Bulgarian side Levski Sofia have pulled a major coup by snapping up Nigeria international player Shehu Abdullahi on a free transfer following his departure from Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia.

His signing was confirmed earlier today and he will go straight into contention to make his debut for the team after the international break. The 27 year old is comfortable as a full back or defensive midfielder.

29 year old Abdullahi who has 29 caps for the senior national team of Nigeria told the club website of his excitement at joining them saying he was already in talks with the fans even before the move was made official.

“I am very glad to be here. Before I came to Sofia, I received messages from “Levski” fans and I already feel that I am at home. The club took very good care of me. “I came to show my best, help the team and achieve the goals this season,” Shehu told the official website of the club.

“I have heard about Levski before, but when the coach and the club contacted me, I researched it and found out that Levski is one of the biggest teams in Bulgaria. I chose to come here because of the history of this club, because of its goals and ambitions. As a player who wants to maintain a high level, you cannot refuse Levski. I hope that with my arrival I will bring success to the club,” added the AFCON 2019 bronze medallist.

“I play three positions – central midfielder, central defender and right back, but it all depends on the coach, I am ready to play all of them. The coach will decide where to play and I am ready to play anywhere,” concluded Abdullahi Shehu.

As Nigeria get set to take on Algeria in an international friendly game on the 27th of this month, the technical crew of the team lost out on one of the players they badly wanted to be a part of the squad.

Crystal Palace rising star Malcolm Ebiowei was penned down to be a part of the team owing to his fine start to the season for Crystal Palace, the team he joined in the summer from Derby County. He made a big impression on coach Patrick Viera hence the decision not to send him on loan.

His form didn’t go unnoticed back home where his uncle Finidi George works with new coach Jose Peseiro as one of his assistants. A Super Eagles call up was discussed with Nigeria technical director Austine Eguavoen who in turn told Peseiro about the former Nigeria U17 invitee.

Peseiro gave Eguavoen the go ahead to speak with the left footed forward but was told by his father that already he has been contacted to be a part of the England U21 set up for the next international break. He said his son has made up his mind to play for England for now.

He didn’t rule out a switch to Nigeria in the future. Earlier today he was called up to the England U21 team for their upcoming games against Chile and Morocco in Spain. He has previously played for England and Netherlands at U16 level.

In 2019 he was in the camp of the Nigeria U17 team but was omitted in the final list of players for the tournament with what some sources said was for controversial reasons. It is not certain if that incident played a role in his decision to pledge his future to England for the main time.

The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has moved quickly to fill the void created in the attack of the team ahead of the friendly game against Algeria.

Nigeria will take on Algeria on the 27th of this month without the duo of Victor Osimhen and Sadiq Umar, the first choice partnership of the new coach in attack owing to their form since the start of the season.

In their absence, the coach appears to have settled for Cremonense forward Cyriel Dessers to lead the team’s attack with Terem Moffi likely to be his pair in Peseiro’s preferred two man attack.

Cremonense confirmed the invitation of Dessers and OwnGoalNigeria.com can also confirm the invitation of Moffi who has scored five goals this season for Lorient in the French Ligue 1. He is the hottest player available for the coach in attack.

Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho is back in the team but will likely not go straight into the starting lineup with Peseiro keen on working with players he has been with for a while.

While Ajax summer signing Calvin Bassey has been the most talked about Nigerian defender in the Netherlands owing to his performance and record transfer fee, another Nigerian Shawn Adewoye is also making his mark in same league.

Signed from the B team of Belgium side Genk by RKC Waalwijk in January of last year, the 22 year old is making a big impression this season as he has played in all of the league games in the Dutch Eredivisie this season with a goal to his name.

Comfortable as a center back, he has twice been voted man of the match and has also made the team of the week on two separate occasions. His rise to the top this season has already drawn praises from some greats in Dutch football.

” He is quick of the ground and also reads the game very well and it his age he can only get better”, ex PSV star Philip Cocu said last week despite the fact that the defender ended up on the losing side as they lost 0-1 to PSV.

He will however need a switch of allegiance process owing to the fact that he has represented Belgium at several youth levels, the last of which came in 2018. He is said to be open to the idea of playing for Nigeria.

The recently released new design of kits for the various football national teams of Nigeria have not gone down well with players of the senior national team of Nigeria just three days after it was officially unveiled by Nike.

It is a tradition that teams get new designs of jerseys in a world cup year and despite the failure to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, the kit partners of the Nigerian team Nike released their new set of range.

However the buzz that followed the release of their kit for the 2018 World Cup in Russia isn’t the same as this with no news on it being sold out unlike last time out when it sold out in less than 24 hours.

OwnGoalNigeria.com sought to hear from players of the senior national team of Nigeria and as many as four of them voiced their displeasure over the design of the kit saying it’s too casual and nothing close to the previous kits.

” The kit is a trending topic amomg us and the general agreement is that it’s not up to the level of the last one. This one is too casual. More like what you wear at home when having a rest”, one of the players said.

Another one who also spoke on the condition of anonymity said he initially thought it was the usual internet jokes and suggestions untill he was told it’s real. ” I thought it was just a suggestion or joke taken too far then all of a sudden it’s for real . Cute though but too casual”, he said.

Two players of the team who were together when we called one of them both said the casual nature of the new design makes it look like what school kids should use and not senior professionals.

” More like what kids will wear for their games. For senior professional that isn’t it. However you don’t win a game by jersey design”.

Shortly after undergoing surgery due to the anterior cruciate ligament injury he picked up last week, Nigeria international striker Sadiq Umar says he will return a lot earlier than speculated.

Sadiq ruptured his ligament during the 1-2 loss to Getafe in the LaLiga and he is expected to spend at least eight months on the sideline before returning to football both for club and country.

While it’s true that recovery from such injuries takes time, Sadiq says he has in time past shown that he can recover a lot faster than expected and this time around he is confident that it will be the same.

“My recovery is usually ahead of time and by the grace of God this won’t be different. Surgery went well and recovery is next. Patience is required on my part but I know my body and I heal faster than normal”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive c kihat.

Since his move abroad, his latest injury is the most severe he has suffered and it is expected to keep him out a lot longer than the others he has faced since 2016, when he ventured into senior team football.

He was out for 63 days between (Nov 24, 2016 – Jan 26, 2017) with an ankle injury which required surgery. He missed 9 matches during this period while on loan at Bologna.

It took him 49 days ( Mar 5, 2020 – Apr 23, 2020) to recover from a knock he suffered while playing for Partizan Belgrade and missed just three games during this period.

Other injuries include Bruised Ankle (Sep 1, 2016 – Oct 3, 2016) was out for 32 days and missed 5 Bologna matches. Bruise on the shin (Nov 3, 2016 – Nov 21, 2016), it took him 18 days to recover.

With the transfer window still open in some European countries players are expected to take advantage of especially if they are deemed surplus to requirements at their present team.

That is the case with Nigeria International midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo who has left English Championship side Stoke City for Greek Super League side Aris on a year loan deal.

Aris announced his signing making it the third consecutive loan spell away from the club he joined four years ago. The Greek side will be the fourth team he has played for since falling out of favor at Stoke City just a year after winning their player of the season.

His present loan spell will terminate around the same time his deal at Stoke will run out. Previously he has spent time on loan at Getafe, Galatasary and Watford. Last season the 26 year old played only 9 games for relegated Watford in the English Premier League.

The coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro will use the weekend games in Europe to put the final touches on the list of players expected to represent Nigeria against Algeria.

Players have been notified of their invitation to the game on the 27th of Septemberin Oran but some changes will still be made to the list particularly in defence, where the team is currently facing an injury crisis.

One name that has been mentioned to Peseiro is that of Blackpool defender and captain Marvin Ekpiteta. The 27 year old has been in fine form for the English Championship side winning two mam of the match awards.

It is now up to Peseiro to decide on calling him up with doubts surrounding the fitness of William Troost Ekong who has played just one game since January. Also Semi Ajayi will miss the game after picking up an injury that will sideline him for six weeks.

Already Sochaux defender Valentine Ozornwafor has been called up as cover in defence. A decision on Ekpiteta is expected to be made before the list of invited players is made public.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) could be embroiled in a club versus country row ahead of the September 27th friendly game against Algeria in Oran.

Ahead of the game, letters of invitations have been sent to invited players notifying their respective teams that they will be needed for the game. However one team appears not to be keen on allowing their star player to honour the call up.

OwnGoalNigeria.com exclusively gathered that Nantes of France wants Moses Simon to skip the game owing to the fact that he isn’t fully fit even though he has played two games and will also play later today against Qarabag in the Europa League. He returned from a muscle injury two weeks ahead of schedule.

Already Simon has been told the decision by the club as they view him as one of their star players as they bid to make an impression in the league and also the Europa League this season. The 27 year old has scored three goals in five games  this season.

Nantes will officially communicate their stand to the NFF by next week although Simon is keen on honouring the game after a strong start under Jose Peseiro where he had three assists and one goal in two games under the Portuguese.

The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro will in the coming days release the list of players who will represent Nigeria in the upcoming friendly game against Algeria.

Nigeria will take on Algeria on the 27th of September in Oran and already the coach of the Nigerian team has sent out invitation letter to players who will take part in the preparation and also the game.

Antwerp of Belgium rave of the moment Alhassan Yusuf has been handed another chance with the team after failing to honour the first invitation he got due to visa issues. He was first named in the sqaud for the friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador but didn’t make the trip to the United States of America.

Recently voted as the player of the month after a strong start to the season, he is the second new player we can confirm is in the list with Raphael Onyedika as the other player, we can also confirm that Watford goalkepper Maduka Okoye has been handed a recall.

Okoye is staging a return to the team for the first time since the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in January, where he was largely blamed for the goal that saw Nigeria exit the tournament at the round of 16 losing 0-1 to Tunisia.