Clubs have started releasing list of players who will be allowed to leave the team in the summer owing to the expiration of their contract as they begin preparation in earnest for the start of another season, OGN reports.

English Championship side QPR are among the teams who have made known the players that will be allowed to leave the club on a free transfer and it includes Nigeria international defender Leon Balogun.

Balogun was signed as a free player in August following the expiration of his contract at Scottish side Rangers last summer. At QPR he managed to play just 16 games as he battled for form and fitness due to injuries. It has been the similar story at club level for Balogun, who has 46 caps for Nigeria.

34 year old Balogun is said to be weighing up a return to Germany, where he started his career but he is reportedly open to returning to Scotland or staying in England.

He isn’t the only Nigerian shown the exit door at the club with Luke Amos also making the list of players who can leave the club after making 21 appearances. His best return after a lengthy injury lay off.

The 26 year old former Tottenham youngster joined the team permanently in the summer of 2020 after a season on loan, and made a total of 95 appearances in a time hampered by knee problems.

In total six players were sent packing by the club while contract talks is ongoing with eight others the club wants to keep and it includes another Nigerian in Olamide Shodipo.

Daniel Martins

The chances of AC Milan youth team star Victor Eletu representing Nigeria at the U20 World Cup which begins in Argentina on the 20th is under threat OGN can exclusively reveal.

Eletu was named in the final 21 man squad of Nigeria for the tournament but with just around ten days to the first game of Nigeria against Dominican Republic, he is yet to arrive the camp of the team much to the disappointment of head coach Ladan Bosso.

In a chat with OGN, Bosso said Eletu was originally billed to be in the camp last week before their departure to Argentina but claimed he missed his flight after their last game in the league.

” Eletu was supposed to be with us since last week. They said he missed his flight and will join us in Argentina, it’s one week since that time and now the new arrival date is for this weekend. I have set an ultimatum of Saturday for him, if he doesn’t make it here before then he will be replaced”, an angry Bosso said.

” I included him in the team because it was said that he will be with us three week to the tournament but since that decision his arrival has been a bit of a game to me and I am tired of it already. My team isn’t built around one player and if I don’t see him, I advice he doesn’t bother to come”, he stated.

A source close to his representative also expressed his unhappiness with the conduct of the player’s agent who he said gave him his words that the boy will be in the camp three weeks to the start of the tournament but failed to keep his words.

” I am not happy with the agent. Everything looks like they knew what they were doing from the get go about his release. It was from he will be in camp after the game last Friday to he missed his flight and now till after another game. That’s not being honest and I agree with the decision of the coach if he decides to replace him”, he said with an angry tone.

Mohammed Mowiz

The rise and performance of several Nigerian players is easily tracked when they are playing in the top division of some of the top leagues in the world especially the top five leagues in Europe.

That said it’s also common knowledge that some Nigerian players are making their marks in leagues not followed by many untill they at least make a move to a top league, much like the case of Gift Orban, who was signed from second division Norwegian side Stabæk by Belgium side Gent.

He is presently among the most sought after African player in Europe after just six months with his goal return of 16 goals in 18 games from January till date enough to make the top teams pay attention to his exploits, especially the fact that he is just 20 years old.

It’s also the case for 18 year old Samuel Omorodion Aghehowa who plays for the youth team of Spanish side Granada popularly called Recreativo Granada. He has already got a look in with the first team of the second division side who are pushing for promotion back to the LaLiga.

Born in Spain to a Nigerian father, only two players have scored more goals than him in the Spanish group IV. Last season he showed his eyes for goals with 26 goals for the U19s leading to his promotion to the B team.

He played for Sevilla in his early days as a youngster, but the following year he joined Nervión, a famous Sevilla based youth club that has signed agreements with both Betis and Sevilla, but without exclusivity.

Samu as he is fondly called was close to joining one of the above mentioned teams in 2021 but while they were still mulling over a decision, he was snapped up by Granada and he hasn’t look back since then. Report from Spain has it that teams in England, France and Germany have all taken a look at the possiblity of signing him in the summer.

Mohammed Mowiz

Head coach of the U20 team of Nigeria Ladan Bosso says in his team he has four players that he believe will not look out of place in the current team of the senior national team of Nigeria.

His U20 team are already in Argentina and will take on Colombia today in a test game ahead of their opening game against Dominican Republic on the 21st of May. They will round up their group games against Italy and Brazil respectively.

Bosso said getting out of the group is the first priority of his team but he isn’t ignoring the fact that age grade teams are judged with the number of players, who make the step up to the main team in the nearest future.

Speaking on that key issue, the coach said he can presently say four players in his present team will hold their own if given a chance in the senior national team of Nigeria. Already his captain Daniel Bameyi has trained with the senior team.

” I know Nigerians want us to go all the way to even lifting the trophy. We have the same dream as well but we have to first get out of the group then take it from there. However the aim of tournaments like this is to produce, discover and nurture players who will be senior national team players in the future. That’s how to judge a youth team”, he told OGN.

” For now I can say four players from my team are good enough for the Super Eagles. I won’t mention their names as not to put them under pressure but mark my words you’ll see at least four of them in the Super Eagles in less than a year, probably more”, he rounded saying.

Mohammed Mowiz

“I am hugely honored to be named man of the match and more so for Senegal to win the game and qualify for the World Cup. It is a big achievement for us as players and it motivates us moving forward,” noted Diouf.

The Nigeria U17 team will today take on Burkina Faso in the quarter final of the ongoing U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Algeria, OGN reports.

It will be a repeat of the final of the WAFU B championship in Ghana, which Nigeria won 2-1 to emerge as the regional champions, but this game is much more than winning a trophy or a spot in the semi final, it is also what will decide their participation at the U17 World Cup in India.

The winner of today’s game will automatically qualify for the tournament and Nigeria who are five times record winners of the U17 World Cup will be hoping to do another. Here are five things they must do to win the game.

Avoid Falling Behind – The team came back twice from behind to beat South Africa in their final group game but this scenario is entirely different as it is the knock out round. Going behind will no doubt unsettle not just the team but the technical crew owing to the significance of the game. They have to first of all keep it tight at the back.

Early Goal – As much as the team should be set up to avoid conceding early, they should also have their eyes on scoring early. Burkina Faso will approach the game with some level of respect for Nigeria giving the Nduka Ugbade led team the chance to punish them very early in the game. They should aim to score early.

Play With Width – One aspect of the team we are yet to see is making effective use of their wingers and full back to stretch opponents. They have been more about playing short intricate passes in close areas. Going wide should be a thing today with the overlapping ability of Yahaya Lawali and Emmanuel Michael a weapon that they should use more often.

Be Clinical – It’s hard to remember any Nigerian team that has created this much chance in a tournament without burying them. Today should be an exception and they have to make sure every chance counts. Light Eke, Charles Agada and Abubakar Abdullahi need to do better in the box than they have done in previous games.

Stay Calm – As expected from players of their age. This team tends to be too much in a hurry to get going and most times it ends up in turning over possession.

Starting from Hope Linus who is usually the first man on the ball, the team needs to avoid playing over ambitious passes which could lead to a loss of the ball and a possible counter attack. It was from the same scenario that Sooth Africa scored their second goal in the team’s last game. It has to be avoided this time around but this is more on the coaches.

Mohammed Mowiz

German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt have started plans towards next season by listing players they will likely use to improve their team in certain areas, OGN reports.

Placed 9th on the Bundesliga table but with a chance of still making it to Europe if they win the DFB-Pokal final against RB Leipzig, the team will lose some of the key players who have helped them to find their way back to reckoning in Germany and also Europe.

In a bid not to be caught unaware, plans have already started towards recruiting players who will replace those that are expected to leave the club in the summer transfer window. Among their targets is Nigeria international winger Moses Simon.

OGN exclusively gathered that Simon is one of their priorities in the market and they are hoping to reach a deal with Nantes with a year left on the deal of Simon at the Ligue 1 side. A fee in the region of €8m will be enough to tempt Nantes into parting ways with the 27 year old.

However they are not the only team keen on the winger who has managed double digits goal contribution since his move to the French side on a permanent transfer from Spanish side Levante. Atalanta, Lazio and Fiorentina are the other teams pushing for his signing in the summer.

Daniel Martins

The first opponent of the Nigeria U20 team Dominican Republic are not leaving any stone unturned in their quest to start the U20 World Cup on a winning note, OGN reports.

Head coach of the Nigerian team Ladan Bosso suggested that starting with the island nation gives his team the chance to start on a sound note but it appears that won’t be the case, when they clash on the 21st of May.

In their final list of players, they picked nine foreign based players led by Barcelona teen sensation Derek Cuevas, who won the La Liga Youth League with the youth team and also represented the team in the UEFA Youth League.

Cuevas has also trained with the first team on numerous occasions and he will be aiming to bring all his experience to bear when they take on Nigeria. He is a striker who has shown that he has eyes for goals. Alejandro Martín Sapeg of Real Madrid will likely pair him in attack.

Sapeg is on loan to Rayo Alcobendas in the Spanish lower division. RB Leipzig Oliver Schmidhauser is said to be the third player in the attack of the team, who are appearing in the tournament for the first time.

Below is their official list for the tournament.

Goalkeepers: Omry Bello (O&M FC, DR), Xavier Valdez (Houston Dynamo, USA), Enrique Bösl (Ingolstadt, Germany)

Defenders: Alex Ciriaco (FC Ilves Tampere, Finland), Alfeni Tamarez (Club Atlético Pantoja, DR), Guillermo De Peña (Moca FC, DR), Israel Boatwright (Inter Miami CF, USA), Kleffer Tuesday (Club Atlético Pantoja, DR), Sebastián Mañón (Black Rock FC, USA, Miguel Vásquez (Atlántico FC, DR)

Midfielders: Ángel Montes De Oca (Cibao FC, DR), Edison Azcona (Inter Miami CF, USA), Steven Martínez (Atlético Vega Real, RD), Yordy Álvarez (Atlántico FC, DR)

Strikers: Alejandro Martín Sapeg (Real Madrid on loan to Rayo Alcobendas, Spain), Ányelo Gómez (Jarabacoa FC, DR), Bryan More (Atletico Vega Real, DR), Jason Yambatis (Club Atlético Pantoja, DR), Oliver Schmidhauser (RB Leipzig, Germany), Yunior Peralta (Cibao FC, DR), Derek Cuevas (FC Barcelona, Spain).

Osas Mahawi

The highlight of Nottingham Forest thrilling 4-3 win over Southampton was Nigeria international forward Taiwo Awoniyi scoring a brace in the win that lifted them out of the relegation zone heading into the final three games in the English Premier League.

Signed from German side Union Berlin in the summer he has made himself one of the first names on the team list when fit and he is presently the second highest goal scorer of the team with seven goals in all competitions.

Their main aim which is to avoid relegation was on track until they experienced a bad slump which saw them fail to win in any of their eight games in a row. That period coincided with when the 25 year old Nigerian was out injured.

He is among the players Forest are hoping will help them stay up and legendary English Premier League star Alan Shearer says the manner which he took his brace, could make him the key to the team avoiding the drop to the English Championship.

He told the Premier League’s website: “Showed strength and poise to score two goals that could just save Forest from relegation.”

Waziri Damian