As the uncertainty over the future of Victor Osimhen continues, the camp of the player have submitted their demands to the hierarchy of Napoli for consideration, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Osimhen finished last season as top scorer in the Italian Serie A powering them to their first league title in 33 years, but he will likely be plying his trade elsewhere if he gets his wish of leaving in this summer transfer window.

So far despite reports of interest from teams around Europe only Bayern Munich and PSG have officially made a bid to Napoli for his services believed to be €80m and €120m respectively. Both offers were rejected by the Italian side.

President of Napoli, Aurelio De Laurentiis insist he is not for sale but like every player in his team he will be open to letting him leave for a fee in excess of €150m possibly rising to €180m. An amount that teams will struggle to meet.

Already talks have started over an extension with the camp of the Nigerian with Napoli willing to pay him a yearly salary of €4 to €6m for a new two years deal. His camp have however rejected the proposal saying a player with a price tag of €150m should command a yearly wage of around €15m.

While both camps are expected to reach a compromise on his wages. Osimhen has made it clear that any new deal will come with a certain amount of money as his buy out clause which will be agreed upon by both camps.

Napoli will likely want a fee in the region of €140m but the camp of the Nigerian are proposing around €80m. For now both parties are pole apart in their various demands but clarity is expected when the Nigerian meet with the president before the start of pre season training.

Daniel Martins

Former Real Madrid, AC Milan and Ajax midfield supremo Clarence Seedorf has thrown his hat into the ring as a possible replacement for coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Peseiro’s deal with the Nigerian team expired two days ago and there has been no talk over an extension, with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) saying they will use opinion of Nigerians to make a decision on his future.

That delay had led to some coaches approaching the NFF with the idea of taking over from the Portuguese, one of which is Seedorf who last job was handling the Cameroonian team at the 2019 AFCON, where they were eliminated by Nigeria.

” Seedorf is interested and we have already sounded out the NFF on his availability and we have been told to wait for a decision on Peseiro. I believe Nigerians remember that the glory days of our football came under Dutch coaches and he is also from that school”, his representative told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

He said the coach has plans to work with a Nigerian assistant in Finidi George, who recently led Enyimba FC of Aba to the Nigeria Professional Football League title and was a former teammate of the Dutchman.

” He will be open to keeping Finidi George as his assistant as they were teammates at Ajax and both share the same philosophy. Our file has been forwarded already and we are waiting for a response officially”, he stated.

Osas Mahawi

A lot of players from the U20 team of Nigeria are expected to be on the move in this summer transfer window after their eye catching display at the U20 World Cup in Argentina, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Led by coach Ladan Bosso, the team crashed out of the semi final stage losing 0-1 to South Korea but big wins over Italy and Argentina, which saw the host exit the tournament has put players of the team on the radar of teams in the top leagues.

We exclusively gathered that Emmanuel Umeh who was one of the impact substitutes of the team, who had two assists is closing in on a deal to Belgium top division side Standard Liege.

A fee with his Bulgarian side Botev Plodiv is close to getting agreed with personal terms also trashed out with his camp. A fee in the region of €2m possibly rising to €3m with add ons plus even more with a sell on clause is what both terms are  discussing at the moment.

Sources close to the deal revealed that he snubbed overtures from teams in Russia and Denmark in favour of a move to Belgium. Botev Plodiv are open to the idea of letting him leave even though he joined them a little over a year ago.

Reports that French league duo of Bordeaux and Valenciennes showing interest has been dismissed by his camp.

Daniel Martins

Nigerian players will be actively involved in the transfer window especially those facing uncertain future at their respective teams during the course of last season, those in demand will also make use of the window to switch teams.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has made it clear that only players who are regular at their clubs will get a look in for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations. That warning has already made some players to be actively involved in the process of looking for clubs where they can get games.

One of such players is the first vice captain of the senior national team of Nigeria William Troost Ekong. He was on loan at Italian Serie A side Salernitana last season from English Championship side Watford, the option of signing him permanently wasn’t exercised by the Serie A side.

He was named among one of the players retained by the Championship side three days ago but he won’t be part of their campaign next season after agreeing to a move to Greek side PAOK, OwngoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Ekong has agreed to a deal to join the team that finished 4th in the league last season as he bids to fight his way back into the plans of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria. He was an  unused substitute in the last Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone.

His move will give him the hope of enjoying regular run of games, something he hasn’t gotten the past one and half years at the two teams he played for namely Watford and Salernitana respectively.

Daniel Martins

Ligue 1 side Nice will not make any attempt to keep Arsenal star winger Nicolas Pépé following the expiration of his season long loan deal yesterday, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The club have already stepped up plans to replace the 28 year old, who didn’t quite find it easy with injuries and fitness issues limiting him to just 19 league appearances. Their plan is to get a player from Ligue 1.

That has seen them make the vice captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Moses Simon their prime target with the winger keen on a move away from Nantes. The Ligue 1 side are also hoping for his move with one year left on his deal.

Simon rejected the offer of extending his stay at the club after playing a role in the team beating the drop to the French second division on the final day of the season. He ended the season with five goals and nine assists.

Fellow Ligue 1 side Lille are also pushing to have the Nigeria but per what we gathered an offer of €5m will be lodged by Nice in the coming days, with talks about his personal terms to be held next week.

Daniel Martins

Despite reports linking 25 year old Nigeria international Childera Ejuke with a loan move to English Championship side Cardiff City, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal that he is weighing up other options.

Due to a transfer embargo caused by the lengthy court case with French side Nantes regarding payment for Emiliano Sala, Cardiff City have a ban on paying transfer fees for any prospective signings.

However with FIFA’s leeway for players playing in Russia, the Nigerian is free to suspend his contract with CSKA Moscow and join another team on a temporary basis. He already did that when he turned out for Hertha Berlin last season in the German Bundesliga. They were however relegated.

With a return back to Russia not on his cards, Cardiff City approached his camp and talks were held, but sources close to the dribbling sensation said a team playing in the UEFA Champions League is the current favorite to land him on the same terms.

Talks have been held and even though the pay is less than what he will potentially earn at the English Championship side, it is said that he sees the opportunity of playing in Europe’s prestigious tournament as a way to re-introduce  himself to top teams in top leagues.

Daniel Martins

English Championship side Stoke City have made public the list of players who have been retained by the team as they go in search of promotion to the English Premier League once again.

Since their relegation from the English Premier League five seasons ago, the team have failed in their bid to return to the English top flight and next season will afford them the chance to push again for a possible promotion.

Their list of players who won’t be at the club next season includes out of favour Nigeria national team midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo, who spent last season on loan to Greek side Aris Thessaloniki.

He returned to the English side after the expiration of his loan and yesterday he officially became a free player with the club opting against keeping him, following the expiration of his five years deal at the club.

Greek side Aris are also not keen on signing him permanently despite the fact that he made 28 appearances for them last season. Also in the senior national team of Nigeria he has lost his spot with his last appearance coming in the 0-4 friendly loss against Portugal on the 17th of November.

Head coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro appears not to have a spot for him in his team as despite a dearth of options in midfield he was overlooked for the team’s last three competitive games in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Damian Waziri

As the transfer window hots up teams are beginning to step up their chase for targeted players with the start of pre season tours and trainings drawing near ahead of the start of next season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Italian Serie A side AC Milan are not left out of the frenzy to clinch players who they think will improve their team after their failure to successfully defend their Serie A title, losing it to their city rivals Inter Milan.

Strengthening the right side of their attack is one of their priorities and their prime target is Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze, who is available for a move with one year left on his deal at Spanish side Villarreal.

Both the player and Villarreal are keen on making his exit work with no talk on extending his stay at the club. However the club wants at least €30m as transfer fee and Chukwueze also has a salary demand of around €3m a year.

AC Milan have already held talks with his representatives to find a compromise on his salary demands and will lodge another bid to Villarreal after their initial offer of around €20m was rejected.

They are however not leaving any stone unturned as head coach of the team Stefano Pioli put a call through to the 24 year old, who is on holiday in Nigeria to convince him of his role in his team and how he intends to get the best out of him.

Last season was his best since turning professional with 24 goals contribution to his name which consists of 13 goals and 11 assists from 50 games in all competitions.

Daniel Martins

Salvatore Bagni has made a bold claim regarding the future of Nigeria international striker Victor Osimhen who is linked with a possible departure from Italian Serie A side Napoli.

Last season, the Nigerian powered Napoli to their first league title in 33 years with 31 goals in 39 games in all competitions. He also finished as the top scorer in the Italian top division with 26 goals, five more than Inter Milan Argentina forward Lautaro Martinez who finished second.

With two years left on his deal with the Naples outfit, talks over an extension has been held with his representatives who are also exploring the option of a summer move, following contacts from teams notably Ligue 1 giants and English Premier League side Chelsea.

However, Bagni who played for Napoli between 1984 and 1988 says he is unlikely going back to France, where he played for Lille three seasons ago. Bagni also said the lack of Champions League football makes the option of Chelsea a non starter.

He said the two teams that realistically stand a chance of signing the 25 year old is the duo of Manchester United and Real Madrid. Two teams who can meet the over €120m valuation placed on him by Napoli.

‘‘Victor Osimhen won’t return to France because he already played there. He doesn’t go to Liverpool or Chelsea because they do not play the Champions League. Of all the teams associated with him, for me, he would only go to Manchester United and Real Madrid. He’s not interested in the other teams”,he said.

Osas Mahawi

Barring any last minute hiccup Kelechi Iheanacho will join English Premier League side Nottingham Forest from relegated Leicester City on a four years deal, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

As first reported by Owngoalnigeria, Leicester City are keen on making the deal happen quickly as they aim to rebuild their squad from the funds that will be raised from his sales. A fee in the region of £8m is said to have been agreed between both parties according to sources close to the 26 year old.

Personal terms won’t be an issue with his representatives already done with that aspect of the deal. Other minor details like add ons and bonuses is said to be part of why the deal hasn’t been made official. A routine medical will be conducted when an agreement is found on the above mentioned.

His deal at Leicester City has a year to run further increasing the desperation of the Championship side to sell him before the end of the current summer transfer window.

A late push by AS Roma which was widely reported was knocked back by his camp despite the fact that Jose Mourinho wanted him at the Serie A side and even held talks with his representatives. Iheanacho’s desire is to remain in England, where he is fully settled.

Daniel Martins