Fans of Villarreal were heart broken yesterday in their opening league game of the season as they succumb to a late 1-2 loss at home to Real Betis with a late goal in the final minute of time added on, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

William Jose 95th minute free kick decided the game in favour of the visitors much to the disappointment of the fans of the home side, who were contented with at least a draw after seeing their team draw level in the 62nd minute.

There was however a reason for the fans to cheer just before the game when it was announced that Samuel Chukwueze, who left the club two week ago for Italian Serie A giants AC Milan is in the stadium.

Chukwueze joined the serie A side in a deal worth around €30m and he was back at the club, where his career as a professional football started four years ago to say thank you for the opportunity.

He rose from the youth team of the club to the main team in less than a year and established himself as a regular in no time. He ended up making a total of 207 appearances with 37 goals and 31 assists.

The 24 year old had his most productive season last time out when he notched 13 goals and 11 assists. A tally he will be eager to improve on at his new club.

Damian Waziri

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Francis Uzoho has hit back at a bike and insulting comment made to him by a fan of the senior national team of Nigeria in the aftermath of his praises for the goalkeeper of the women’s team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Chiamaka Nnadozie covered herself in glory at the women’s world cup with top notch performance for the Super Falcons, who were knocked out in the round of 16 via penalties by the champions of Europe England.

Her performances earned her praises with Uzoho joining in consoling her after her post lamenting the exit of the team at the round of 16. She was particularly pained over the manner which they lost and rightly so judging by the fact that they played with one extra player after the red card to Lauren James of England.

” Impressive tournament number one”, Uzoho posted. It drew reactions from lot of people but one went to the extreme by calling the Omonia Nicosia goalkeeper a pig. ” Mumu better learn to keep from her. No be to dey do like pig for post”, he posted in pidgin English and it means ” fool learn how to be a goalkeeper from her and not like a pig in goal”.

Uzoho reacted by saying ” You see wetin this pig don achieve? Up to your 5th generation no go fit achieve am. Just dey play”, he said in pidgin which means ” What he has achieved as a pig in goal can’t be matched by the 5th generation of the individual who called him a pig”.

Ade Emmanuel

The saga over the contract extension of Victor Osimhen at Italian Serie A side Napoli appears to be coming to an end following breakthrough in talks over a new deal with two years left on his current deal at the club, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Napoli have been sweating over the future of the 24 year old who powered them to their first league title in 33 years with 28 goals last season, making him the first African player to win the top scorer award in the history of the Italian Serie A.

A move away was on the card with top teams around Europe desperate to have the Nigerian but Napoli’s €200m valuation was too high to be met, only Saudi Arabia side Al Hilal came close to meeting the valuation.

That saga is now firmly over with a new deal that will keep him at the club till the summer of 2026 and not 2028 as earlier reported by most media outlets. Furthermore his deal will carry only one buy out clause as opposed to reports that says he will have two different clauses. One for teams in Europe and the other for teams in Saudi Arabia.

The buy out clause is pegged at €150m and it kicks in at the end of next season. Meaning he is sure of staying at the club for the entirety of the defence of their league title. His salary has also been increased to meet up with his current release clause.

Osimhen will earn in excess of €10m a year net. A huge increase on his current €3m a year pay made possible by the fact that he could have earned move if he has insisted on leaving the team in the summer transfer window.

His current wage makes him the highest paid player ever in the history of the club that was once home to football legend Diego Maradona and others like Gonzalo Higuain, Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik, Dries Mertens among others.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Dutch giants Ajax have reached agreement with Middlesbrough for the signing of 27 year old forward Chuba Akpom for a fee in the region of €12million (£10.4m, $13.2m) plus in €2m add-ons.

Akpom has been granted permission to travel to the Netherlands to complete the deal, which will see him undergo a routine medical before putting pen to paper on a five year deal.

He finished last season as the top scorer in the English Championship scoring 29 goals in 42 games in all competitions. A form that saw him linked to a lot of teams from England and elsewhere in Europe.

It went down to a two way battle between the Dutch side and Ligue 1 side Lens but at the end of it, the forward picked the Dutch side and as reported by OwnGoalNigeria.com he will be reunited with former Arsenal recruitment chief Sven Mislintat.

The move will also put him in a better stead for a first time call up to the senior national team of Nigeria following the approval of his switch of nationality from England to Nigeria. He represented the English team at several youth levels.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria international forward Paul Onuachu is close to bringing an end to his unpleasant time in England with Championship side Southampton, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Onuachu has failed to hit the ground running with the Saints following his move in January from Belgium side Genk. The Nigerian was brought in as part of their January signing in a bid to beat the drop.

They failed to stay in the English top division and he is among the players who have been told they can leave the club as they bid for an instant return to the top division. He hasn’t made the matchday squad for any of their League games this season, but he did play the final 22 minutes of their 3-1 win over Gillingham FC in the EFL Cup.

A return to his former side Genk is now heavy on the book, with talks said to be progressing nicely on a swap deal involving the 29 year old and Ghanaian right back Joseph Paintsil.

Paintsil is wanted by Southampton but agreeing a fee with Genk hasn’t been possible hence the idea of a swap deal with the Belgium side also open to having Onuachu back to the club, where he scored 85 goals in 134 games.

Daniel Martins.

Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola populary known as DJ Cuppy appears to have found love again after reportedly breaking up with British boxer Ryan Taylor, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The daughter of Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola was engaged to the boxer, but their recent act on social media suggests that they have both gone their separate ways with their decision to unfollow each other on all platforms.

Furthermore they both stopped posting their pictures together or separately on their social media page. DJ Cuppy who is a disc jockey and also a musician is a huge football fan and once dated former Nigeria international Victor Anichebe.

This time around rumours of having an affair with another Nigeria international hit social media after Nottingham Forest forward Emmanuel Dennis posted pictures of themselves together with a love emoji and a video, where she was all over him.

❤️❤️❤️ @cuppymusic pic.twitter.com/gM4No0aIgF

— DENNIS BLESSED (@dennisblessed42) August 13, 2023

Dennis wasn’t listed by Forest in their opening 1-2 loss to Arsenal yesterday with his compatriot Taiwo Awoniyi scoring the only goal for the team yesterday. His future at the club is uncertain, the same as the thought about having an affair with the super star DJ Cuppy.

Osas Mahawi

The president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) isn’t happy with the comment made by the top striker of the senior national team of Nigeria Victor Osimhen on the issue of the non payment of bonuses of the Nigerian women team, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen delved into the controversial issue that has been the major talking point in the build up to the women’s world cup and resurfaced strongly after the exit in the round of 16 following a penalty shoot out loss to England.

“Pay them @thenff”, he posted on Instagram joining calls from around the world in calling for the Nigerian girls to be paid their wages, which has been left unpaid since 2021.

” I can tell you at the NFF no one cares about what Odion Ighalo or Victor Anichebe said, they are former players and can speak unlike Osimhen. He has a very good relationship with the president Ibrahim Musa Gusau, so close that he invited him to Italy when Napoli lifted the league title”, a source at the NFF told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

” Gusau felt betrayed because with a simple phone call he would have explained to him about the entire saga. It didn’t start with Gusau, it has been there since 2001. A player like Osimhen should not jump on the back of anything he sees on social media rather ask questions or stay out. He crossed the line on this one”.

On what possible action that could be takes against the forward, he said it’s a father and son relationship thing hence it will be sorted between themselves.” They will sort it out like father and son. I really don’t think it has gotten to the extent of punishment”, he rounded up saying.

Ade Emmanuel

One of the most noticeable change in the Leicester City set up is the decision of the new coach of the team Enzo Maresca to play Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Ndidi in a new role, higher up the pitch than his previous role just in front of the defence, OwnGoalNigeroa.comreports.

Maresca experimented the idea in all of their pre season games and not many thought he will take it into the new season especially with the future of Ndidi uncertain with just one year left in his deal at the club.

The manager who took over the team following their relegation from the English Premier League has gone about the task of helping them gain promotion back to the English top flight, by leading them to a win in their first championship game against Coventry.

Ndidi played higher up the pitch in an advanced number 8 role tasked with making box to box run making him more of a goal threat to the opposition than a barrier to his team conceding. He struggled in the role but on Wednesday against Burton in the League Cup he showed better understanding with a goal.

While Ndidi is getting used to a new role, it has worked out well with his teammates at club and national level Kelechi Iheanacho. The new style of the team’s attack suits his skillet better than team’s talisman Jamie Vardy.

In the two games this season, Iheanacho who has a goal and and assist against Burton in the League Cup has been on the pitch for the period they have scored all four goals this season. An impact recognized by the manager.

“Very good. Even against Coventry, he was inside in the second half and he was very good. He helped us a lot against Coventry to come back in the game”, he said of the forward whose future is the same as that of Ndidi and cloud yet leave before the close of the transfer window.

“We have three strikers with different skills, Vardy is one of the best inside the box. Kele probably gives us something different. And also Pato (Daka). All of them, they are very good”.

It’s only a matter of time before he decides to bin the fan’s favorite for Iheanacho who is perfectly suited to his idea of having a striker, who holds up the ball and bring others into play. Something that isn’t the strength of Vardy, who likes to run off the shoulder of the last man.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

When newly promoted English Premier League side Luton square up against Brighton in their first game of the season in the English Premier League, a Nigerian Chidozie Ogbene will be hoping to complete one of the most amazing journey in football, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born in Enugu State in Nigeria to a family of medical professionals, the initial plan was for the 26 year old winger to follow the family line, that helped them migrate from Enugu to Lagos before finally finding a home in Ireland. Nursing made it happen for his family.

“Both my parents are nurses. Dad is still practising in CUH in Cork.” Elder brother Uche Ogbene recently joined the family business. “I was expected to be a doctor but that didn’t work out as planned”, he told The Irish Times.

“Yeah, I always wanted to follow the medical side. I went to a further educational college in Cork to study sports injuries to understand ‘why do I get injured?’ I didn’t go to university but I think we are all interested in human anatomy in the family.“

While in Nigeria, he didn’t quite have any interest of becoming a football hence can barely recall any memory of if he really played football before his family relocated to Ireland, where he vividly remember how he started off by playing street football.

“I just remember running around with cousins in the street. Back then I didn’t play a lot of football, just watched my brothers play in a sandy field. I never had interest really. It was when I moved to Ireland and started playing street football with my neighbours, that’s when I took it up.”

Despite his desire to be a professional footballer he had a strong leading that he will he a very good Gaelic football player. Gaelic is a form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch.

The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the other team’s goal or between two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) above the ground.

“I always wanted to be a professional footballer, but I had a God-given talent with Gaelic football,” the Luton winger told Sky Sports.

“I’d been juggling both sports, I had to make the call to my coaches. I had the attributes required to play Gaelic football at a high level, but it was a decision I had to make for my own dreams”.

He held on to that dream until 2015, when he made what can now be described as the most important phone call of his football career till date while at league of Ireland side Cork City.

“I played against a mate of mine who was at Limerick and I text him to ask for the manager’s number so I could have a three-day trial,” he says. “Cork City were a very strong team at the time and I didn’t really see a position for me in terms of game time. At that age, I just wanted to learn men’s football.

At Limerick he was spotted by Brentford and handed a three year deal, but he didn’t have the best of time adapting to the demands of English football leading to a loan move to Exeter in League two, a move that shaped his understanding of the game.

At the end of the season he moved to Rotherham, where he put his lighting pace, strength and dribbling ability to use and it led to his first call up to the senior national team of Ireland. A move that made him the first African born player to represent the the country.

With four goals from 15 caps one would have thought that he has put behind his Nigerian roots but that isn’t the case as he still speaks the native dialect Igbo when around his family and says the Nigerian culture will forever leave with him.

“My parents always pushed me to make sure I improved my English, they always wanted to hear it, but they also want us to remember where we come from, and the culture is something we take huge pride in. I’d come home from school and would switch to Igbo. My girlfriend Sandra used to come around and she would be looking at me, ‘I hope you are not talking negative about me!’, he said.

“Our household is quite Nigerian dominant. That is just something in our DNA. That is something that my parents and brothers and sisters take huge pride in and hopefully we pass it on to our kids; to share the cultural differences of being Irish and Nigerian because it is important to know where you come from”.

From wanting to be a medical doctor to having dreams of playing Gaelic football, Ogbebe is itching to get into the mix for Luton in their first top flight game since 1992, after playing a huge role in helping them beat Conventry in the promotion play off to seal a spot in the English Premier League.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman