The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says the decision not to ban Victor Osimhen from the Super Eagles was influenced by the minister for sports senator John Enoh,  OwngoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen lashed out at the former coach of the team Finidi George in response to reports that the coach questioned his commitment to the team, after he pulled out of the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively due to an injury.

The Napoli forward unleashed his anger over the report in a live video on his Instagram account , and despite a call from the coach to explain that the report is false he has refused to tender an apology leading to calls for the NFF ban him from the team.

A source at the football house told the Guardian that they were on the verge of slamming a suspension and a fine on the 25 year old before the intervention by the minister.

“The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are unhappy with Osimhen for that outburst which has put him in a bad light before Nigerians. It came at a time Nigeria was struggling to pick its first win in the World Cup qualifiers.

“I must confess to you that the NFF hierarchy was stunned by Osimhen’s actions, and it took the timely intervention of Sports Minister, Senator Owan Eno to forestall any escalation.

“Osimhen is yet to tender any formal apology to Finidi, NFF, and Nigerians for his rants,” a top NFF officials was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The search for a new coach for the senior national team of Nigeria is expected to come to an end very soon with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) making progress in talks with a coach, OwngoalNigeria.com reports.

Super Eagles have been without a coach since the exit of Finidi George after the disappointment of the last round of games in the world cup qualifiers,  where they dropped to 5th in their group after drawing 1-1 with South Africa before losing 1-2 to Benin Republic.

According to the NFF in an official release made available to the press, the football-governing body will employ an expatriate coach for the team before the next round of international games in September.

It appears significant progress has been made in that regards with a member of the board of the NFF revealing to us that talks are progressing nicely with a coach he termed as world class,  who is willing to take a pay cut to be the next Super Eagles coach.

He said the coach is one out of the huge number of coaches who have signify their interest in taking over as coach of the team, but he currently leads the race based on recommendation from a former chieftain of the football body.

An announcement is said to be imminent when terms and conditions are concluded, particularly the composition of his backroom staff which will likely have a former Nigeria international in it.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Top division Spanish side Getafe have shown their fate in newly signed Nigerian midfielder Uche Chrisantus who joined them on a four year deal from AD Ceuta of Primera RFEF, a third division team in Spanish football.

“Getafe CF and AD Ceuta FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Chrisantus Uche. The 21-year-old Nigerian footballer signs with our club for the next four seasons, until June 30, 2028,” the club announced on their official website.

As we first reported two months ago, the midfielder who was rated as one of the best players in the division will join the first team for pre season training, where he will be properly assessed for a spot in the team.

The club posted a video of the midfielder on their official handle on Facebook referring to him as one of the promising stars of African football.  ‘Uche already speaks as a Getafe player! 💙. We are looking forward to enjoying Uche, one of the most interesting promising African soccer players!

“Welcome home, Christantus 🇳🇬 “, the club posted as caption for a video where the young midfielder spoke about his joy at joining the team as he looks forward to teaming up with his new teammates for the start of pre-season training.

Ade Emmanuel

As the search for a new coach for the senior national team of Nigeria gather pace, a lot of coaches have been rumored to be interested in the job,  OwngoalNigeria.com reports.

The Super Eagles is without a substantive coach following an announcement by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) that they will appoint an expatriate coach to handle the team in the wake of their poor performance in the last round of games in the world cup qualifiers.

Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by South Africa in Uyo before losing 1-2 to Benin Republic.  The poor run saw them drop to 5th in the six team group, making qualification for the 2026 world cup more difficult than it was before the game

Finidi George who was in charge for both games quit his role citing the fact that the NFF left him in the dark about their decision to replace him despite holding a productive meeting with him 48 hours before the announcement.

Coaches have already started the push to be the next coach, but one man who won’t be in the mix for the job is Mutiu Adepoju who was widely reported to be interested in the job.

In an exclusive chat with OwoSports, Adepoju, fondly called the “Headmaster”, emphatically stated that he never granted any interview or expressed his consent to anyone about his interest in the position.

“It’s not true. I never applied and I never told anybody I was interested,” Adepoju was quoted as saying by OwoSports.

English Premier League side Chelsea have continued the process of strengthening their team after the disappointment of last season, where they finished outside of the European places, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

It led to the exit of the coach in Mauricio Pochettino with Enzo Maresca who succeeded in helping Leicester City gain promotion back to the English Premier League appointed as his replacement on a five year deal.

Maresca has drawn up potential list of targets for bids and talks with their respective teams and the list has Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman of Italian Serie A side Atalanta.

According to Calciomercato, Chelsea are willing to pay around €60m for the Nigerian who stole the show in the Europa League final with his hattrick handing his team a 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Tipped among the favourites to be crown the next Africa Player Of The Year, the 26 year old also finished as top scorer at the AFCON for Nigeria with three goals and one assist. It is believed that Atalanta are open to his exit.

However the Italian team will want a fee that will rise beyond the fee currently proposed by Chelsea as Lookman still has three years to run on the deal he signed with the team in the summer of 2022 when he joined them from German side RB Leipzig.

Daniel Martins

The transfer of the new number 10 of the senior national team of Nigeria Fisayo Dele-Bashiru to Lazio is almost done with the 23 year old set for a trip to Rome to complete his medical, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

As we first reported before his competitive debut for Nigeria, a fee was agreed with Turkish side Hatayaspor for his transfer but the move stalled a bit due to difference in wage demand, but that has been resolved with the representative of the player.

Dele-Bashiru who scored the leveler for Nigeria in the 1-1 draw against South Africa during the world cup qualifiers is expected in Rome before Friday for a routine medical before his deal will be made public by both teams.

Last season, the former Manchester City youth team prospect showed his worth in Turkey for modest side Hatayaspor scoring 8 goals with 5 assists in 36 games, in what was his first season in the league following his move from English League one side Sheffield Wednesday.

A fee potentially rising to €5m was reportedly agreed for his transfer. Hatayaspor also hold a percentage of his future transfer from Lazio within the first five years of the agreed deal.

Daniel Martins

The decision to replace Finidi George as the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria was taken by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after consultation with senior players in the team , OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

A statement from the NFF after the team’s disappointing performance in the world cup qualifiers games against South Africa and Benin Republic has it that the board have unanimously decided on hiring an expatriate coach for the team.

Finidi subsequently quit his role as the head coach of the team rather than take up an assistant role. A move which he said he made because he wasn’t informed by the NFF before an announcement was made public.

Speaking on the decision, a board member of the football body said, they took the step after hearing from certain players in the team about the training methods and tactics of the coach for both games.

” We (NFF) didn’t just wake up and say Finidi go after one month. A lot of thinking and consultation was done before a decision was taken, some players of the team I mean senior players told us they were not comfortable with his training methods”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” It was at that stage that we decided to take the decisive step that will help our football going forward”, he concluded.

The newly appointed coach of Napoli Antonio Conte has opened the door for Victor Osimhen to leave the club this summer as part of an agreement reached with the 25 year old before his employment one month ago, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports .

Napoli who failed in their bid to defend their title last season by finishing 10th in the league with Inter Milan replacing them as league champions. Conte was appointed to help them get back into the level they were before last season.

His appointment has come with some issues with two of last season starters in Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia all making public their intentions to leave the team in the summer. The club is however keen on keeping the duo.

That is not the same with Osimhen, who recently grabbed the headline after a foul mouthed rant on the former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George for questioning his commitment to the team, after missing their recent world cup 2026 qualifies against South Africa and Benin Republic respectively.

Conte made it clear that there was an agreement between Osimhen and the club on his potential exit before the close of the summer transfer window, and he is not going to stand in the way of the agreement reached before his appointment.

“I’m aware of his situation, I know there’s an agreement with the club so it’s a different case compared to others”.

“There’s a pact between Victor and Napoli on his future and I accepted that”.

Ade Emmanuel

The hierarchy of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) feels the way to rescue the Super Eagles world cup qualifiers campaign is by engaging the services of a world class coach , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Reports came out in several media outlets about interest in luring celebrated coach Herve Renard to take over the reign of the Nigerian team, when he steps down from his role as coach of the women team of France after the Olympics in September.

However like we reported yesterday, the NFF has denied the report but a chieftain said talks are ongoing with a world class coach to take over the reign of the team. A move which he said won’t be hindered by finances.

” People say we don’t have money for a world class coach but we do. Even Jose Peseiro was among the highest earning coach while he was with us. So I don’t understand when people say we can’t afford a world class coach”, he said.

” We (NFF) have the former recommendation from the technical committee but it’s not a must to go with it. There is an opportunity to get a world class coach and we plan to take advantage of it”, he concluded.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Newly appointed coach of Turkish side Fenerbahce Jose Mourinho has started work on the team ahead of the start of next season as they aim to dethrone current champions Galatasaray, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Mourinho was appointed two weeks ago and with pre-season very much on the horizon, the coach have been busy sorting out the future of the players he wants to work with next season, and also identify where he will be needing fresh options.

One player with an uncertain future at the club is Nigeria international defender Bright Osayi-Samuel who is heading into the final year of his contract, making him eligible to discuss terms with other teams in six months time.

Osayi-Samuel who is said to be demanding more pay to pledge his future to the Turkish side has been told by Mourinho that he will be a key player in his setup, and improved terms have been offered to the 26 year old according to reports in Turkey.

A reply is expected in the coming days but other reports has it that he is probably holding on for an offer from a team in England, as he dreams of playing in the English top flight since he was a young boy growing up.

Daniel Martins