Head coach of English Championship side Blackburn Rovers Michael O’Neill says playing for the senior national team of Nigeria has made Ryan Alebiosu a better player, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Alebiosu was a member of the senior national team of Nigeria and played the entirety of their third group game against Uganda, a game which they won to seal a perfect record in the group stage of the tournament.

An injury picked up in the game made him to miss the remainder of the tournament, where Nigeria finished as third. Despite his limited game time he is now a better player according to O’Neill.

” You can see he has improved a lot from when he came and now it a taste of playing in an international tournament he is now much better by way of experience and leadership”, the coach said after the 24 year old picked his fifth assist of the season in their 3-1 away win over Sheffield United.

He has been linked with a summer move to Italian Serie A side Genoa, Scottish giants Rangers and a host of others.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of Portugal Roberto Martinez has defended the logic behind their decision to play the senior national team of Nigeria in a friendly game before the world cup, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria who won’t be at the world cup will travel to Lisbon for the high profile friendly game which will take place on the 10th of June. It’s among the tune up games that Portugal want to use as part of their preparation for the world cup.

Criticism trail the decision of Nigeria with many in the Portuguese media saying it’s of no use engaging a team that won’t be at the world cup, that it will be better if they faced a team that qualified for the tournament.

Defending the decision Martinez argued that the choice of Nigeria is logical, because they will open their campaign at the tournament against DR Congo, an African country whom ironically stopped Nigeria from making it to the intercontinental playoff.

The idea of the Super Eagles is to give the player a feel of what to expect when they come up against an African country, and Nigeria one of the power houses in African football is just perfect despite not qualifying for the tournament.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The future of four players of the senior national team of Nigeria will be up in the air when their loan deal expires at the end of the season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

First on the list of Crystal Palace midfielder Uche Chrisantus who is on loan from Getafe and won’t be offered a permanent deal after failing to meet the target for an extended stay.

It’s the same situation with Terem Moffi who is on loan to FC Porto from French Ligue 1 side Nice. His failure to nail a permanent spot in the starting lineup means a permanent deal isn’t possible, as he couldn’t meet the clause required to bag a fresh deal.

Newly capped Super Eagles winger Philip Otele is in the same bracket with German side Hamburg not keen on triggering the clause to make his deal from Basle permanent.

For Joe Aribo who is on loan to Leicester City from Southampton, their relegation to the English League One means he isn’t going to bag a permanent deal , he also failed to make an impression since his move in January.

At Leeds United , Super Eagles B defender Leonard Ngenge is set to be shown the exit door following his loan move from Nigeria Premier Football League side Remo Stars.

He joined the youth team of the English Premier League side but hasn’t played a minute putting the chances of a permanent deal in jeopardy.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Respected Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) coach Abdul Maikaba has been handed the role of handling the Nigeria U20 team , OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The coach who has handled a lot of teams in the NPFL including teams like Rangers, Akwa United, Wikki Tourist, Kano Pillars among others was picked as the replacement for coach Aliyu Zubairu who wasn’t given a new contract after a poor performance at the U20 World Cup.

Maikaba is expected to resume as coach next month to begin preparation in earnest for their first assignment which will be the WAFU B tournament, that will serve as the qualifiers for the world cup.

He has prior experience with the team as he was the assistant to former coach Paul Aigbogun in 2019. His experience at that level is believed to have played a part in the decision by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to hand him the role.

Meanwhile the vacant job of the Nigeria U23 team will be a straight fight between the duo of former international Daniel Amokachi and Samson Siasia, who are both highly favoured for the role by decision makers.

Ade Emmanuel

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has secured the senior international future of two players who are eligible to represent England, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Chelle has been active in recruiting players with dual nationality for the senior national team of Nigeria, as part of the second phase of his rebuilding process of the team.

Following their failure to qualify for the World Cup, the coach intends to use the upcoming friendly games to try new players, starting with the Unity Cup in May and the high profile friendly games against Poland and Portugal respectively.

Ahead of the games, he has successfully convinced the English Championship duo of David Ozoh and Femi Azeez to pledge their future, and be a part of his team.

Born in the Spanish city of Valencia, 20 year old Ozoh is on loan to Derby County from Crystal Palace and represented England five times at U18 level, but not in any competitive game or tournament.

He will however still require a letter of clearance like it was with Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo when he pledged his future to Nigeria. It’s only if that is gotten that he can be included in the squad for either of the aforementioned assignments.

24 year old Millwall winger Femi Azeez is a more straightforward process as he hasn’t represented England at any level. Like we exclusively reported he has been on the radar of Chelle since the start of the year.

Azeez was named in the English Championship team of the season, with reports saying he is a target of a host of teams in the English Premier League.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

An eye witness has narrated how former Super Eagles forward Michael Eneramo died during a kickabout in Kaduna in the early hours of this morning, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The forward had a distinguished football career playing for teams like Esperance of Tunisia, Turkish sides Besiktas, Sivasspor and Istanbul Basaksehir among others.

He quit football in 2018, but usual keeps fit at a primary school pitch located in a region called Ungwan Yelwa in Kaduna, which is close to where he lives.

In the early hours of this morning, he was well and completed the first 45 minutes but slumped five minutes into the second half of the kickabout, and died before they got to the hospital.

” That’s where he usually trains to keep fit and he also runs a football academy. We all thought he was injured when he fell down. After a while we found out that he wasn’t breathing properly and he was resuscitated and rushed to the hospital. He died just at the entrance of the hospital”, an eye witness narrated.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has poured cold water on reports of holding talks with Newcastle United forward William Osula switching his international allegiance to Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively report.

Danish media Tipsbladet report that the forward who was last selected for the Danish national team in March, but did not make his debut is in talks with Nigeria.

They said a member of the backroom staff of Eric Chelle contacted the 22 year old, at a time when he can’t be cap tied by Denmark after they failed to qualify for the World Cup.

Although Osula has eight goals in 15 matches for the Danish U21 – but he has never made his debut for the senior team , and it was reported that Nigeria will take advantage of that.

” It’s not true in any way. Chelle saw the report just like every other person. Maybe the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are on it but Chelle is in the dark about any move for Osula”, a source close to the coach revealed.

He however said Udinese defender Kingsley Ehizibue, who was denied the chance of playing for Nigeria in 2017 due to immigration issues with the Dutch authorities.

The source say the 30 year old has sorted the issue and is hopeful of getting a look in for the Unity Cup or the high profile friendly games against Poland and Portugal respectively.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Ahead of Sunday’s big clash in Türkiye, Fenerbahçe have reportedly asked the Turkish Football Federation to prevent Victor Osimhen from playing, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

He played in that game with his arm wrapped in a protective cast, which Fenerbahce say will pose a danger to their players during the course of their clash on Sunday.

Fenerbahçe’s medical staff are preparing a report to determine which materials are permitted under IFAB regulations. It will be submitted to the league body in the hope that they get a favourable response.

They are currently four points behind Gala ahead of the weekend game after 30 rounds of games.

Osimhen marked his return from the broken arm that has kept him out for 35 days by playing the final 12 minutes of their 0-2 loss to Genclerbirligi in the Turkish Cup.

Former Nigeria international striker Michael Eneramo died in the early hours of this morning during a routine training in Kaduna, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The forward had a distinguished football career playing for teams like Esperance of Tunisia, Turkish sides Besiktas, Sivasspor and Istanbul Basaksehir among others.

He quit football in 2018, but usual keeps fit at a primary school pitch located in a region called Ungwan Yelwa in Kaduna, which is close to where he lives.

In the early hours of this morning, he was well and completed the first 45 minutes but slumped five minutes into the second half of the kickabout, and died before they got to the hospital.

Eneramo is fondly remembered for turning down overtures to play for Tunisia, and made his debut against them which he marked with a goal in the qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. It was the first of his ten caps for Nigeria at senior level, he scored three goals in total.

Nigeria international midfielder Alhassan Yusuf has been rated as the best midfielder in the ongoing Major League Soccer in the United States of America (USA), OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

After nine rounds of games in which his team New England Revolution have played a game less, the 25 year old has played in all of the games so far with two goals to his name.

However it’s his overall play that has caught the attention of all in the league with his coach Marko Mitrović picking him as his most influential player in the season so far.

Yesterday he dropped another top class performance to power his team to a 2-1 win away to Atlanta United, and during the game one of the commentators referred to him as the best midfielder in the league at the moment.

He will be hoping he has done enough to earn a spot in the Super Eagles team for either the Unity Cup or the high profile friendly games against Poland and Portugal respectively.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman