One of the players yet to arrive in the camp of the senior national team ahead of this weekend’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic is Udinese first choice goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Okoye earned a return to the team during the last international break after withdrawing from the Africa Cup of Nations, owing to the backlash he suffered for his error that led to the exit of the Super Eagles from the 2021 delayed AFCON in 2022. His gaffe handed Tunisia a 1-0 win which eliminated Nigeria at the round of 16.

He has since declared his readiness to return to the team, but in his absence Stanley Nwabali of Chippa United has made the number 1 spot his with a strong performance at the AFCON, but Okoye who has been earning rave reviews for his performance for Udinese was widely expected to challenge for the spot.

That dream looks a bit unsure for now because it is not certain if he will honour the invitation as he is yet to arrive in the camp of the team with pictures showing him attending a movie premiere in Italy.

It’s still not clear if he has been granted permission to resume late for the games against Benin Republic and Rwanda on the 7th and 10th respectively.

Sources in the camp of the team also confirmed that he hasn’t confirmed his withdrawal from the game , but his arrival date is in doubt as well.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen has agreed a loan deal to join Turkish representative in this season UEFA Champions League Galatasaray, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The 25 year old who has been locked in a transfer dispute with Napoli will spend the entirety of this season on loan to the Turkish side, who have agreed to pay his €10m a year salary for the period of his loan, which will terminate at the end of the season with no option of signing him permanently.

He was brought in as emergency cover for their top striker Mauro Icardi who will be out of action for a while following a horrendous injury. Osimhen is expected in Turkey later today for a routine medical after Napoli agreed to the loan move.

Sky Sports reports that Osimhen who saw a failed move to Saudi Arabia side Al Ahli and later Chelsea all on transfer deadline day has already given his approval to the move.

Osimhen will depart on Wednesday to Nigeria, where he will be a part of the senior national team AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda on the 7th and 10th of September respectively.

The decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appoint Austine Eguavoen as the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria has received condemnation from a former player of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Eguavoen was tasked with holding the Super Eagles job in interim capacity, following the breakdown in talks with German coach Bruno Labbadia just a week before the start of the AFCON qualifiers, where they will be up against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively.

Already Eguavoen has drafted in two assistants in Enugu Rangers’ head coach, Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede of Remo Stars to assist him plot the downfall of the Cheetahs of Benin Republic and the Amavubi of Rwanda in the Super Eagles’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches this month.

They will be joined in Uyo by Tomaz Zorec, a fitness trainer from Slovenia, goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa and match analyst, Eboboritse Uwejamomere. All of them are expected to be in the camp of the Super Eagles which officially opens today.

One person who is not optimistic over the appointment of Eguavoen and his backroom staff is former Super Eagles defender Emeka Ezeugo who was a part of the team to the 1994 world cup, and a teammate of Eguavoen for many years.

He queried the rationale behind the appointment of Eguavoen for a fourth stint after his failures in his previous stints, which includes the most recent ones like crashing out of the AFCON in the round of 16 and failing to make it to the world cup 2022.

“Eguavoen, the backdoor giant is failure personified. Not that we are talking about your book but mine. Did Nigeria participate in the Qatar World Cup? Who was in charge of Nigeria’s national team then? Nigeria will not qualify for the next World Cup. Mark my words,” Ezeugo said on his Facebook page.

“There’s a deeper reason that’s alien to little minds here. There’s always a payback time in the culture of cutting corners. Wasn’t it one hundred percent certain for the Super Eagles to demolish the Ghana Black Stars in Abuja and qualify for the Qatar World Cup? Why didn’t we participate in that World Cup? NFF has been in the hands of clueless, unqualified, and crooked people for decades, and we’re so cool with it. We will definitely harvest exactly what we planted.”

Napoli are in talks to loan Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray, according to Sky Sport Italia, but would have to share his wages.

The striker is an outcast in Naples after deadline day negotiations with Al-Ahli and Chelsea failed to find an agreement that suited everyone.

The club reiterated via director Giovanni Manna and coach Antonio Conte that Osimhen will not be reintegrated into the squad, because he was the one who originally requested an exit.

The deadline has now passed in Italy and most European markets, but some transfer sessions remain open, most notably in Turkey.

Sky Sport Italia report that Napoli are now negotiating to loan Osimhen to Galatasaray, but would likely have to share a large part of his €10m per season salary.

The Turkish transfer window is open until September 13, so there is plenty of time to reach a full agreement and few alternatives now other than to leave the striker in the stands for six months.

Galatasaray are in need of a new centre-forward after ex-Inter hitman Mauro Icardi sustained a serious injury that will keep him out of action for at least a month.

Contrary to reports saying Osimhen has asked to be excused from the Super Eagles Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively, we can confirm with authority that he will arrive in the camp of the team on Wednesday.

English championship side Sunderland pulled out a huge coup by signing Nigeria U20 forward Ahmed Abdullahi from Belgium side Gent just before the close of the summer transfer window, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Abdullahi who was a part of the Nigeria U17 and U20 in separate years has only played once for Gent in the Belgium top flight, but his impeccable goal record for the B team called Jong Gent caught the attention of the Black Cats.

Explaining the signing of the 20 year old Nigerian, the sporting director of Sunderland Kristjaan Speakman explains that the plan is for him to go straight into the plans of the first team.

“We are delighted to welcome Ahmed to Sunderland,” Speakman said on the signing of the quick forward.

“He is a natural centre forward, who enjoys playing in central areas, in addition to being an excellent finisher. He has an impressive goal scoring record at youth level and he recently stepped up into Gent’s senior team. We will give him time to settle and support him in that process, but he will bring immediate competition to our attacking line and we look forward to seeing him grow with us throughout the season and beyond.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of Italian Serie A side Napoli Antonio Conte has left Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen out of the list of registered players for the team this season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen who hasn’t been part of Conte’s plan in pre season and even into the start of this season had a failed move to Saudi Arabia side Al Ahli, and lately English Premier League side Chelsea before the close of the summer transfer window.

It was said that Napoli’s demand for an extra €5m led to the breakdown in talks with the Saudis, while Chelsea’s offer of a wage less than half of what he is earning at the moment brought about a halt in the proposed deal.

Conte has now decided to leave the 25 year old out of his squad for the season after submitting the list of registered players to the Serie A body and handed his number 9 shirt to new signing Romelu Lukaku. Osimhen can however move to Saudi Arabia with their window open till Monday.

For now he will be kept away from the first team before he will fly down to Nigeria on Monday to resume camping and training with the senior national team of Nigeria, ahead of their AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda on the 7th and 10th of September respectively.

The recently confirmed Interim coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Austine Eguavoen has started plans to function in his new role by setting up his backroom staff, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Eguavoen was yesterday confirmed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the coach who will guide the Super Eagles in their 2025 AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda on the 7th and 10th of September respectively.

His appointment on interim capacity came following a breakdown in talks with Bruno Labbadia to take over as the coach for both games. In practice Eguavoen in his role as technical director goes in as cover whenever there is a vacuum.

However the decision for him to be the interim coach was initially agreed before the NFF hurriedly announced Labbadia as coach. Eguavoen as at that time was already in Belgium to hold talks with two individuals he intends to work with closely in his role.

He was stunned to hear the news of the appointment of Labbadia and returned to Nigeria, only for the NFF to make another u-turn asking him to take charge of the games, with camp set to resume on Monday.

We gathered he has now contacted the duo he initially had in mind to join him on the bench in prosecuting both games, and he is hopeful of getting their approval.

It’s no longer news that Bruno Labbadia has turned his back on the chance to be the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, leaving the team without a substantive coach seven days before the 2025 AFCON qualifier games against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively.

Labbadia made a u-turn on an agreement in principle for him to replace Finidi George as the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, citing a breakdown in talks despite the announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that he is the new coach.

German publication Kicker who broke the news of the breakdown in talks cited reasons which has now been countered by a member of the media department of the NFF.

Contractual Terms Fulfilled: Documents confirms that the NFF met all contractual requirements stipulated in the agreement with Bruno Labbadia. According to these documents:

Contractual Completion: All terms outlined in the contract between Labbadia and the NFF were successfully fulfilled before any tax-related issues arose. This includes the completion of necessary paperwork and logistical arrangements for Labbadia and his team*

Arrival and Team Details: Labbadia is scheduled to arrive in Abuja, Nigeria, on Friday with three assistant coaches: Bernhard Trares, Thies Bliemeister, and Richard Osaboya Krohn. The contractual terms explicitly allowed for three assistant coaches, and this has been adhered to.

Visa Arrangements:

Visa Processing: The NFF has coordinated with the Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure that Labbadia and his team receive their 14-day visa upon arrival at Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja. The visa, valid until September 13, was arranged well in advance of Labbadia’s arrival.

Biometric Requirements: The team is expected to complete the biometric process at the Visa on Arrival (VoA) lounge to secure their printed visas, with all arrangements confirmed by DCI D.O. Adebambo, Special Assistant to the Comptroller General.

Emergence of Tax Dispute:

Dispute Details: A conflict arose on Wednesday when Labbadia requested that the NFF cover his tax liabilities in Germany. The NFF deemed this request unreasonable and declined to pay the taxes, leading to the current dispute. This issue surfaced only after all contractual obligations had been fulfilled.

Federation’s Position: The NFF’s refusal to cover Labbadia’s tax payments is based on their view that such a demand is not part of the agreed contract. The federation maintains that it honored all contractual terms as specified.

Additional Arrangements:

Extra Staff: While the contract specified that Labbadia would bring three assistant coaches, the NFF also decided to add a goalkeeper trainer and an additional assistant coach. This decision was made by the federation to enhance the team’s support staff.

Conclusion:

The claim that the NFF failed to meet its contractual obligations before the tax dispute is inaccurate. The evidence indicates that the NFF fulfilled all contractual terms with Bruno Labbadia prior to the emergence of the tax dispute. The issue of tax payments arose only after these obligations had been met, and the NFF’s additional staffing decisions was part of the initial contract.

Had Bruno Labbadia not agreed to the contract details, he wouldn’t have submitted documents and completed paperwork for him and his technical team’s visa processing. Further investigation showed that he submitted the 23-man list for Super Eagles matches against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

The recently announced new coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Bruno Labbadia have made a U-Turn on taking over as coach of the team according to German news outfit Kicker.

Labbadia was announced on Tuesday as the new coach of the senior national team of Nigeria, and immediately tasked with handling the team for their upcoming AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda on the 7th and 10th of September respectively.

He was expected to arrive in Nigeria today for his official unveiling but a breakdown in talks with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) means he won’t be making the trip as planned.

We reported early this morning that agreement is yet to be reached with the NFF on certain areas regarding his engagement as coach , and Kicker in their publication confirmed that the German have reservations on certain aspects outside finances.

They termed the deal as very lucrative on the financial side, butt the sudden rush by the NFF to announce his engagement when talks on other aspects of the deal is yet to sealed got the coach angry.

The report also say they were other organizational issue which weren’t resolved in due time for the coach to take over, hence his decision to halt talks with the NFF, he however still has his dream of handing a national team in the future intact.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have suffered a huge setback with recently announced new coach of the senior national team Bruno Labbadia reportedly making a U-Turn on taking over as coach, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Like we reported earlier today, the deal for him to take over as the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria has so many areas yet to be ironed out, despite the NFF announcing him as the new coach of the team.

In the release it was said that he will handle the team in the upcoming AFCON qualifiers games against Benin Republic and Rwanda respectively, but that looks highly unlikely now according to German based Nigerian journalist Oma Akatugba.

“Breaking news: Bruno Labbadia has made a U -turn on his decision to coach Nigeria. He no longer wants to be the coach of the Super eagles. Reports in Germany suggest”, he posted on his handle on X formerly known as Twitter.