As first reported by OwnGoalNigeria.com head coach of the Nigeria U20 team has extended an invitation to 19 year old Sao Paulo of Brazil forward Balogun Azeez to be a part of the foreign based players for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations.

The club confirmed his invitation on their official website with a letter of his invitation attached to the statement. He is expected to join the team at their camp in Abuja in the second week of January. Head coach Ladan Bosso wants all invited foreign based players to be around by that time.

Counsellor of the Brazilian team, Francesco Moretto while confirming his invitation said it’s a positive step and proved right their decision to recruit players from Africa. He said another African player at the club named Faisal will also join the Ghanaian team.

Azeez was spotted by the club during a scouting exercise in Nigeria where he represented Unique FC. He was initially signed on loan with an option of a five year deal based on the success of his initial loan deal. He has been a revelation for the B team so far.

Already he has trained with the first team and fans of the club seem to have taken to him by their comments on his social media handles whenever he post about his progress at the club.

The future of several Nigerian players will be decided in the coming days when the transfer window officially opens for winter business, Owngoalnigeria.com reports.

Already Yira Sor has set the ball rolling with his move to Belgium side Genk. His move is one of the several moves that will likely happen before the close of the window in January, with many planned moves working out well.

One cap Nigeria international defender Olisa Ndah who is on the books of South Africa side Orlando Pirates is among the players, who will be on the move in the coming days with Italian Serie A side Sassuolo keen on a deal.

According to isiZulu publication iSolezwe, Pirates have received an offer on the table from Serie A side Sassuolo, who are currently 15th in the Italian top flight log. The publication also goes on to state that they received this information from a source who is close to Ndah.

Sources close to the player in Nigeria also confirmed that talks are well underway over the transfer and a fee is almost agreed between both clubs. ” The interest started since the summer but it’s gathering pace now. Positive talks were held between both teams and a deal will likely happen sooner than expected”, our source revealed.

Ndah was a part of the team to the Africa Cup of Nations in January and made his international debut in that same tournament in the final group game against Sudan. He was called up for the friendly game against Portugal but injury stopped him from honoring the invitation.

The quest to have more Nigerian players born abroad to pledge their allegiance to the senior national team of Nigeria continued over the weekend as talks were held with five players, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Austine Eguavoen was in England and saw the game between Crystal Palace and Fulham at Selhurt Park. He was there on the invitation of England youth international Tosin Adarabiyio.

Adarabiyio has represented England at several youth levels but he is now keen on switching to Nigeria but he wasn’t the only player who had talks with Eguavoen per what we exclusively gathered.

At Fulham, Adarabiyio’s teammate Josh Onomah also met with the NFF chief after the game. He has also represented England at various youth levels and was a part of the U17 World Cup winning team. Eguavoen also met with Ebere Eze.

Nigeria have courted Eze for two years with former coach Gernot Rohr terming him a special player. It is believed that he will consider the option of shunning England for the Super Eagles if he fails to make the squad for the next European Championship in 2024.

Also contacted at Crystal Palace was Malcolm Eboiwei, the nephew of Super Eagles coach Austine Eguavoen. He trained with the 2019 Nigeria U17 team but didn’t make the squad for the world cup. His remarkable growth in between the years has landed him at the top league in England.

Eboiwei is seen as one of the brightest prospects at the club and he has already played for the first team in top flight games. Eguavoen however has his eyes on another talent in Tayo Adaramola who is a left full back.

Adaramola is presently an international for the Republic of Ireland at U21 level after rising through the ranks from U17 level. At Palace he is yet to make his first team debut but he is highly rated at the club.

We also gathered that Eguavoen didn’t make any attempts to speak with Michael Olise, who was once invited by former coach Rohr as he has made it clear that his intention is to build his international career with the French national team, where he is a player of the U21 team. Olise is also eligible for Algeria.

The future of Emmanuel Michael, the star player of the Nigeria U17 team at the WAFU tournament where they emerged as champions appears to be heading to a conclusion, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Michael won three straight man of the match award at the WAFU tournament showing his ability from set pieces. He scored three freekicks at the tournament and supplied the assist that helped the team win the final match against Burkina Faso.

His performance brought him to the attention of several teams across Europe with as many as ten teams pushing for his signature. The Simoiben Football Academy prospect was even courted by Dutch giants Ajax.

However, it appears Ligue 1 giants Monaco are the favourites for his signature with the club’s scout pushing to have him sign an agreement that will come to effect when he turns 18 next year. Similar to the type of deal Real Madrid has with Brazilian teen wonder Endrick.

Their proposal is currently being studied by Simoiben Football Academy, who are in no hurry to make a decision on the player’s future. It is believed they will demand a fee in the region of €1-2 million.

The transfer window has started in earnest for Nigerian players with the imminent departure of Yira Sor to Belgium side Genk on a four and half year deal.

Per multiple reports in Belgium, the 2019 Nigeria U20 winger will join the team for a fee in the region of €6.5m which his team Slavia Prague which his club has agreed to. We gathered add ons could see the fee rise to almost €8m.

Last season he was the star of the team in the Europa Conference League scoring six goals in six games with three assists as well. In the league he picked up five assists with three goals. Genk tried but failed to sign him in the summer.

22 year old Sor will join fellow Nigerian Paul Onuachu in the attack of the Belgium side, who were champions two seasons ago thanks to the goals of Onuachu. Their part might however not cross as the lanky striker is heavily linked with a January move away from the team.

A product of famous Nigeria football academy 36 Lions, he is expected in Belgium for his medicals before the deal will be officially announced by both teams for him to join when the window officially opens in January.

The head coach of the Nigeria U20 team Ladan Bosso says he has taken proactive approach towards solving his team’s problems when it comes to goal scoring ahead of the resumption of camping.

Bosso gave his team a two weeks break for the Christmas and new year celebrations after spending a month at their camp in Abuja. They will resume on the 4th of January for the second phase of camping which will involve players based abroad.

Already he has sent out invitations to ten players to be a part of the team but says he is in talks with some certain players to be sure of their availability before officially sending out invitation letters.  One among the players is Balogun Azeez of Brazilian side Sao Paulo.

” I am aware of the boy from Brazil who plays for Sao Paulo however before I can officially send out invitation. I need to be sure he will be available for the period of time. We still need reinforcement in attack and I see him as an option since he is playing”, Bosso told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Balogun joined the Brazilian side from Ibadan based football academy Unique FC. He was initially signed on loan with an option of a five year deal based on the success of his initial loan deal. He has been a revelation for the B team so far.

Already he has trained with the first team and fans of the club seem to have taken to him by their comments on his social media handles whenever he post about his progress at the club.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has stepped up it’s drive to get more players of Nigerian descent eligible for the Super Eagles to switch allegiance to the senior national team of Nigeria.

Head coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro already revealed he will speak with Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli after the World Cup but he isn’t contented with that option. He has given his blessings to the technical department of the NFF to meet with selected players.

To that effect, the technical director of the NFF Austine Eguavoen was in England yesterday to watch Crystal Palace 0-3 loss against Fulham at Selhurts Park, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

His visit we exclusively gathered was to meet with two players who Peseiro believe will be positive additions to his team ahead of the return to competitive football next year. Two players were spoken to by Eguavoen.

The two players are Tosin Adarabiyio of Fulham and Malcolm Eboiwei of Crystal Palace. Both players were unused substitutes during the game but did meet with the NFF technical director who was there for talks on having them start the process of switching to Nigeria.

Details of what were discussed was not made known to us as at the time of filing in this report but it is believed talks were very positive as both players should interest in teaming up with the team. We however have no details on if the duo of Ebere Eze and Michael Olise were also approached yesterday.

The duo of Olise and Eze held talks with erstwhile coach Gernot Rohr but declined to be part of the team despite Eze training with the team in 2017 and Olise getting an invitation one year ago.

As many as five players have officially received an invitation to be part of the Nigeria U20 team, when they resume in January in preparation for the U20 Africa Cup of Nations in February, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Head coach of the Nigeria U20 team Ladan Bosso has plans of calling up ten players to beef up his team in areas where the team needs a lot of adjustment and competitions. He wants them to complement the Nigerian based players.

Bosso has been in camp with the players for the past one month before heading on a break for the yuletide. They will resume in January where it is expected that some or all of the foreign based players will be available to join the team.

The U20 Africa Cup of Nations will take place from 18th February to 12th March, 2023 in Egypt. The top four teams will qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup scheduled to place in Indonesia from 20th May to 11th June next year.

Below are the list of players we can confirm have received their letter of invitation and it includes AC teen sensation Victor Eletu, who recently signed his first professional deal with the Serie A champions.

Lekan Oyedele – CD Feirense (Portugal)
Abel Ogwuche-  Trelleborgs ( Sweden)
Victor Ehuwa Eletu –  ( AC Milan)
Ahmed Abdullahi –  (Gent )
Adams Olubi – Zalgiris ( Lithuania).