The future of the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro isn’t as clear as many thought with his contract set to expire in two months time, OGN reports.

Peseiro was appointed the coach of the Nigerian team in May 2022 on a one year deal with the option of another two years if he wins the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, which was originally planned to be held in June this year.

However with the postponement of the tournament to January 2024, his contract will be up before the commencement of the tournament unless it is renewed and for now there is no talks about a renewal from the Nigeria Football Federation.

” It hasn’t been discussed largely due to the fact that we haven’t qualified for the AFCON yet. We have two qualifiers games against Guinea Bissau later this month. Maybe we can start talking about an extension after then but we don’t have any plans to extend his stay as Super Eagles coach at the moment”, he told OGN.

On if they will give him a pay rise in the event he sings a new deal, the board member who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that it will be very difficult instead they will look to negotiate his current pay of $70,000 a month to what they can afford monthly.

” A pay rise will be very difficult even if he signs a new deal. Left to me and the board if he agrees to a lesser pay then it will make it easy for us. Remember the minister who approved this wage for him might not be around the same position under the new president elect even if he keeps his place in the cabinet.

” We want something that we can afford and his current pay is well out of our budget. When that time comes we will all look at it and see the best way forward for all involved”, he stated.

The chances of Watford making an instant return to the English Premier League suffered a huge blow with news that they will be without one of the players they were banking on to end the season on a high.

Yesterday, they announced the departure of coach Slaven Bilic after five months at the helm with Chris Wilder named as his replacement. However before his departure he dropped a not too happy news for fans of the team regarding the fitness of Tom Dele-Bashiru.

Dele-Bashiru hasn’t played for the team since damaging ankle ligaments in the 4-0 defeat at Swansea on 30 December.

At the time, he was expected to be out for “a couple of months” but has picked up another ankle problem in training. The former Nigeria U20 and U23 midfielder is now expected to miss the rest of the season. The 23 year old was hoping to make a huge impression at the club this season after a loan spell with Reading all through last season.

It’s the second major disruption he has suffered in three years due to injury and it has slowed his promising career, which started at Manchester City, it is also part of why he isn’t in the plans of the senior national team of Nigeria yet.

Osas Mahawi

The story of little known Nigerian forward Raphael Chidi Odogwu is one of a fight back from what looked like a career threatening injury to becoming a late bloomer.

His career got underway with the U19 of modest Italian side Chievo but he failed to make the senior grade at the club and since then he has been involved in six free transfers which includes two spells at Virtus Verona. He also played for Real Vicenza, Renate, Alto Vicentino and Arzignano.

While at Arzignano, he suffered a career threatening injury that kept him out for three years and in the midst of fears over his career, he sunk into depression and had to undergo therapy to beat it.

In 2021 when Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku was at Inter Milan, Odogwu:s wife was tried to contact Lukaku on Instagram to cheer him up. Unfortunately she had no luck but she eventually got through to him using the assistant of  Antonio Conte’s who was then the coach of Inter Milan.

She got her way through Conte’s assistant coach Cristian Stellini via Odogwu’s agent leading to Lukaku sending his jersey and a pair of boots to sent Raphael to boost his morale and also confidence. The move appears to have paid off.

The 32 year old is playing his first season in Serie B and he’s Südtirol’s top scorer with 8 goals and he has been playing in the boots given to him by Lukaku since 2021. His team are within the promotion position. A rise to the Serie A will no doubt complete an amazing turnaround for the Nigerian who holds an Italian passport as well.

Osas Mahawi

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has set out the way he wants the team to play when they regroup for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers games against Guinea Bissau.

Nigeria will take on Guinea Bissau in back to back games with the first tie coming up on the 24th of March at the Moshood Abiola stadium in Abuja. A win in both games will see Nigeria secure top spot in their group and also qualification for the AFCON.

Peseiro has repeatedly said his intentions is to win the next Africa Cup of Nations and in his bid to do so, he is prepared to step on the toes of some of the senior players in the team. Already he has started the process of phasing out captain of the team Ahmed Musa.

Another player who is facing a huge battle to keep his spot in the team is Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi. Sources close to the coach told OGN that the style the coach wants to play doesn’t suit how Ndidi has operated in the team since becoming an integral player in 2017.

” We were shocked when he took Ndidi out at half time against Portugal. No reason was given but we know it was a tactical switch with Ndidi not applying himself the way the coach wants to play. His idea is a midfielder who helps in building up play from the back but we know he is not that type”, he told OGN.

” Two of his assistants have been very clear to us on how the team should play and it starts with a deep lying playmaker. It’s one area we know they are searching for options. I don’t think they really see Ndidi in that role. We wait still”, he rounded up saying.

Damian Waziri

The form of Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing has brought up talks about his nationality as he is eligible to represent Nigeria at senior level despite playing three games for the senior national team of Denmark.

He qualifies for Nigeria through his father and three years ago when the then coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr sought to have him play for Nigeria, it ended in a controversial way. According to Rohr it was the player’s agent who approached him that his client wants to play for Nigeria.

Rohr said : “Billing’s agent called me and he said that he is interested to come to Nigeria because he is not playing so much in Denmark. So he wanted me to call [Billing]. I said I don’t have his number, so he gave me his number. [When I called Billing] he asked me some questions about the Nigerian team.

“And he said, ‘I am very, very interested to come with you, but give me some time. I think the agent is using this interest to give him more importance or more chances to play in Denmark”, Rohr told ESPN

Billing however granted an interview where he stated that he is still committed to Denmark, the team he has played a combined 45 minutes in two games since his debut in 2020. He was not considered for the World Cup in Qatar as well.

Billing told Danish news outlet BT in 2020: “It would be strange to stand up for Nigeria when I feel 100 percent Danish. Of course, I have Nigerian roots and I am half Nigerian, but I was raised and born in Denmark.

“[Rohr] just said he really wanted me to play for Nigeria because the upcoming World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations will be played soon. I made it pretty clear to him that I wanted to play for Denmark. That’s my big dream.”

Speaking on his goal against Arsenal, which is the second fastest in the history of the English Premier League, former captain of the Super Eagles Mikel revealed he was aware of the move by former coach Rohr and says he feels the time to try again is probably now.

” He was to me the best player on the pitch but I understand why Reiss Nelson was voted man of the match”, Mikel said before he was reminded by the host of the show that Billing could get play for Nigeria. ” I am aware of the effort by the last coach of the team and I think the time to revisit that talk is probably now”, he rounded up saying.

This season Billing has played in all of Bournemouth’s 24 games and presently has five goals plus an assist.

Daniel Martins.

The most talked about player in the English Championship at the moment is Middlesbrough Nigerian forward Chuba Akpom owing to his fantastic run in front of goal at the promotion chasing side.

Akpom has been a thorn in the flesh of defenders in the English Championship this season with 21 goals in 28 games. His amazing turnaround came under the guidance of former Manchester United star and caretaker coach Michael Carrick.

Carrick spoke about the form of the 27 year old who has since completed the switch of nationality process from England making him eligible to play for the senior national team of Nigeria. While making his point on the strengths of the forward he somehow revealed how Akpom can compliment the attack of any team.

The Super Eagles attack is currently headed by Napoli forward Victor Osimhen who has 19 goals this season for the runaway league leaders. Carrick said the fact that Akpom is a team player as seen when he passes on the chance to score a hattrick by handing the ball to his teammate rather than take the penalty shows how much he wants to play for the team ahead of himself.

Carrick said: “I don’t think it’s sacrificing, it’s just being a team player, and credit to him for that. Not many would have done that, but he understands it’s about the squad, all the boys being in a good frame of mind.

“His first penalty was a good one and it would have been easy for him to grab it. But he understands how grateful Marcus was to have a chance to score. A team player is who he is and it’s what most teams love to have”, he rounded up saying.

Osas Mahawi 

The head coach of the Nigeria U23 team Salisu Yusuf is hardly far aways from controversies and his recent list of players invited to the Nigeria U23 camp for the AFCON qualifiers against Guinea is another case study.

Yusuf has once again showed he has little or no knowledge of most players invited to the team and it’s not the first time he is doing this. In his present list at least seven players are well above the age limit. This same mistake he did when he first called up players to the team for the game against Tanzania.

Ahead of the March 22nd game, we take a look at the players he has called up for the game and how he made a mess of what should have been a simple job. Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman takes a look at the invited players.

ALL THE INVITED PLAYERS:

Goalkeepers: John Amah (Sunshine Stars); Nurudeen Badmus (Dakkada FC); Ifeanyi Nchekwube (Akwa United); Oriya Joseph (Lobi Stars)

OGN – A very hilarious pick.  This season only Badmus has tasted action in the NPFL this season. The trio of Joseph, Nchekwube and Amah are third choice at their respective teams. Even Badmus has only kept goal in two games this season. How about the fact that three of the four listed might be above the age limit.

Defenders: Christopher Nwaeze (Plateau United); Desmond Ojietefian (Shooting Stars); Okechukwu Chikason (Enyimba FC); Anthony Anieke (Akwa United); Samuel Olamilekan (Niger Tornadoes); Benjamin Tanimu (Bendel Insurance); Evans Ogbonda (Port Harcourt City); Umar Ahmed Farouk (Gombe United)

OGN- The duo of Chikason and Olamilekan are yet to play any games this season per our records. The same as Desmond of Shooting Stars. Then there is also doubts over the age of Nwaeze and if he is eligible to play for the team. Unless if there is a mix up else there is no way Anieke of Akwa United will be U23 as he was at Bussdor in 2016. Hopefully it isn’t the same player.

Midfielders: Daniel Wotlai (Abia Warriors); Akanni Qudus (Remo Stars); Auwalu Naziru (Rangers Int’l); Chibuike Nwaiwu (Enyimba FC); Divine Nwachukwu (Bendel Insurance); Taofeek Malomo (Shooting Stars); Samuel Chisom (Kwara United); Samaila Sarki (Bendel Insurance); Kumaga Suur (Lobi Stars); Inye Green (Ibani United).

OGN- Aside from the inclusion of Green from unknown league side Ibani United. Every other player in the list merits a spot in the team. All the players listed can be said to be within the age limit to represent the team. However Malomo has an outstanding issue of age discrepancies while with the U20s. Unless that is sorted then there is no way he can be said to be eligible for this team.

Forwards: Munir Idris (Niger Tornadoes); Ahmed Jimoh (Kwara United); Ezekiel Edidiong (Remo Stars); Ifeanyi Ogba (Akwa United); Umar Ibrahim (El-Kanemi Warriors); Alkasin Deji Yusuf (Dakkada FC); Mojereola Suleiman (Sunshine Stars); Akile Monday (Lobi Stars.

OGN- Suleiman hasn’t played a game this season at Sunshine Stars. Ibrahim Umar is another mysterious name in the list with no appearance tied to his name this season in the NPFL. None of the players called up to lead the attack of the team has three goals this season.