Nigeria international midfielder Alex Iwobi has lifted the lid on his shock exit from Arsenal to Everton during the 2019 summer transfer window, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Iwobi who made the step up to the first team from the youth team under Arsene Wenger, was a regular in the previous season under new coach Unai Emery, making his exit from the coach more surprising to many.

He left for Everton in a deal reportedly worth around £40m. A move which the 29 year old who is now at fellow English Premier League side Fulham said was against his wish but feels he was being forced out after the signing of Nicholas Pepe for a club record fee of £72m from Lille.

“I was away at the Afcon. Had a good Afcon. I’ve come back. I’ve been told by Unai Emery you have got two weeks extra. I’ll go enjoy holidays. I’m in Dubai with my family having a good time. they signed Nicholas Pepe.

“Great player by the way, I don’t say anything bad about this great player, and I thought. Wait you want me so why did you sign another winger? I was like, what’s going on here?

” And my agent told me Everton are interested, I said, oh, that’s nice to hear. I’m in Dubai. My agent is calling me. I’m like, I can’t hear you what he said that, hey, he goes, Mark (Marco Silva) himself he tells me all right, Alex. We want you to join us (Everton). We think you suit our playing style. I appreciate, that’s nice to hear.

“Arsenal already signed my medical documents, so I didn’t even get a chance to say yes or no, awesome. Basically, saying we don’t mind you going? Maybe it’s time for me to step out my comfort zone, become a man, go somewhere different”, he stated in an interview monitored by our editorial team.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The reason why French giants Monaco decided to transfer 19 year old George Ilenikhena to Saudi Arabia side Al-Ittihad has been explained by the CEO of the club Thiago Scuro, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

George joined the Saudi outfit as a replacement for French forward Karim Benzema, and the move immediately sparked discussions on the rationale behind Monaco’s decision to let go of one of their promising prospects.

He was sold for a deal worth €33m and Scuro explained that it was against their wish, but they had to do it in order to stay afloat as a team in the French League because of financial constraints.

“The only way for French clubs to survive is by selling many more players than we buy,” says Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro. We are now good on Uefa rules.

“I had to make the best choice for the organisation. I wanted to keep George. He is a player with a lot of potential. We are happy to have found a solution for the financial situation, but it is also a shame that a young player with a lot of potential to progress leaves”, he stated.

A target for the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle, his move to Saudi hasn’t deterred the coach whom as we exclusively reported made contact with the player’s camp last week.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Nicholas Jackson wasn’t the first choice option of Bayern Munich in the summer, when they were looking to bolster their options in attack, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Bayern signed Jackson on loan from Chelsea towards the end of the summer transfer window, a move which hasn’t worked out with the forward struggling to get game time.

So far he has scored just five goals in 22 games , and hasn’t looked anywhere near the player who can deputise for their top scorer Harry Kane.

Jackson who forced his way out of Chelsea wasn’t seen as a player at the club with a long term future, and their preference was Nigeria international forward Ademola Lookman who was back then at Serie A side Atalanta.

Lookman wanted out and pushed for a move by going on strike. Bayern moved to sign him as demanded by head coach Vincent Kompany but only on loan which was their policy last summer.

Their move was blocked by Atalanta who were only interested in a direct sale, and it left them with no option but to settle for Jackson. Lookman moved to Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window and has four goals and three assists in nine games.

The failed move to Bayern Munich was made public on social media platform X by CfBayern, a handle seen as very informative on issues about Bayern Munich.

Below is the post.

Bayern had an agreement with Ademola Lookman and his management at the end of last summer’s transfer window (represented by ROOF, same agency as Laimer, Gnabry, Goretzka). The Nigerian winger wanted to move to Munich but Atalanta refused to sanction the deal. Max Eberl was restricted financially due to the loan-only policy by the supervisory board. Therefore the club had to turn back to Nicolas Jackson [@cfbayern, @AgardiJulian]

The quietness by FIFA on the protest filed by Nigeria against DR Congo for fielding players with questionable nationality in the world cup qualifiers playoff final in November has been described as a support for illegality, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Nigeria protested after losing the ticket to represent Africa to DR Congo in the final in Morocco. They said at least seven players in the team of DR Congo hold dual nationality which is against the constitution of the country.

FIFA upon receiving the petition demanded answers from DR Congo, and since then haven’t made a decision with just three weeks left to the start of the intercontinental playoff in Mexico.

” They are supporting illegality. It’s not normal that they haven’t passed a judgement. Dismiss it or confirm it. As a governing body you just can’t keep quiet about a protest. They should be a judgement”, a board member of the NFF said.

” We submitted our case on the grounds that having a country’s passport or residency doesn’t mean eligibility to play for them. It’s in FIFA’s laws not like we create them. The players involved can’t be said to have sporting eligibility when they don’t have constitutional eligibility which international football is all about”, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Recent reports that Premier South Africa league side Kaizer Chiefs are interested in a deal for Nigeria international goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has been dismissed, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Reports claim Nwabali who left Chippa United by mutual consent after the AFCON is the top choice to replace Fiacre Ntwari who is expected to leave the PSL giants at the end of the season.

Those reports have now been termed as inaccurate and misleading by sources close to the 27 year old goalkeeper, and a member of his representative.

” It’s fake news. There is nothing from Kaizer Chiefs and I don’t think anything will happen anytime soon. Nwabali is currently keeping fit for his next move which could be sooner or maybe in the summer”, a member of his representative revealed.

” I saw the news and I asked him (Nwabali). He was quick to say it’s not true and wondered where it started from. I know Nigerians are keen on his next destination but he is in no hurry to make a decision yet”, a source revealed.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

German giants Bayern Munich currently have three Nigerians on their books in Frank Egwuatu, Richard Ajayi and the well known Wisdom Mike who has already made his debut for the first team at the age of 17, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Wisdom has already made four senior appearances for the first team in the Bundesliga and one in UEFA Champions League. A reward for his performance for the U19 team.

He likely to be joined in the first team by Ajayi who made the headlines after training with his first team two days ago. His journey is way different from Wisdom who was born and raised in Germany.

Born in Nigeria, Ajayi who is predominantly a left back came to the Germany from Ukraine when the war broke out. He started from playing for non league teams before he was spotted and taking to the Bayern setup where he has cemented his spot in the U19.

Among the trio Egwuatu who is a forward appears to be the one with a very high ceiling as he has already made himself a mainstay in the U19 at the age of 16. He was also born in Nigeria.

All three are tipped to make the step up to the first team in the nearest future, however some may have to go elsewhere as it is usually the case with young players playing for the youth team of top teams.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Emmanuel Emegha has been told he made a mistake pledging his international future to the Netherlands ahead of the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The 23 year old Strasbourg forward who will be joining Chelsea in the summer turned down the chance to be a part of the Super Eagles team, when he was approached by head coach Eric Chelle.

He made it clear that his dream is to play for the Netherlands, and has already played in two senior games against Poland and Lithuania respectively in the world cup qualifiers totalling just 28 minutes game time.

Presently out Injured and running the risk of missing out on the world cup, Emegha made a mistake snubbing Nigeria according to Dutch based Nigerian journalist Michael Akinbami.

” It was an own goal by Emegha. I felt he should have been better off playing for the Super Eagles. I really don’t think he is that highly rated or regarded here. Last season was his year with 14 goals but that is the best it has been for him in a while, and he will be going to Chelsea for a fresh start in the summer. I don’t see him in the Netherlands team anytime soon”, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Players of the senior national team of Nigeria are backing head coach Eric Chelle on his decision to leave Maduka Okoye out of the team, after he decided to shun the invitation to be a part of the team for the AFCON.

Okoye shunned the tournament because head coach Eric Chelle refused to assure him that he will be the first choice goalkeeper of the team. In his absence Chelle decided to hand a recall to Francis Uzoho who he kept in the wilderness for more than a year.

Uzoho accepted the back up role to first choice Stanley Nwabali, and he is now set to be handed the position with Nwabali inactive after terminating his contract with Chippa United after the AFCON.

Chelle’s decision which has generated debates after we exclusively reported it has drawn reaction from players of the team, who feel Okoye hasn’t shown enough commitment to the team lately.

” If we were going to be at the world cup, would Okoye has snubbed the AFCON to remain at Udinese? You know the answer. So if the coach says he is no longer in his plans it is justified’, a player said to us via Instagram.

” Maybe it’s the best way to prove to others that no one is bigger than the team. I know Chelle very well and he doesn’t like when a player undermines his authority”, another one said from his base in Europe.

” As a part of the defence for the tournament. I can tell you that the coach likes it when everyone is on the same page, which is why Uzoho is his preferred choice. Okoye didn’t cover himself in glory with his conduct”, a member of the AFCON team stated.

William Osula who scored the winner for ten man Newcastle United against Manchester United yesterday in the English Premier League is eligible to play for the senior national team of Nigeria, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Born in Denmark to a Danish mother and a Nigerian-French father, he moved to England at a young age, making him eligible to play for four countries at international level in Denmark, France, England and Nigeria.

So far he has only played for Denmark at U19 level in a friendly game leaving him eligible for others. He couldn’t honour his first call up to the senior national team of Denmark last year due to injury.

Shortly after he was called up by Denmark, he revealed that playing for the senior national team of Nigeria is a possibility, because of his strong Nigerian roots but he feels more comfortable with Denmark.

” I appreciate my Nigerian roots and follow the senior team which was a possibility for me. But I feel very much at home with Denmark and I look forward to having a good international career there”, he stated.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Trabzonspor defender Chibuike Nwaiwu is in a race against time to be fit for the Super Eagles upcoming friendly games in March, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Like we exclusively reported the ex Enyimba defender is among the new players head coach Eric Chelle plan to invite for the tournament in Jordan during the international break.

However what would have been his first call up to the team has suffered a setback after his club confirmed that he will be out for an unforeseeable period of time with a thigh injury.

The 22 year old is dealing with bleeding and swelling in his left thigh, diagnosed after his injury in the latest Süper Lig match. It was his 7th league appearance since his move from Austrian side Wolfsberger AC in the January transfer window.

Medical examinations have confirmed the injury. The club’s head doctor, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Beşir, stated that treatment has already begun. The player’s expected time on the sidelines has not yet been specified.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman