The future of Cyriel Dessers at relegated Italian Serie A side Cremonense will likely be decided in the coming days with reports circulating that the  28 year old has agreed personal terms with Scottish side Rangers.

Rangers are keen on strengthening their options in attack and Dessers who scored six goals in 33 games in the Serie A for Cremonense last season is top of their list. Although they are also looking at another Nigerian striker in Josh Maja.

Maja will be allowed to leave second division French side Bordeaux following their inability to gain promotion back to the top division. He ended last season with 16 goals and six assists.

For now Dessers who will command a considerable wage is the idea of the club with Maja also tracked by teams in the English Championship, his wage demands might be a lot higher than that of Dessers.

Both players are in need of big move this summer to get their career back on track and possibly return to the international fold with the senior national team of Nigeria. Maja has just one cap while Dessers have been capped four times.


Daniel Martins 

The senior national team of Guinea Bissau has returned to the top of group A in the race to be at next year Africa Cup of Nations after a 1-0 win away to bottom of the table Sao Tome and Principe, OwngoalNigeria.com reports.

A solitary strike by Zinho Gano in the 55th minute ensured they returned back to the top of the table, a spot they lost to Nigeria after losing 0-1 at home during the last round of international games. They now have ten points, one more than the Super Eagles of Nigeria although they have played a game more.

Nigeria who were beaten by Guinea Bissau in Abuja before hitting back with the same scoreline away in Bissau will be hoping to reclaim the top spot when they take on Sierra Leone on Saturday in Monrovia.

A point will be okay for Nigeria to return back to the top owing to their superior goal difference but a win will see them seal a spot at the tournament with a game to go. Their last game will be against Sao Tome and Principe.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Top division Belgium side Kortrijk are back in training in preparation for next season, a season which they will head into with new owners following the successful sale of the club to Michael Kaminski by the previous co owners Mr. Tan and Mr. Choo, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

In a bid to have a successful season which will be their sixteenth in a row, the club handed the rein of handling pre season to two interim coaches led by former Nigeria international Joseph Akpala and Jimmy Hempte.

The duo joined the team last season as assistant coaches but they will now handle the team in interim capacity pending when a substantial coach is appointed by the new owners of the team.

Capped nine times by the senior national team of Nigeria, Akpala who was top scorer in the Nigeria Professional Football League becomes the second Nigerian in a space of one week to be appointed as coach of a top division side in Europe.

Lukas Babalola, another Nigerian although born in Denmark was also appointed into the coaching crew of the champions of Czech Republic Sparta Prague. The 26 year old who holds a UEFA coaching license announced his move to the team.

In a post on his Twitter handle, he said his mission in the team is to help them defend the Czech League title as well as win the Cup next season. He will work as match analyst, the same position he occupied while at Danish side Aalborg.

Lukas also worked in the same capacity at another Norwegian side Lyngby BK , where he started his coaching career as a youth team coach before the step up to the main team. His previous head coach job includes handling the youth team of HB Koge and Koge BK respectively.

Sparta Prague will be his first job outside the shores of Denmark where he was born to parents of Nigerian descent. He started coaching way back in 2014.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

One of the most sought after players in the French Ligue 1 is Nigeria international winger Moses Simon owing to the fact that he has a year to go on his deal at fellow Ligue 1 side Nantes.

Simon who is also courting interest teams outside France has made it known to his representative that he wants to remain in the Ligue 1 for family reasons, meaning he is only open to deals from teams in Ligue 1.

Nantes risk losing him for free after he refused their offer of an extension proposed to him at the start of the year. His refusal has forced the club into listening to offers for his services unlike previous seasons, when he was tagged as touch not.

A fee in the region of around €5m will be okay to tempt Nantes into selling the 27 year old and it has alerted the duo of Nice and Lille. Both teams have already held preliminary talks with the camp of the vice captain of the senior national team of Nigeria.

Per what OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered, Simon who isn’t ruling out a move to Nice will however prefer a move to Lille due to the proximity of the city to Belgium, where his family resides. His wife and two daughters live in Ghent, around an hour from the city of Lille.

A decision will be made after the senior national team of Nigeria Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone on Saturday. Simon is presently in the camp of the team gearing up for the game.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze has agreed to join Italian Serie A side AC Milan on a five year deal from Spanish LaLiga side Villarreal, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze has a year to go on his deal at the Spanish side and with no renewal in sight he has been allowed to leave this summer, with the club keen on getting a fee for him rather than lose him for free next summer.

His agent met with the entourage of AC Milan and a deal was struck with the Nigerian agreeing to the terms proposed to him by the Serie A side. His wages will be around six times what he currently earns at the Spanish side.

Following his acceptance of their terms, Milan made a €15m bid to Villarreal but it was rejected. The feeling is that the Spanish side are holding out for a fee in the region of €30m and an improved offer will be made in the coming days.

Last season was the most productive for the Nigerian as he ended it with 13 goals and 11 assists. A feat which earned him the title of the best African player in the Spanish LaLIga for last season.

He is presently in the camp of the Nigerian team preparing for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone in Monrovia on Saturday.

Daniel Martins

With activities in the summer transfer window set to hot up, so many Nigerian players are expected to be in the mix especially those with uncertain future and those who want to try new environment.

One player who has already made up his mind over his exit is Olakunle Olusegun of Russian side Krasnodar. The former Nigeria U17 star has already announced his exit from the Russian side that he has represented the past two years.

In a message on his social media handle, the 21 year old thanked the team for giving him the platform to launch his career in Europe, and allowing him to get the move as agreed, when he decided to stay rather than suspend his contract in light of the war in Russia.

He is now expected to join French Ligue 1 side Lens on what we heard will be a four years deal with the option of an extra year. Krasnodar have already given their blessings to his departure hence agreeing a fee won’t be an issue to all involved.

Daniel Martins

The senior national team of Nigeria yesterday had their first full training session ahead of Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will head into the game with a win at the back of their mind as it will guarantee them qualification for the tournament next year. They will be confident owing to the fact that it will be played in the Liberian city of Monrovia, the adopted home ground of the national team of Sierra Leone.

Ahead of the game coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro isn’t taking anything to chance and yesterday’s session was at a higher level than the previous day drills. It was heavy from the warm up down to when they were shared into two groups for a test game.

Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen who will lead the line against Liberia is already getting used to who he will pair in the attack of the team under the 4-4-2 system of the Portuguese coach of the team.

For now Taiwo Awoniyi who has impressed with his sharpness in training so far is the obvious candidate to get the nod and yesterday, he played in the same team with Osimhen linking perfectly with the Napoli man.

They look like the pair who will lead Nigeria’s assault for goals in Monrovia on Saturday barring a last minute change of plans by the coach.

Osas Mahawi

The senior national team of Nigeria started training ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone in Monrovia on Saturday.

Yesterday at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena a total of 19 players took part in the session with the duo of Divine Nwachukwu and Ebube Duru giving time off to recover after their participation in the NPFL playoff.

In view of the fact that the game will be played on a synthetic surface in Monrovia, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) picked the stadium at Onikan as training ground for the team to give them a feel of what it feels like to play on a surface like that.

That idea as smart as it is has come with a consequence for the players who are struggling to cope especially on the first day of training. As many as three of them lament the quality of the synthetic surface saying it is not at the same level with other pitches of the same made.

One of the players said the pitch is uneven in some spaces making players to struggle to keep their feet. He also said the quality of the material used is probably not at the level of the one they will face in Monrovia.

Training will continue today with the players hopefully used to the surface and more of the invited players notably top striker Victor Osimhen will take part in today’s session, which will be more tactical than that of yesterday.

Damian Waziri

Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has explained why he celebrated with a Nigerian flag around his waist after helping his team lift the UEFA Champions League title for the first time.

Akanji played the entire duration of his team’s 1-0 win over Inter Milan in the summer. He started the move that led to the only goal of the game scored by Rodri. So far he has been one of the bargain signings of the Etihad outfit.

Signed for a fee of around £12m from Borrusia Dortmund, he was supposed to play the role of a back up defender to the regulars, but he took his chance and stamped his feet in the starting lineup with his versatility across the back four also a factor.

A full fledged Switzerland senior international with 49 caps, the 27 year old showed he hasn’t forgotten his Nigerian roots when he picked up a Nigerian flag thrown at him from the crowd in Istanbul while celebrating his team’s win.

He wrapped it around his waist alongside that of Switzerland, a move which he said he did to prove how attached he is to his Nigerian roots ” I feel so Nigerian. I have to do this”, he screamed at the cameras with the Nigerian flag around his waist.

Osas Mahawi

The senior national team of Nigeria started preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers game against Sierra Leone in Monrovia yesterday with their first training session at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos.

Head coach of the team Jose Peseiro had 21 out of the 23 players called up in training but the duo of Divine Nwachukwu and Ebube Duru were giving time out to recover after their participation in the NPFL playoff.

Aside the duo, Victor Osimhen and Bright Osayi-Samuel are the other two players yet to join the camp of the team ahead of the game. Camp sources confirmed that they will likely be around for today’s session.

Meanwhile none of the Nigerian assistants of the Portuguese coach is in the camp of the team as at the time of this report. Peseiro has four Nigerian assistants in Salisu Yusuf, Finidi George, Usman Abdallah and Ike Shorunmu who has quit his role over what he term as unfavourable working conditions.

When OwngoalNigeria.com broke the news of the axing of the Nigerian assistants attached to the senior national, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said they were being rotated as part of the cost cutting measures of the football house.

Maybe that is the reason why there is no Nigerian assistants in the camp aside the goalkeeper trainer Abideen Baruwa, who was drafted in from the U20 as replacement for Ike Shorunmu.

Baruwa took the goalkeepers on drills while the other foreign assistants of Peseiro handled other aspects of the session with the head coach supervising what was a light session. The real hard work begins today.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman