A cross section of players of the senior national team of Nigeria have questioned the desire of Victor Boniface to do well for the team after ending the AFCON Qualifiers without scoring a goal despite playing in all of the games, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Boniface has been a revelation since joining German side Bayer Leverkusen last season with his form earning him the honour of the Rookie of the year in the league, where they ended the season as champions without losing a game.

This season he has also started really well with six goals in ten league games, but will now be unavailable for the remainder of their games this year after a thigh injury, while on international duty with Nigeria in their 1-2 loss to Rwanda in their final game of the AFCON Qualifiers.

” He doesn’t look like someone who is pushing himself for the good of the team. His approach is so different from how he plays at Leverkusen. When a player is not doing well or as expected he is expected to fight and put in a shift but that’s not for him” , a senior player in the team lamented.

” You have to wonder why he lasted until the 90 minutes against Rwanda. That is not fair on the players who play in his role because it was clear that he didn’t find his rhythm in anyway from the start”, a defender in the team also voiced out.

” When it was past 60 minutes and he wasn’t subbed off I was dumbfounded. Like he wasn’t adding anything and yet played until it was time added on. I think he need to sort his attitude when he plays for Nigeria”, a senior player in team added.

The club future of newly capped Super Eagles defender Gabriel Osho at French Ligue 1 side Auxerre is expected to be sorted out in the coming days owing to his fine start to life at the newly promoted side, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osho joined the French side from relegated English Premier League side Luton Town FC on a one year deal, but the club have the option of extending the deal for a further two years if certain conditions are met.

So far he has cemented his spot in the team that despite missing their 4-0 win over Rennes due to an injury, he was back in the squad for the game against Marseille which they won 3-1. He also kept his spot for the 1-0 win over Angers last weekend.

Now a senior international for Nigeria with two caps during the last international break, the future of the 26 year old is seen as a priority to the hierarchy of Auxerre and discussions on triggering the option of extending his deal by two years has started.

Auxerre wants his future sorted in order for him to concentrate on their aim of staying in the French top division, and also views him as a part of their long term aim of once again cementing their spot in the top division in France.

Daniel Martins

The former coach of the senior national team of Cameroon António Conceição says he is still interested in the vacant managerial job of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria went all through the qualifiers for the AFCON without a substantive coach with interim coach Austine Eguavoen leading the team to qualification for the tournament with two games to spare. He is however expected to return to his role as technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)

Eguavoen will be a part of the committee that will screen and interview coaches for the job, with the NFF keen on sorting out the key issue of who will lead the team before the resumption of the world cup qualifiers in March.

Conceição who led Cameroon to a bronze medal finish at the delayed 2021 AFCON feels he has what it takes to breathe life into the Super Eagles epileptic start to the world cup qualifiers, where they are 5th in their six team group, four points behind the leaders and also without a win so far.

He was initially shortlisted for the job after the AFCON after his fellow Portuguese Jose Peseiro left his role, but he lost out to Finidi George with the NFF deciding to go for an indigenous coach. He is confident that he will be lucky this time around.

” If I am not confident that they can beat all comers to the world cup ticket, I won’t bother to share my interest in the job. Super Eagles is currently better than all the teams in their group and with the style I intend to have them play with if I get the job. You can be rest assured that it will be entertaining with results as well”, the 62 year old who lost just two games during a two spell as coach of Cameroon told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” When you look at the Nigerian team, they have always had very good players particularly in attack and a system that will bring out the best in them is what I know I can bring to make them the best in Africa”, he concluded.

The captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ahmed Musa will join the camp of the Nigerian team for the Africa Nations Championship qualifiers against Ghana, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusive reveal.

Musa was initially excluded from the team on technical ground due to a CAF regulation that bars players with temporary contracts from playing in the tournament meant for players based in the various domestic leagues in Africa.

We can exclusively report that the coaches of the team Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu have succeeded in nullifying that area, and Musa who has taken the Nigerian Premier Football League by storm since returning to Kano Pillars will now be a part of the team when they regroup in December.

Aside Musa, we also gathered that ageless Rabiu Ali has also been added to the mix as a reward for his performances this season. Both players are among the two latest additions to the team ahead of the two legged game in December.

The first leg of the game against Ghana which is the qualifiers for the CHAN tournament is billed for the 22nd of December in Ghana with the second leg to hold six days later in Nigeria.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

A call has been made to the hierarchy of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to stop the practice of forcing players on the coaches of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

There has been allegations in certain quarters that the NFF usually force players on coaches of the senior team due to their personal interest and gains. Past coaches like Gernot Rohr and Jose Peseiro confirmed they rejected players the NFF tried to force on them.

Speaking on players selection for the national team Emeka Ezeugo who was a part of the team to the 1994 world cup, their first ever appearance at that level lamented what he said has become a cultural issue to the NFF.

Ezeugo questioned why top executive members of the NFF will be forcing players on the coach, despite the fact that the team is blessed with a lot of quality players.

“We have to get the right players. We have the players so why should the NFF executives supply the national team players?

” It has become a cultural phenomenon to supply players. We have to do the right thing. Don’t bring players through the back door”, he said in an interview on Brila FM.

The plan by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to get a new coach for the senior national team of Nigeria is in full swing as they bid to give the new coach enough time to prepare for the upcoming world cup qualifiers in March, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

We gathered talks have advanced with a coach with the idea of appointing him either by the end of this year or very early next year. Already some conditions are been set in place in preparation for the arrival of the new coach.

Interim head coach Austine Eguavoen who guided the team through the qualifiers for the AFCON will return to his role as technical director of the NFF, but will work closely with the new coach in a different capacity which is very similar like that of an assistant coach.

His assistants Daniel Ogunmodede and Fidelis Ilechukwu will not be a part of the new setup, with the incoming coach said to be keen on bringing his own assistants to work with him.

Financial details of the deal was however sketchy as at the time of this report, but we gathered it should be around $40,000 a month.

German Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen are open to offers for Nigeria international forward Victor Boniface in the summer, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Boniface who is set for another spell on the sidelines after picking up a thigh injury while on international duty with Nigeria still has four years left on his deal at the club he joined in the summer of 2023.

However the club will be looking to revamp their squad next summer, and Boniface who was voted as the rookie of the year last season after hitting 14 goals with nine assists in his debut season is seen as one, who can fetch the club a significant amount of money to invest elsewhere in the squad.

A fee in the region of €30m will be enough to price the forward, who has battled with fitness issues since missing a large chunk of the second half of last season, following a thigh injury while with the Super Eagles preparing for the AFCON.

His failure to replicate his club form for the senior national team of Nigeria has drawn a lot of criticism from the media and fans of the team. He ended the AFCON Qualifiers campaign without a goal despite playing in all of their games.

This season he has scored 8 goals in 15 games in all competitions, but he is unlikely not going to add to that tally this year with head coach Xavi Alonso confirming that he will be out till possibly next year.

“A few games. We’ll see for how long. He suffered a small injury to his thigh. So we’ll see, but tomorrow, against Salzburg, we’ll have to wait. It’s too early to say. We hope that he’ll be able to play again this year, but we’ll have to see with his recovery process. But he won’t be out for 6-8 weeks”, he said at the press conference ahead of their league game against FC Heidenheim.

Daniel Martins

Out of favour Nigeria international forward Emmanuel Dennis refused the option of a mutual termination of his contract by English Premier League side Nottingham Forest after falling out of favour, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Dennis has failed to hit the height that made him a hit at Watford in his first season in the English Premier League since his move to Forest for a fee in the region of £20m in August 2022.

Two years on and with another two years left in his deal at the club, the 27 year old was told by head coach Nuno Espirito Santo that he is surplus to requirements, and subsequently left him out of his list of registered players for the season.

He was offered the option of mutually terminating his deal so he can go somewhere on a free to revive his career, but he refused the option and will rather weigh his choices in the summer.

Sources say he is however open to a loan move in January, but the club who are in no way against his exit will however prefer a permanent move just to his salary off their wage bill.

Daniel Martins