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen Xavi Alonso has given his opinion on the act of misconduct by Nigeria international forward Victor Boniface, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Boniface returned from international duty with Nigeria with a thigh injury which will likely keep him out for the rest of the year, and he could be in for more trouble if he is found guilty of misconduct.

Yesterday, a little bit more than a month after he was involved in a serious car crash, Boniface appeared in a video showing him on his phone while also driving 141km/h in an area where the speed limit is 120km/h.

The club issued a statement on the matter: “We are looking into the matter and checking it out. If the incident is confirmed, we will of course talk to Victor about it as soon as possible. After all, he’s not just a role model – it’s fundamentally about not endangering himself or other people on the road”.

Alonso was asked about the conduct of the Nigerian and he didn’t hold back his disappointment in Boniface terming it as unacceptable and something that shouldn’t happen.

“I don’t like it. It’s not allowed, it’s not good, and of course this can’t happen. I haven’t seen Boni, but he knows – though we also have to tell him that it’s not correct to do something like this”, he said in the pre match presser ahead of today’s game against Union Berlin.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

German Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen say they have open investigation into an alleged act of misconduct by Nigeria international forward Victor Boniface, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Boniface returned from international duty with Nigeria with a thigh injury which will likely keep him out for the rest of the year, and he could be in for more trouble if he is found guilty of misconduct.

Yesterday, a little bit more than a month after he was involved in a serious car crash, Boniface appeared in a video showing him on his phone while also driving 141km/h in an area where the speed limit is 120km/h.

The club has now issued a statement on the matter: “We are looking into the matter and checking it out. If the incident is confirmed, we will of course talk to Victor about it as soon as possible. After all, he’s not just a role model – it’s fundamentally about not endangering himself or other people on the road”.

Coach of Benin Republic Gernot Rohr says his coaching staff were shocked when the interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen kept Moses Simon on the bench in their 1-1 draw in the penultimate game of the AFCON qualifiers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Eguavoen picked Samuel Chuckwueze to start in the 1-1 draw, before introducing Simon at the start of the second half with his team trailing 0-1. It was the Nantes winger who provided the cross that led to the Super Eagles leveller scored by Victor Osimhen.

Rohr’s team progressed to the AFCON finishing second behind group winners Nigeria, but both team will resume their hostility in the 2026 world cup qualifiers in March with Benin Republic this time around ahead of the Super Eagles with four points.

Benin are on the same point with South Africa and Rwanda respectively but are third in the group on goal difference, Rohr is however wary of 5th place Nigeria saying the availability of top players in the Nigerian team is a huge edge.

” I was surprised when Simon didn’t start against us (Benin Republic) because he is one of their most important players. But when you have Chuckwueze another top player in a top team you can afford to take some risks. It left us stunned when Simon was not in starting lineup but that is a show of the quality of the team”, the coach said.

” When a team has the amount of big players in big teams like Nigeria. You can’t write them off with lot of games to play. All the teams ahead of them know this and won’t judge them with their present position in the group”.

Captain of the senior national team of Nigeria William Troost-Ekong has admitted that the Super Eagles of Nigeria have a problem when it comes to defending set pieces, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria conceded in back to back games against Benin Republic and Rwanda from poor judgement during set pieces, leaving Ekong the leader of the defence with a lot to do ahead of the resumption of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking after the game against Rwanda which they lost 1-2 at home to round up their AFCON qualifiers, Ekong said it’s an issue that they will address when they regroup in March for the 2026 world cup qualifiers.

We have to take responsibility for the two goals conceded through set pieces in two games, it’s something that we have to work on and I think when we have some changes to in the team, we see some different balls,” Troost-Ekong said after the game in Uyo.

“But I take responsibility as much as I think all other players, that we need to do better. Set pieces can be key to a game and it changed the game against Rwanda. Before then I can’t remember them having a shot troubling the keeper.

“It’s something that we need to improve. If there was one game that it could happen it’s this one. So coming next year, there won’t be any room for those kinds of mistakes.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One of the most celebrated foreign coaches in the history of Nigerian football Clemens Westerhof says the Super Eagles can still make it to the 2026 world cup, if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) get it right in the appointment of a new coach for the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Austine Eguavoen who played under the Dutchman guided the team in interim capacity, helping them to seal a spot at the next year AFCON with two games to spare, he is however expected to return back to his role as technical director of the NFF.

Westerhof guided Nigeria to their first ever qualification for the world cup in 1994 and says he feels a certain connection to the team with the next world cup set to be held in America, where they made their debut under his watch.

However their qualification isn’t assured with the team struggling in their quest to be at the tournament as they are presently 5th in their six team group, four points behind the leaders Rwanda.

The coach while speaking in an interview monitored by our editorial team said getting right the appointment of the next coach of the team will go a long way in determining their participation at the world cup next year.

” If Eguavoen leaves like I am reading then they have to get his replacement right. You still have six games to play and they have to still play against the leading teams in the group that is Rwanda and South Africa. Four points is not so much a gap if you take points off your challenges. They will play Benin Republic in Uyo as well, so they stand a very good chance in my opinion”, he said.

Pressed on if he has any preference for the job, he said he can only advice on the nationality to hire because of the base of Nigerian football and style.

” A Belgian or a Dutch coach will work better with the Super Eagles. The style of play suits the skill set of the Nigerian players because that is the root of Super Eagles which I was able to establish a long time ago. Going back to coaches from the two countries I mentioned will help a lot”.