The champions of the Italian Serie A Napoli have started plans towards strengthening their team for next season by identifying players in key areas after what has been a really good season for the club.

Napoli were crowned champions of the Italian league for the first time in 33 years. A feat they are so keen to match next season and possibly go a step further in the UEFA Champions League after the disappointment of losing out in the semi-final this season.

Despite the departure of coach Luciano Spalletti, the hierarchy of the club are still going ahead with plans for next season while negotiations on who will lead the team is also going on.

Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Ndidi is high on their priority list in the midfield department. The Nigerian will be available on a cheap price with a year left on his deal and also the relegation of Leicester City from the English Premier League.

According to online French publication Footmercato, an approach for the 26 year old will be finalized in the coming days with Napoli willing to place a bid of €10m for his signing. The only likely stumbling block could be his high wage based on what he is earning at Leicester City.

Daniel Martins

The coach of the U20 team of Argentina Javier Mascherano is confident that his team will defeat Nigeria in today’s U20 World Cup round of 16 game, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria will be up against Argentina, who didn’t qualify for the tournament but were drafted in as host after FIFA decided to strip the hosting right off Indonesia, over their refusal to recognize one of the competing nations Israel as a country.

Argentina have responded by winning all three of their group games and head into this game in full confidence, while Nigeria will be looking to bounce back from a 0-2 defeat suffered in their final group game against Brazil.

That defeat suffered by the Nigerian team has exposed some flaws of the Nigerian team according to Mascherano, who said the way Nigeria started the tournament with wins over Dominican Republic and Italy respectively looked perfect until that game.

” They started very well with two impressive wins but in the last game they lost, we saw a thing or two tactically that we will try to take advantage of when we meet them , but we know they will fight and run with speed and skills. So we also have to be ready to fight”, he said ahead of the game.

Osas Mahawi

The U16 team of Nigeria called the Future Eagles started their campaign at the Japan Invitational Tournament on a losing note after a 0-1 defeat against Netherlands.

Led by coach Haruna Ilerika , the Nigerian team started the game with jitters and were made to pay for it when the Netherlands who dominated proceedings from the start scored the opener. A goal that their dominance deserves.

They almost made it 2-0 before the half time break but the woodwork came to the rescue of the Nigerian team. It was the last meaningful action of the half with Nigeria playing a lot better for the remainder of the half.

Nigeria came out for the second half and gained the upper hand but the resolute defence of Netherlands restricted them to half chances and weak efforts. Their first shot on target came after the 70 minute mark.

It opened the floodgate to many more begging chances but poor conversion rate cost them dearly as they were unable to find a way back into the game. All attention will now be on their second game in three days time.

Mohammed Mowiz

Nigeria international forward Samuel Chukwueze is currently receiving backlash from fans of Real Madrid for his comments on rumours linking him to the team from his current LaLiga team Villarreal, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze who is having his best season in a long while with 13 goals and 11 assists in 49 gmass in all competitions and with his contract set to run out in 2024, he has been linked with a potential exit at the end of the season.

He has been linked with English Premier League sides in Arsenal and Newcastle United with Italian Serie A side Napoli also credited with an interest in securing his services. In Spain Real Madrid is the one team that is rumoured to be interested in the 24 year old.

Reacting to the rumours of a potential move to Real Madrid, he termed the reports as noise insisting that he is very settled at Villarreal and looking forward to playing in Europe next season with the yellow submarines.

“Real Madrid talk? This is noise, my dream is to play in Europe with Villarreal”, he said when asked about the chances of joining Real Madrid in the summer.

That comment infuriated the fans of the club, who in turn responded by telling the Nigeria international that he isn’t even good enough to play for their B, how much more the main team.

Not even good enough for Castilla lmao

— Twilight (@the_marcoli_boy) May 30, 2023

https://twitter.com/magicalmodric00/status/1663496261930983427?s=61

I will rather prefer Rodrygo playing that right side of our attack,than seeing Madrid signed this inconsistent player

— TKaka of bariga (@Adeleye13673967) May 30, 2023

The U20 team of Nigeria campaigning at the U20 World Cup will go into their round of 16 game against Argentina with the players and technical crew facing the possibility of exiting the tournament without getting paid a dime, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

A source in the camp of the team revealed that since the team started their journey from the WAFU tournament through the Africa Cup of Nations and to the round of 16 of the World Cup, the players have only been paid $1,000.

The $1000 was paid to the players a few days ago at their camp in Argentina. For the coaches, the head coach of the team Ladan Bosso has only been paid three months salary out of the 15 months he has worked as coach of the team.

Bosso’s contract like that of U17 coach Nduka Ugbade and other youth team coaches will terminate if they fail to go beyond the round of 16. His contract is performance related and will be extended if he wins the tournament, which Nigeria has never won despite dominating at U17 level.

However the coach is using his experience to keep the players on their toes and focused for the game against host nation Argentina, effectively ensuring that there is no repeat of what happened in 2019, when the Nigerian team went on strike before a crucial game in the knock out round.

Players of the team in 2019 in Poland also refused to vacate their hotel unless they are paid all outstanding wages. A situation which led to FIFA placing a fine on Nigeria for the conduct of the players.

Damian Waziri

The impending transfer of Elijah Gift Izobodo John from Liverpool to Athletic Bilbao has sparked debates about his international future with the 16 year old eligible to play for as many as three countries.

Elijah is expected to sign for the Spanish side on a free transfer after turning down the option of extending his stay at Liverpool. He is winger who can also play as a striker and has been described as a very skilful forward.

His move to the Basque side is been held up by a routine medical, which will take place in the coming days. He will join the youth team of the LaLiga side but train with the first team during the course of next season.

Gift was named in Spain’s provisional squad for the 2023 European U17 Championship but was not selected in the final squad for the ongoing tournament in Hungary.

Explaining his international options, Gift revealed that he is eligible for Nigeria, Spain, Cuba and England where he has lived since the age of nine. If he rise to the top of his career as predicted he could spark a tug of war between the countries he is eligible for.

Speaking about his origins Gift told Marca, via DAZN: “My father is from Nigeria, and one summer he decided to go on vacation to Spain.

“He went to various places, and there he met my mother and they had me. My mother was from Castejón, a small town in Navarra, and I was born there” , he said in the same interview where he confirmed that his mother is from Cuba.

Osas Mahawi

The coach of LaLiga side Real Valladolid had defended his decision to promote former Nigeria U17 winger Babatunde Jimoh Akinsola to the first team and a top flight debut.

Akinsola a member of the 2019 Nigeria U17 team only got the all clear to play for the club in January despite joining them in the summer. He played just four games for the B team before he was called up to the first team.

He made his debut in the game against Sevilla, which the team lost 0-3 and since then he has been named on the bench for games against Barcelona and Almeria, further confirming his status as a first team player of the LaLiga side.

Defending his decision to keep the Nigerian in the first team coach Ortiz Arias listed the qualities that has endeared him to the 19 year old, who is prime for a breakthrough next season in whichever division they play.

“We train a lot with the Promesas (Youth Team) players and we evaluate them a lot. I really like to get youngsters up there and that they have a chance, although at the moment it’s not that easy. What I saw in Tunde is that he is a very powerful player, who seeks a lot of space, very fast and who has a fatal one-on-one; He is a very interesting player, it’s a pity that he had to make his debut in a match with an adverse result”, he explained.

“If  they do things well, they will have opportunities. Torres had a great game; He had a spectacular first half, with a 1.90 center forward”, he rounded up saying.

Osas Mahawi

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