The battle over the future of so many players will  no doubt spark a bidding war by several teams who are keen on improving certain areas in their team with specific players.

Nigerian players won’t be left out of the frenzy in the summer as some players are already linked to a host of teams ahead of the transfer window. Among them is red hot striker Victor Boniface.

Boniface is wanted by several top teams in Europe after a highly successful season in Belgium with Union Saint-Gilloise. At a time he was the top scorer in the UEFA Europa League with six goals, in the Belgium league he has seven goals and seven assists in 31 games.

Reports have it that AC Milan, Lazio and Napoli have already made contact with his camp and will have no problem matching his €10m price tag. But it appears German side RB Leipzig are not going to let the Italian sides have a clear run at him.

According to Sky Sports Germany, the German side have on loan Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun as their main target but won’t be open to paying the €40m that the English side wants for the 21 year old. That has now made a move for Boniface more of an option with the club not just looking at him as a potential replacement for the departing Christopher Nkunku.

He is seen as a separate case and will blossom into a target man of high repute in few years time. One thing is certain for Boniface and it is that he won’t be at the Belgium side next season.

Daniel Martins

The richest man in Africa Aliko Dangote will not be pursuing his widely reported interest in acquiring French Ligue 2 side Valenciennes, OGN can exclusively reveal.

Valenciennes is presently up for sale with the club’s debts making it available for purchase. Dangote was said to be very interested in buying the team and even visited to see one of their league game recently, it was reported that he was closing in on a €10m deal.

However those reports appears to be wide off the mark according to recent reports from his camp, a member of his media team confirmed that the businessman has no interest in the team although admitted that it was offered to him since it’s on sale.

He said the dream of the billionaire is still to own English Premier League side Arsenal and he will begin his quest towards acquiring the team by the time his newly built refinery resumes operation. He is a lifelong fan of the London side.

A deal to buy Arsenal looks unlikely with the owner Stan Kroenke not said to be keen on letting go of his majority stake at the club. Dangote is silently confident that an aggressive bid could force the American into a change of heart.

Daniel Martins

Nigeria might be on the verge of losing a talent who could be a star in the future in Ademola Ola-Adebomi of Crystal Palace, following the decision of Ladan Bosso to exclude him from the list of foreign based players for the U20 World Cup.

Ola-Adebomi was in the camp of the Nigerian team before the U20 Africa Cup of Nations but a mix up over the length of time he is allowed to stay in the camp of the Nigerian team saw him leave the camp after just two training sessions.

It led to his exclusion from the team but he was told he will be considered for the World Cup if the team qualifies for the tournament. They did by finishing third at the AFCON but he wasn’t handed another chance with the team close to leaving for the tournament and the final list set to be made public on the 10th of May.

He appears not to be bothered by the snub with his form for the U23 in the Premier League 2 earning him praises and potentially catching the attention of the England youth team selectors. The 19 year old is the top scorer of the team with 8 goals in 17 games this season.

Former manager or Crystal Palace Patrick Viera handed him his first team bow in the mid season friendly game against Manchester United and from all indications he will be involved with the first team when pre season begins ahead of the start of next season.

Osas Mahawi

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is under pressure not to extend the contract of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro, OGN can exclusively reveal.

Peseiro’s one year deal will expire in June and with results not at it’s best after just three wins in ten games, it’s looking likely that the Portuguese will be relieved of his role at the expiration of his deal.

However, the football house is not finding it easy to take a definite stand on his future with fears over the section of his contract that states that he can be fired, if he fails to win the AFCON, which has been shifted to next year.

Also they are owing him around four months of unpaid wages and sacking him will means paying him as well as paying whoever that will succeed him as coach. The situation hasn’t deterred coaches from signifying their interest in his job.

OGN exclusively gathered that representatives of coaches have been in contact with the NFF proposing their clients in the event that the coach is axed from his job in June. Already coaches have started submitting their resume.

Brazilian giants Flamengo have completed the process of the signing of Nigerian teen sensation Shola Ogundana from Nigerian Academy side Beyond Limit FA, OGN understands

The academy is the nursery team of Nigeria Professional Football League side Remo Stars, owned by business tycoon Kunle Soname, he is also the owner of second division Portuguese side Feirense.

Shola was sighted by the Brazilian team during the last Viareggio youth tournament in Italy, where he represented the academy. He was at the stadium to watch the team play in their last game in the Brazilian championship.

We gathered the idea is for him to start with the B team of the side, where his progress will be monitored for a possible promotion to the first team in the nearest future. He is the latest in a long list of young players who have been snapped up by foreign teams from the academy that is based in Ikenne.

The duration of his contract with the team wasn’t made public as at the time of this report but sources said it’s a year loan deal with the option of further years if he makes his mark at the club in his first year.

In a not too distant future Nigerians will likely get to see another player in the Spanish top division to join the the duo of Samuel Chukwueze and Sadiq Umar at Villarreal and Real Sociedad respectively.

Real Valladolid owned by football icon Ronald de Lima who are 15th on the La Liga table and favorite to remain in the top division next season with four points separating them from the drop zone, currently occupied by Espanyol.

If they stay up then it’s very possible that they will line up a Nigerian in their ranks in former Nigeria U17 ace Akinsola Babatunde Jimoh, who we reported joined the team in September from NLO side Valiant FC.

He was moved to the B team but such is the rise of the 19 year old that he has already been moved to the first team and was recently in the squad for the La Liga game against Valencia two weeks ago. A game they lost 2-0 against their fellow relegation battlers.

Next season, the winger who was a part of the Nigeria title winning WAFU U17 team of 2019 will be hoping to cement a spot in the first team after making progress that has taken all by surprise.

Daniel Martins

The Nigeria U17 team started their campaign at the U17 Africa Cup of nations on a winning note by picking up a slim 1-0 win over Zambia courtesy of a strike by Favour Daniel in the 76th minute.

OGN editor in chief Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman who saw the game live and can be said to be an authority on the team selects five key things from the game as the head shit their attention to the next game against group leaders Morocco.

1. These Boys Can Play – The 1-0 scoreline didn’t do justice to the performance of the Nigerian team as they totally dominated their opponent with a brand of football that can easily passed as entertaining and breathtaking. The way they moved the ball and their close ball control was a beauty to behold.

Maybe the team still need to be more clinical in the final third and more decisive with the final box into the box but one thing is certain. These boys can play.

2. Solid Centre Backs – Seeing how the Nigerian team dominated the game one might be tempted to think that it was a one way traffic sort of game but it wasn’t. Zambia on their part threatened with their pacy forwards especially in the second half. However they met a brickwall in the pair of Jeremiah Olaleke and Tochukwu Joseph Ogboji.

The duo were solid in tackles, ball movement and build up play from the back. The ease with which they covered up for the overlapping full backs was also another thing that stood out and helped the team to a 1-0 win.

3. Midfield Lacks Creativity – Although Hope Linus impressed with his ability to receive a pass under pressure and beat the press. He was something guilty of trying the spectacular where a simple pass would have been a better option. It’s clear to see that the team is missing the creativity of the three key midfielders who are not part of this team after failing the MRI Test. They were the creative force behind the team’s success at the WAFU tournament.

4. No Much Faith In Substitutes – That it took around 80 minutes before coach Nduka Ugabde made his first substitution, even when it was apparent that those on the pitch were tired is a pointer to the lack of faith in the substitutes at this tournament. At the WAFU tournament that wasn’t the case and it almost proved costly yesterday with Zambia introducing fresh legs and they immediately seized control of the game.

5. Well Coached Team – From the way they progressed the ball from defence to midfield and attack, it’s clear to see a pattern that was rehearsed and perfected on the training ground. The overlapping full backs, build up from the back and balls into the box can’t be said to be a a coincidence. It is actually training ground stuff in full flow.

The U17 Africa Cup of Nations got underway yesterday with host Algeria defeating Somalia 2-0 in the first game of the tournament which is the qualifiers for the U17 World Cup to be hosted by India.

Later today, the U17 team of Senegal will take on Congo in the first game of the day which is set for 2pm Nigerian time. It is the second group game of group A, which has the host leading us into the tournament as stated above.

Group B will take center stage by 5pm with Nigeria, the most decorated team at the tournament at world level with five titles taking on Zambia. The next group game will be by 8pm between the two other teams in the group Morocco and South Africa.

The games will be shown live on television for Nigerian audience on Supersport with yesterday’s game broadcasted by the satellite network outfit. It will also be shown live on a Facebook handle (KE Tube) for those who want to watch it online.

For people based abroad the game will be live on the official YouTube channel of the Confederation of African Football (CAF). It is however not available for people residing in Nigeria as was the case yesterday.

Mohammed Mowiz