English Premier League side Liverpool have stepped up their efforts to sign Nigeria U20 defender Benjamin Fredrick in the wake of reports linking him with a move to Bayern Munich, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

As exclusively revealed by football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Fredrick who was a standout performer for Nigeria at the U20 World Cup, where they failed to go past the quarter final of the tournament is on the radar of Bayern Munich, Villarreal, RB Leipzig and Manchester City.

Liverpool are now in the mix for the recently turned 18 year old and have even held preliminary talks with the player’s camp using a former Nigeria international who played under the coach of Liverpool Jurgen Klopp.

The ex Nigeria international held a conference call with the representatives of Fredrick with the director of recruitment of the English side also a part of the meeting. Talks went on smoothly and a formal bid is expected to be lodged soon.

So far, we gathered only FC Basle have tabled an offer for Fredrick who is owned by Simoiben Football Academy, the pet project of Sarah Moses Simon the wife of Nigeria international winger Moses Simon. They refused to comment on the links to Liverpool.

Daniel Martins

Jose Peseiro will remain as the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria according to a representative of one of the coaches interested in replacing the Portuguese as coach of the team, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Peseiro’s contract will run out in June and talks over an extension has not been held. Sources at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says the football house isn’t willing to extend his deal but all that appears to have change in recent days.

The NFF is now considering an extension but on reduced wages for the coach who currently earns $70,000. The idea is being considered largely due to the paucity of funds available to the football house under new president Ibrahim Musa Gusau.

A representative of one of the coaches who was sounded out as possible replacement for Peseiro told OwnGoalNigeria.com that all talks have been put on hold with the NFF now focused on extending the deal of the Portuguese coach for another year.

He said the NFF don’t think it’s wise to let go off the coach who is owed around six months salary for another individual, because it will mean paying two coaches in the event that they hire another coach as his replacement. He said talks with his client who was supposed to be in Nigeria at the end of June has been halted.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Belgium top division side Gent are closing in on a deal to add another Nigerian to their books after contacts with the representative of Nigeria U17 star Yahaya Lawali, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Gent are keen on signing the right back who is also on the radar of other teams in Europe after excelling for Nigeria at the U17 WAFU B championship and the U17 AFCON. At the AFCON he picked up back to back man of the match award in the first two games played by Nigeria.

The club have been tracking Lawali who will turn 18 in June next year for the past two years when he was spotted by the scout of the team during a visit to Nigeria. Sources said contacts was made with his representative who is currently in Paris.

A meeting is expected to be held later this week for all parties involved to reach an agreement on what will see the right full back join the B team where his progress will be monitored for a possible promotion to the main team over a period of time.

Three oother Nigerian players are presently on the books of the team in Gift Orban, Goodluck Igbokwe and Ahmed Abdullahi. Only Orban is with the first team and Igbokwe is close to leaving the team with his deal set to expire in the summer.

Daniel Martins

The future of Nigeria U20 midfielder Victor Eletu at Italian Serie A giants AC Milan is uncertain despite only recently signing his first professional deal with the club, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

18 year old Eletu who has been at AC Milan since the age of 14 was a part of the Nigeria U20 team that crashed out of the U20 World Cup at the quarter final stage after a narrow 0-1 loss to South Korea. He ended the tournament with an assist to his name.

At AC Milan was a part of the youth team that went all the way to the semi final of the UEFA Youth League before losing in the semi final to the U19 of Croatian side Hajduk Split. He played a total of 38 games last season for the U19.

Signed on a deal that will run till the summer of 2025, sources close to the player confirmed that he could leave the Italian side in search of regular first team football before the end of the summer transfer window.

French Ligue 1 side Monaco was listed as one of the teams tracking his situation at the Italian side, where he is highly rated but they won’t stand in his way of leaving if they receive a suitable offer for his service.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze has been handed the award of the best African player in the Spanish top division last season after impressing for Villarreal, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze ended the season with his best numbers since his professional debut with 13 goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season. His form witnessed a dramatic turnaround following the appointment of Setien as replacement for Unai Emery.

That form was noticed by top teams around Europe and Tottenham Hotspur appears to be the team leading the race for his signing with reports saying, they are willing to add midfielder Giovani Lo Celso plus cash to land the Nigerian.

His preferred destination according to sources is England and with his contract left with a year to run, Villarreal are open to letting him leave with a renewal not an option at the moment. Setien was asked about the rumours linking the 24 year old with a move to Spurs alongside his teammate  Nicola Jackson.

“I think of them as people, Jackson has helped us a lot and has been a decisive player in this final stretch of the season. They will have to decide on their future, but we do not hide that they can leave . The same with Samu and with anyone”, he was quoted as saying by  El Periódico Mediterráneo.

Daniel Martins

Head coach of the U20 team of Nigeria Ladan Bosso says he is not bothered by the failure of his team to go beyond the quarter final of the U20 World Cup in Argentina, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Bosso’s team were knocked out of the tournament yesterday after losing 0-1 to South Korea in extra time but the Niger state born tactician said although the defeat was a hard pill to swallow, he is happy over the players who could be in the senior national team of Nigeria in the future.

” It’s sad when you look at how we lost the game. You can’t say we deserve to lose but when you don’t take your chances then you can make it past this stage. We were blunt in attack and a momentary loss of concentration gave them the goal that decided the game”, Bosso told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

We sought to hear from him on the lessons learnt and also the gains of playing in the tournament and going all the way to the round of 16, he said for the players the defeat is a hard way to learn but he hopes when they make the step up to the next level, then they will make use of it.

” One of the positives is that I can proudly say I have in my team five to six players who can slot into the senior national team right now and some others in the future. They learnt the hard way and in the future it will be valuable for their career. I am sure they will have a smooth journey to their career destination”, he rounded up saying.

Head coach of Villarreal Quique Setien says Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze will have the final say on his future at the club following reports of a potential transfer to English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze ended the season with his best numbers since his professional debut with 13 goals and 11 assists in all competitions this season. His form witnessed a dramatic turnaround following the appointment of Setien as replacement for Unai Emery.

That form was noticed by top teams around Europe and Tottenham Hotspur appears to be the team leading the race for his signing with reports saying, they are willing to add midfielder Giovani Lo Celso plus cash to land the Nigerian.

His preferred destination according to sources is England and with his contract left with a year to run, Villarreal are open to letting him leave with a renewal not an option at the moment. Setien was asked about the rumours linking the 24 year old with a move to Spurs alongside his teammate  Nicola Jackson.

“I think of them as people, Jackson has helped us a lot and has been a decisive player in this final stretch of the season. They will have to decide on their future, but we do not hide that they can leave . The same with Samu and with anyone”, he was quoted as saying by  El Periódico Mediterráneo.

Daniel Martins

Following the conclusion of the Europa League, UEFA has revealed the players who were picked as the best 11 during the course of the tournament won by Spanish LaLiga side Sevilla, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.

Sevilla defeated Roma in the final on penalties after both teams stayed tied at 1-1 after extra time. The record winners of the tournament as expected have more players (4) nominated in the team of the season than any other team.

The quartet of goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, defenders Jesus Navas and Marcos Acuna alongside star midfielders Ivan Rakitic were the players picked from the winning team. The team they conquered in the quarter final Manchester United had one player in Marcus Rashford who finished as top scorer.

Rashford’s pair in attack is Nigerian forward Victor Boniface who was the joint top scorer behind the English man. We exclusively gathered that he is among the new players called up to the senior national team of Nigeria for the qualifiers game against Sierra Leone

Boniface scored six goals for Union Saint-Gilloise in the tournament, the same number as Marcus Rashford for Manchester United. A form that has already alerted top teams in Europe with a move away from Belgium lined up in the summer.

Mohammed Mowiz

One of the most dramatic story of the English Premier League was newly promoted Leicester City beating the drop to the English Championship after a poor start to the season, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The made the headlines when they signed more than 19 new players last season with Nigeria international Emmanuel Dennis among the new boys following his move from relegated English Premier League side Watford.

Dennis came to the club on the back of a fairly successful first season in the English top division where he scored 11 goals despite Watford struggling for a large part of the season. However the move hasn’t worked out as hoped for by all parties involved.

Forest are open to allowing the Nigerian, who has been reduced to a bit part player leave the team this summer with their sights on another Nigerian in Kelechi Iheanacho, who suffered relegation with Leicester City.

Iheanacho who was voted the club’s player of the season has a year to go on his deal with the Foxes and it is believed they will be open to letting him leave for a fee of around £10m, as they are also keen on cutting cost as they aim to bounce back to the Premier League.

Daniel Martins