SJK Seinajoki of Finland new loan signing Ovie Ejeheri is in line for a call up to the senior national team of Nigeria for the AFCON qualifiers in March, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Ejeheri recently joined the Finnish side on loan from Arsenal, after spending the first half of the season at non league side Chelmsford. At Chelmsford, Ejeheri kept 11 clean sheets and conceded only 17 goals in 23 appearances.

The 19 year old who is seen around the corridors of Arsenal as a future first team goalkeeper has now taken the bold step of moving to senior football with his move to the Finnish side, and it has also increased the competition for his international future.

Eligible for Nigeria, Uganda and England, it’s Nigeria who have taken the first step towards capping him with head coach of the team Jose Peseiro keeping an eye on him according to David Ornstein of The Athletic.

Below is what he wrote about the goalkeeper and how the battle for his international future is at the moment.

“Uganda, England and Nigeria are all keeping tabs on Ejeheri to potentially represent them at international level, with Nigeria currently the leading contender.

Uganda were keen on calling up Ejeheri for their Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers last June and their interest remains.

England watched him train at Arsenal and are monitoring the situation, while Nigeria want Ejeheri for their age-group teams and he is already in head coach Jose Peseiro’s thinking for senior inclusion”, his column reads.

The Nigeria U20 team stepped up their preparation for the Africa U20 Cup of Nations by playing three straight test games and came out on top in all three games in style.

Kano based Barau Academy were the first to taste the fire of the Ladan Bosso led side when they were thrashed 5-0. Bosso’s team triumphed with Samson Lawal scoring a brace from freekicks.

Segun Otusanya got a brace of his own as well in between a solitary strike from Bilyamin Sarki. The win set the tone perfectly for the game against Simoiben Football Academy on Friday at the same venue, which is the FIFA Goal Project Package B at the national stadium Abuja.

Simoiben held their own for around 20 minutes before finally caving in with Norwich City forward Kenny Coker opening scoring. The Nigeria U20 team were reduced to ten men when Samson Lawal was sent off for a nasty tackle. The red card it appears galvanized the team.

Sarki doubled their lead three minutes later and five minutes later got his brace. Captain of the team Ibrahim Yahaya got in on the mix with a curler from the edge of the box of visitors to make it 4-0.

The ten man team didn’t settle for that scoreline and went heavily in search of a fifth which they got courtesy of Jude Sunday. Shettima Umar for the sixth goal before Simoiben pulled one back to end the game 6-1 in favor of the AFCON bound team.

It was the turn of NNL side EFCC FC to face the heat and they provided what still remains the major stern test the Flying Eagles have faced since resuming for the second phase of their camping ahead of the February tournament.

Masoud Danjuma drew first blood when he put the visitors ahead. The Nigerian team were not rattled and replied through their captain Ibrahim Yahaya. Sarki ensured their unbeaten record in test games stood when he scored what ended as the match winner for his team.

With the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro keen on having more players eligible for the team commit to being a part of his rebuild, he recently made a trip to England.

The essence of his trip was to closely monitor and also interact with players eligible for the senior national team of Nigeria including those already in the team. He watched and also held talks with their coaches before returning to his base in Portugal.

One of the players he spoke with is Crystal Palace record making ddbutant David Ozoh, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal. At the age of just 17 years, eight months and 15 days – born on May 6th 2005 – Ozoh’s late substitute appearance in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United marks him out as Palace’s youngest-ever Premier League player.

Born in England to parents of Nigerian descent, the defensive midfielder is eligible for both countries but he hasn’t been capped at any level. Nigeria have already taken the first step and it’s an idea that the player and his camp admires.

” He was supposed to be with the Nigeria U20 team but Crystal Palace have him as a part of their first team set up hence won’t let him leave particularly as they are not obligated to do so. However his progress will be monitored by Peseiro, There is a huge chance he will play for Nigeria. The idea sits properly with his camp”, a source close to the player told Owngoalnigeria.com.

Napoli star Victor Osimhen has been in scintillating form in Serie A and beyond this season so far. The Nigerian striker has bagged 10 goals in 13 games to lead the league’s goalscoring charts and help Napoli to the top of the league, and he is currently averaging a goal every 108 minutes in Italy. Not even halfway through the season the 24-year-old is already just five goals away from bettering his goal return last season, scoring 14 in 27 which was a career high.

His electrifying form for The Parthenopeans since he burst onto the scene in 2020 has led to his name being linked with big moves to some of the biggest clubs in Europe. In the sports betting, Napoli are favourites to make good on their performances so far and secure the Serie A title this year.

After bagging more than a handful of goals so far it seems that Osimhen is due for a huge season, but could he be on the move at the culmination of Serie A? He could be on the wishlist for many managers this summer or maybe even this month with the January transfer window now open. But where could he go and how would he fare?

English Premier League

The Premier League is undoubtably the biggest league in the world in terms of viewership. Broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a potential TV audience of 4.7 billion people, it is the most popular league across all sports in the world and Osimhen may well value the chance to showcase his skills to an even wider audience. A division known for its physicality and pace, the 6 ft 1 in striker would likely fare well against opposing defenders.

His ability to beat offside traps with intelligent runs behind the lines would make him a credit to the spearhead of any attacking line in the league, but where would he be most likely to go? There seems an obvious answer so far with his name already being linked with a move to giants Manchester United, following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Manager Erik Ten Hag has made it clear that a striker is on the top of his transfer wishlist in the summer and Osimhencould well be their man.

Bundesliga

The Bundesliga style is slightly more expansive than the Premier League with a mixture of physical, technical and attacking styles. Osimhen would likely settle in well to the more attacking sides. He actually started his pro career in Germany with VFL Wolfsburg, but never really got kicking before moving on to Lille in Ligue 1. With more experience and a more refined technique, now could be the time for Osimhen to return and put things right.

Despite boasting huge teams such as Borussia Dortmund, Bayer Leverkusen and more recently RB Leipzig, the German Bundesliga has been dominated by Bayern Munich for a decade now. Die Roten have won 10 of the last 10 league titles and look set to make it 11 this year, topping the table at the time of writing. However, they are notably without an out and out number 9 and the Nigerian star could fill that gap with a world class supporting cast of Sadio Mane, Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry to provide for him.

La Liga

La Liga may be the most technically sound league in the world in terms of the talent pool and style of play. A host of extremely skilled passers and dribblers such as Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Pedri and Vinicius Jr light up the league every week. This may be where Osimhen would not fare as well. Whilst he displays good technique, his main asset as a striker is spearheading attacks behind the lines and the slower build up play of top teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona are less likely to accent his skillset.

However, he may be well suited to Diego Simeone’s rigid, defensive style where his pace could help hit teams on counter attacks. The Argentinian manager has valued big, physical centre forwards with the likes of Diego Costa and Alvaro Morata starring under him at Estadio Metropolitano. Whilst his workload would heavily increase, there is unlikely to be a better fit for him in Spain than with Colchoneros.

Ligue 1

Another one of Osimhen’s former homes, France is where he got his first real start on the big stage. In his sole season with Lille he managed an impressive 13 league goals in 27 appearances before making the move to Napoli. A league that values athleticism, Osimhen is a great fit. His intelligence in breaking lines to get through on goal is perfect for their style of play and he’d no doubt bag goals wherever he went. However therein lies the problem.

Napoli are known for being tough negotiators and are unlikely to let Osimhengo for much less than 100 million euros. The only team in the league who could afford that kind of transfer outlay is PSG and with a frontline of Neymar, Mbappe and Messi it is near impossible to see him getting in ahead of any of them.