Newly promoted English Premier League side Coventry City will trigger the option of signing Nigeria international midfielder Frank Onyeka on a permanent deal, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively report.

Onyeka joined the team on a loan deal from Brentford, and played a key role in helping them seal promotion to the English Premier League.

The 28 year old was signed to bring experience to the team at a time, where it seems they were begining to lose grounds.

He immediately lifted their spirits in the 11 games that he played, and following their promotion he will now be handed a fresh four year deal.

Already head coach Frank Lampard has given his blessings to the deal, with personal terms not expected to pose a problem.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

When the job of the Super Eagles of Nigeria was made vacant following the exit of Finidi George as coach of the team, no coach was interested in taking over the team aside from the present coach Eric Chelle.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) appointed Austine Eguavoen in interim capacity after German coach Bruno Labbadia backed out of the job, following break down in talks over his wages.

Labbadia rejected the job even after he was announced as coach with a week to the start of the AFCON qualifiers. His rejection came after former coach of Sweden Janne Anderson also turned down the job.

A Celebrated coach on the African continent in Herve Renard also confirmed that he got a very good offer from Nigeria, but decided against it in favour of returning as coach of Saudi Arabia.

” Chelle took over after it was clear that no coach wanted the job. He submitted his CV when Finidi was appointed and he was still an option when the NFF went searching for all the coaches you mentioned”, a chieftain of the NFF told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” If the president of the NFF Ibrahim Musa Gusua is claiming that it was his master stroke decision because of how the team is playing then it’s not true. We all know who the NFF wanted but had to settle for Chelle who was available”, he concluded.

Nigeria international defender Calvin Bassey sparked debates online after posing with Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha after his man of the match display against Fulham, OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Ngumoha picked up the man of the match award with his goal paving the way for Liverpool to beat Fulham 2-0. A result which kept their chances of making the top five alive.

Born in England to Nigerian parents, Ngumoha who is yet to play for England at senior level is still eligible to play for Nigeria, and a report which clearly twisted his quotes as saying he wants to play for Nigeria at the world cup surfaced over the weekend.

Bassey who is a senior international for Nigeria added more fuel to the debate by sharing his picture with the 17 year old, after the game at Anfield yesterday.

Any chance of Ngumoha playing for Nigeria doesn’t exist at the moment, and we can exclusively reveal that he is not on the list of possible targets of head coach Eric Chelle.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle is watching development around the international future of Everton’s midfielder Tim Iroegbunam, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Tim has been on the radar of the coach for almost a year, but initial approach drew a blank response from the 22 year old who has his sights on stepping up to the senior national team of England.

Still eligible for Nigeria despite representing England at various youth levels, latest reports say he is now open to the idea of representing Nigeria and will likely hold talks about it in the summer.

However a source close to Chelle said, while the news is everywhere online they are yet to officially hear from the player after his representative told them around last year that he isn’t interested in switching his nationality yet.

The source said Chelle is however on alert and in the event that an official communication is made by the player, then an invitation will follow suit after the completion of a switch of nationality process by world football governing body FIFA.

Emmanuel Fernandez says playing for the senior national team of Nigeria at the recently concluded four team invitational tournament in Turkey ranks as the peak of his career so far, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fernandez made his debut in the first game of the tournament against Iran coming on as a substitute in the 2-1 win. He capped his first start with a goal in the 2-2 draw against Jordan.

He finished with the calmness of a seasoned pro to give Nigeria the lead, but they lost it to draw 2-2 in their final game of the tournament. He was largely rated as the best player for Nigeria in the game.

Reacting after the game, the 24 year old said it’s only natural for him to be unhappy because they didn’t win and he was a part of the defence that conceded twice in the game.

” While it’s a great moment for me and my family. It wasn’t quite how I expect it to go because we didn’t win and conceded twice. As a defender you can’t be happy to be a part of it”, he said in an exclusive interview.

” I can do better and it’s my goal to improve continuously for the good of my club and country. That’s the aim anytime I get to play. I can say this is the peak moment of my career so far”, he concluded.

Nigeria international forward Victor Boniface has not had the best of time with Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The forward joined the team on a season-long loan deal from fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, but a knee injury kept him out of the team for a prolonged period.

Now back in training with the rest of his teammates, he is yet to get the all clear to feature in games, and his teammate Felix Agu says he still has what it takes to play at this level.

“I’m very happy to see him back here because I get along well with him. I think he still needs a little time to get back into his rhythm,” Agu told Deichstube.

“But we all know his quality. He may have only displayed glimpses of it in matches, but you see it repeatedly in training. When he drops deep, turns, and plays passes – with such timing, such vision! That’s simply an absolute quality!”

“He wasn’t a key player in Leverkusen’s championship-winning team for nothing,” he further stated before concluding that he could play some part in their season ending desire to beat the drop.

“If Victor can even come close to that level ( at Bayer Leverkusen), then he can help us. The important thing is that he returns to the fitness level necessary to assist us on the field.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of French Ligue 1 side Marseille Habib Beye has told Nigeria international midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi what he needs to add to his game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nnadi joined the Ligue 1 side in the January transfer window from Belgium side Zulte Waregem after representing Nigeria at the AFCON.

He failed to make his debut for the team under then coach Roberto De Zerbi, who has now left the club.

De Zerbi’s replacement Beye gave him his debut at the club, but has so far sparingly used him in games, and he explained why in an interview ahead of this weekend’s game against Metz.

“No, Nnadi makes a very good impression on me,” but it’s in this area where we have the most players; we have seven or eight midfielders. So, in this situation, rotation isn’t necessarily frequent for them.

“I’m very satisfied with his contribution, especially defensively and his ability to press four or five metres.

“Having spoken with him, I’d also like to see him work on that offensively. He needs to be able to inject some dynamism; in a two-man midfield, you need players who can also contribute in the second line.”

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The agent of Udinese defender Kingsley Ehizibue says his client hasn’t been considered for the senior national team of Nigeria due to his dual nationality status, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ehizibue was first called up to the senior national team of Nigeria ten years ago by former coach Gernot Rohr, while he was at Dutch side PEC Zwolle and a first teamer at the age of 20.

However his nationality status in the Netherlands, where he arrived with his father as a refugee from Germany means he can’t have dual nationality, even though it is permitted for citizens to hold other nationalities.

Now at the age of 30 and dropping consistent performances for Udinese in the Serie A he still has just one U20 cap for the Netherlands to his name, but can’t be eligible for Nigeria due to the issue of his nationality.

” I have addressed this before with some media platforms in Nigeria. Let me repeat it here that Kingsley’s desire is to play for Nigeria but the law in the Netherlands bar his kind of citizens from having another nationality. It’s sad but he has to accept it and move on with his career”, his representative said.

One of the first name on the Super Eagles starting lineup these days is that of Sevilla forward Jerome Akor Adams, after winning the trust of head coach Eric Chelle.

A year ago from now not even Adams who was doing very well at Montpellier in France could envisage a breakthrough into the Super Eagles starting lineup.

Back then the favourite options of Chelle in his well loved 4-4-2 diamond was either Victor Boniface or Tolu Arokodare. Boniface for instance was seen as a vastly talented forward who could play many roles for the team.

However in Chelle’s first competitive game at home against Zimbabwe which ended in a 1-1 draw, he didn’t do enough when he was introduced as a second half substitute. The last straw was his laid back, lackadaisical performance against Russia almost a year ago.

After the game he announced his international retirement on social media, but later deleted it. Chelle as unimpressed with his antics and subsequently decided to bin him, although the fitness and injuries didn’t help.

Arokodare became Chelle’s main man after his heroics against Rwanda in Uyo, where he scored a late winner and was once again an impact substitute in the 1-1 draw away to South Africa three days later.

He made the team to the Unity Cup and cemented his spot, but lost it in November at the world cup qualifiers playoff following the emergence of Akor. Although he was also said to have had issues off the pitch which has so far denied him further invitation.

On his part Akor has stayed committed in training, a willing runner, hard worker and also a perfect fit for the method of Chelle.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Tosin Adarabioyo won’t be handed an automatic shirt in the senior national team of Nigeria after deciding to pursue his international career with the Super Eagles, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

A long term target of the Nigerian team, the former England youth international has maintained that his dream is to make the step up to the senior national team of England, but he suggested a change of mind during an interview with Tribuna on Saturday.

He said sequel to his visit to Nigeria in the summer, he followed the team at the AFCON and after his experience with England at various youth levels he is now looking forward to representing Nigeria at senior level, and said it will be a great honour to dorn the green white green of Nigeria.

“I have been through the English youth national teams. I was born in London, but I also feel very connected to my Nigerian roots. Last summer I spent my vacation in Nigeria, it’s a wonderful country with a fascinating culture. I followed the Nigerian national team intensively at the last Africa Cup of Nations, they have a fantastic team. It would be a great honour for me to wear the green jersey, but currently my focus is entirely on my goals with Chelsea FC”, he was quoted as saying by Tribuna.

Following his declaration, a member of the technical crew of Eric Chelle in an exclusive chat said the 28 year old will no doubt be a positive addition, but he won’t be an automatic shirt.

” Like every other player he has to fight for a shirt. Chelle showed it when he dropped the former captain William Troost-Ekong for Benjamin Fredrick. It’s about who works the header and fits the team’s dynamics not big name”, he said.

” However I must say Tosin’s experience at club level will no doubt give him an edge. He has been at the top since he was 18 and that’s the kind of player you want in your team”.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman