The champions of the Italian Serie A Napoli are facing a tough task in their bid to keep Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen at the club beyond this summer, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Osimhen has emerged as one of the most sought after strikers in world football after plundering 25 goals this season which helped Napoli to their first league title in 33 years. He is also on course to be crowned the highest goal scorer in the league.

That form has set the whole of Europe on alert with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, PSG and Monaco among teams who have shown interest in taking the Nigerian away from the Diego Maradona Stadium.

Napoli are not resting on their oars as club president Aurelio De Laurentiis has already prepared a contract worth almost 7 million euros (3.5 billion naira) a year, a huge jump from his current salary which is around €3m.

The deal which will be a fresh three year deal in addition to the two he has left with the club will also come with a release clause of around £138m. His present deal is without a buy out clause leaving his potential exit in the hands of the Serie A side.

Presently sources and reports have it that only a fee in excess of €150m will tempt Napoli into sanctioning his sale . The price tag has already seen Bayern Munich pull out of the race for his signing.

Daniel Martins

A cross section of players of the U20 team of Nigeria have voiced their concerns over the Brazilian national team that defeated them 2-0 at the U20 World Cup in their final group game.

Brazil inflicted the first defeat on the Ladan Bosso led team forcing them to drop from first in the group to third. They means they faced a tricky round of 16 game against host country Argentina.

As at yesterday, the squad of the Nigerian team were yet to arrive at the match venue of the game for tomorrow as the host didn’t show up to pick them up to the airport. The team got to the airport and as at the time of this report, they were left stranded for around three hours.

OwnGoalNigeria.com got in touch with some of the players in the team to get their assessment of the tournament so far, and they gave their views on the teams they have faced so far.

The five of them we spoke with laid the defeat against Brazil as a game where they played against opponents, who were obviously older in age. All five of them were particular about the number 6 of Brazil Kaiki Bruno.

” When I got close to him in the tunnel, I thought he was an official of the team until I saw him in the pitch. He is a full blown man and I am not joking. The way he was even speaking with his teammates and how they responded shows he is not their mate”, one of the boys told OwnGoalnigeria.com.

” After the game, we all didn’t stop talking about him. How can he be under 20? Look at his size, height, built and even looks . We aired our concerns to the coaches and they said they noticed it too”, another player confirmed.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nigeria U20 goalkeeper Chijioke Anigboso has agreed to a deal to join Ukrainian side FC Polissya from Nigeria National League side Giant Brila, OwngoalNigeria.com understands.

The shot stopper who has kept all of Nigeria U20 games at the world cup will join the club immediately after the tournament in Argentina. He has already trained with the senior national team of Nigeria.

Tipped to be in goal for the AFCON qualifiers game against Sierra Leone with regular first choice Francis Uzoho suspended, he hasn’t let go of the first choice spot since snatching it from Nathaniel Nwosu in the second game of the Africa U20 Cup of Nations.

Polissya is a top division team in Ukraine, recently promoted to the top division. The Nigerian is part of their new signings ahead of their campaign in the top division next season.

For Anigboso, his focus will be more on Wednesday’s round of 16 game against host Argentina after the disappointment of losing 0-2 to Brazil in their final group game.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has been told to include at least three players in the present Nigeria U20 team at the U20 World Cup in his Super Eagles squad for the AFCON qualifiers.

Nigeria U20 team are through to the round of 16 of the World Cup where they will take on the host Argentina on Wednesday. The game will see the Nigerian team trying to get back on track after losing their last group game 0-2 to Brazil. A result that saw them drop to third in their group.

With the senior national team of Nigeria also getting set for their final games in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with games against Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe respectively, Peseiro has been told to give three players in the Nigerian U20 team a feel of senior international football.

The call was made by former Nigeria international Efe Ambrose, who benefited from representing Nigeria at U20 to the senior national team of Nigeria in 2009. He said that step shaped his career that saw him win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles.

” At least three of them should be in the team. It’s a no brainer and if I am to pick for him I will go for the trio of Daniel Daga, Benjamin Fredrick and Abel Ogwuche. I left the goalkeeper out because he has been called up already. It was what I benefited from as well and it shaped my career”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com from his base in Scotland.

Mohammed Mowiz

One of the fascinating stories in English football this season has to be the promotion of Luton Town FC to the English Premier League from the Championship via the play off.

The team joined the duo of Burnley and Sheffield United in the English Premier League after seeing off Conventry in the playoff. The win  dominated the headlines considering the small size of the club, who were not in the promotion spots until two weeks ago.

At the heart of the defence was a certain Gabriel Osho who was a part of the 2015 Nigeria U17 team at their camp in Abuja but didn’t make the cut for the World Cup, which was won by Nigeria with the likes of Victor Osimhen and co.

In a post on his official Twitter handle, Osho who celebrated his team’s promotion with a Nigerian flag wrapped around his waist in the company of another Nigerian teammate Elijah Adebayo has always flaunted his Nigerian heritage, despite the fact that he was born abroad.

He even celebrated his invitation to the camp of the Nigeria U17 with a post that read thus ” Buzzing to have been selected for a Nigeria U17 camp this week”, he posted on the 8th of June 2015. Before that time he posted about the Super Eagles AFCON 2013 win.

The 24 year old joined Luton in 2020 on a free transfer following his release from Reading, where he played for their U21 team. He had two loan spells at Yeovil Town and Rochdale respectively before returning back to the team in 2021.

He has his breakthrough this season playing a total of 35 games with three goals and an assist to his name. This season he played 33 games as a left sided center back, one as a left full back and he was deployed once as a defensive midfielder.

As the team heads into the English Premier League, Osho is one name that Nigerians should put an eye on particularly the handlers of the senior national team of Nigeria with the ageing backline of the senior national team a big issue of concern.

Mohammed Mowiz

As rumours continue to circulate linking players with possible next port of call during the summer transfer window, one player who hasn’t taken a decision on his future is Villarreal Nigerian winger Samuel Chukwueze, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze will head into next season having just twelve months left on his deal at Villarreal and despite a largely successful campaign so far, there has been no talks over extending the contract of the 24 year old.

He currently has 13 goals and 11 assists and it has led to talks of the Spanish side opened to listening to offers for him, particularly as they are also facing a challenge of staying in the loop of LaLiga fair play regulations.

Newcastle United have been credited with an interested in the left footed ace who has 27 international caps for Nigeria. Napoli and AC Milan have also been mentioned among his admirers.

However a member of his management team 10Management said the links to Newcastle United are way off the mark as Chukwueze’s main focus is on ending the season on a high. He said talks about his future will be held at the end of the season.

Speaking specifically on Newcastle United, he said they have not received any offer from the Magpies hence making it highly unlikely that he will be at St. James Park next season. He however confirmed that teams from Italy and France and Germany have already registered their interest in luring the Nigerian away from Spain.

Daniel Martins

As the summer transfer window draws near, one player who has been heavily linked with a transfer of Gent of Belgium Nigerian striker Gift Orban, who has scored 20 goals in 20 games since his move to the Belgian side.

The Nigerian who was signed from Norwegian second division side Stabæk on transfer deadline day has become the most feared striker in Belgium, and it has caught the attention of a lot of teams in Europe.

Reports have it that teams like French Ligue 1 side Lille, Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, Ajax Amsterdam of the Netherlands and the biggest among them the English Premier League duo of Manchester United and Chelsea have all scouted the Nigerian.

However his coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck is of the opinion that even though the 20 year old is supremely gifted he doesn’t have what it takes at the moment to be a top team, as there are still several areas he needs to improve in his game before he is ready for the next level.

“He may not play right away at the absolute highest level, but then he will also show his talent in training. He can become even stronger in many areas, but not in the short term. You can’t give him so many tips anymore, because he solves everything so often so easily. He is so natural, because don’t forget that he didn’t even have that much education”, he said to nieuwsblad.de in response to report linking Orban with a big move in the summer.

Osas Mahawi

As the U20 team of Nigeria get set for their final group game against Brazil at the ongoing U20 World Cup in Argentina, all eyes will be on the Ladan Bosso led technical crew to see how they will approach the game.

With two wins from two, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria are already through to the round of 16 of the tournament but need at least a draw to finish as group winners.

OwnGoalNigeria.com editor in chief Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman picks five things the team must do if they are to get what they want against the Brazilian, who are in need of a win to seal a spot in the knock out round.

1. Keep it tight at the back – The strength of the Nigerian team is the back four compromising of Daniel Bameyi, Abel Ogwuche, Solomon Agbalaka and Benjamin Fredrick. With the all out attacking approach we have seen of Brazil so far, the Nigerian team have to be at their best to deny them space, time and a clear sight at goal when on the ball.

2. Eyes on the runners – If there is one thing this Brazilian team has shown is the ability to get goals from anyone in the team. Their system is built on having players make unsighted runs into the box. The Nigerians have to be wary of that trick.

3. Make good use of set pieces – That they had as many as ten corner kicks against Italy but couldn’t convert one should be addressed. In games like this which many expect Brazil to dominate possession, proper use of set pieces might be the surest route to goal.

4. Avoid committing fouls around the box – Traditionally Brazilians are blessed with very good set piece takers due to their high technical abilities. They will be looking to draw fouls around the edge of the box of Nigeria to set them up. Avoiding fouls around that area will be key to keeping them away from goal.

5. Win the physical duels- If there was one area the Ladan Bosso boys have bullied teams to submission in this tournament, it’s in the area of physicality. That is much needed today than any other game as matching the technical level of Brazil might be impossible, making it imperative for the team to go physical in every single duel.

Mohammed Mowiz

The summer transfer window will no doubt light up in the coming weeks with teams eager to complete deals before the start of preparation ahead of next season campaign, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

One player who is keen on leaving his present team is former Nigeria U17 star Olakunle Olusegun who plays for Russian side Krasnodar. The 21 year old was close to leaving the team during the January transfer window but the move fell through.

With the summer transfer window set to open in earnest, his representative confirmed that talks has started over his exit from the Russian side where he has four goals and two assists in 22 games this season. His planned exit in the summer has seen him get limited playing time since January.

We gathered his possible destination could be Ligue 1, where the duo of Nice and Lens tried to sign him in January. A fee in the region of €10m should be enough for the deal to happen with the Russian side keen on helping him leave owing to a gentleman agreement.

Daniel Martins

The fine performance of the captain of the U20 team of Nigeria Daniel Bameyi at the ongoing U20 World Cup has endeared him to two top teams in Italy, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Bameyi has held his own at right back for the Nigerian team who have made progress to the round of 16 after a 2-1 win over Dominican Republic was followed up with a 2-0 win over Italy in their second game.

In both games he came out top in terms of statistics compiled by the stats room of FIFA. The 17 year old who has already represented Nigeria at U23 and senior level has played his way into the hearts of teams in Europe.

Early this morning, we gathered that two teams in the Italian Serie A who were impressed with his performance against Italy, have made contacted with his representatives with talks centered around a transfer immediately after the U20 World Cup.

” Please help me with an official of the Nigerian team as we have offers from two Italian Serie A teams for Bameyi and they need the deal concluded immediately after the World Cup”, a message from a top scout at the tournament sent to OwnGoalNigeria.com reads.

Now operating as a right back he appears to be more at home than the center back role he used to play for the Nigerian team. He is expected to once again be in the mix when Nigeria take on Brazil in their final group game.

Daniel Martins