Nigeria international midfielder Joe Aribo is few details away from completing a switch to English Premier League side Southampton for a fee reported to be in the region of £10m.

Aribo was signed from English Championship side Charlton Athletic for around £300,000 three years ago and he has since turned out to be a bargain buy for the Gers, who were beaten finalist in last season Europa League.

With one year left to run on his deal, he turned down a contract extension and in order to lose him for free next season, Rangers decided to cash in on the Nigerian.

Despite what looks like a significant profit base on the amount he was sold, former Nigeria international Efe Ambrose believe his price tag isn’t reflective of his current status.

” I heard he is going for £10m, that’s cheap if true. Very cheap and I think Rangers miss a trick with him. He is worth much more than that in my opinion. That’s a £30m player getting sold for £10m. Southampton will be shocked to see his quality because it’s much more than his price tag”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive conversation on Aribo’s planned move to Southampton.

France Ligue 1 side Lorient now have three Nigerian players on their books as they begin plans for next season following the start of pre season training.

Aside the duo of Innocent Bonke and Terem Moffi, Lorient also added Taofeek Ismaheel to their squad, a winger they signed from Norwegian side Fredrikstad in January and decided to send him on loan to fellow Norwegian side Valerenga.

Taofeek has now joined the rest of the team in pre season training and Bonke has taken him under his wings ensuring that he settles on time. ” He (Taofeek) will stay with me until he is able to secure an apartment of his own. I told him to leave the hotel where he put up upon arrival. The idea is to help him settle on time”, Bonke told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

” It’s pure joy for me to see another Nigerian here with me. Now we are three and I have told him what to do if he wants to establish himself as a regular. My dream is for all three of us to be in the team all the time”, he rounded up saying.

Nigeria international forward Emmanuel Dennis wasn’t among the players of relegated English Premier League side Watford who are currently having a pre season camp in Austria.

Ahead of their campaign in the English Championship, Watford are in Austria for a  six-day pre-season training camp, which concludes on Sunday with the club’s second pre-season friendly against Greek side Panathinaikos.

They arrived Austria without their top scorer Emmanuel Dennis who they are keen on offloading in order to raise cash which will be invested in the team as they bid to gain promotion back to the English Premier League.

The move is a way of telling interested teams that the 24 year old is not in their plans hence they can get him but Watford want a fee of around £20m and so far they have not been any offer for him.

Rumours about interest from Premier League duo Everton and West Ham is still mere paper talk as they have not been any official bid for the forward who scored 10 goals and provided six assists.

Southampton are in negotiations to sign Rangers midfielder Joe Aribo, The Athletic understands.

The versatile 25-year-old is believed to be keen on joining Ralf Hassenhuttl’s side and the clubs are now working to agree a fee.

Aribo’s contract has always included a £10 million release clause and it is understood that Rangers will not accept a total package below that value.

Although one other club are talking to the Scottish team, Southampton are confident of securing the Nigeria international and a deal spanning at least four years is being prepared.

As the transfer window continue to witness more activities, the future of Nigeria international forward Sadiq Umar at Almeria is far from certain, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Sadiq is tipped to leave the club before the end of the current transfer window with Villarreal locked in talks with Almeria over his potential signing. Both teams are still €5m apart in their valuation of the 25 year old.

The Almeria top scorer for two consecutive seasons isn’t in any way bothered about his future insisting that he is very comfortable at his present club but doesn’t know what the future holds. ” If you ask me where I will be playing next season, I will tell you Almeria but honestly speaking I don’t know what the future holds”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in Kaduna where is back on holiday.

Sources close to the player revealed that he is open to the idea of joining Villarreal if both teams can agree on a fee but at the same time the lure of UEFA Champions League on offer at Sevilla might be too tempting to refuse.

However, Sevilla are yet to make an official bid for him but the player’s camp believe it’s a matter of time before the offer arrives particularly with the departure of Luuk De Jong from the club. For now it’s Villarreal who are in the driving seat but a deal is far from agreed between both parties.

The captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ahmed Musa will be a part of the group that will hold a meeting with new Watford goalkepper Maduka Okoye on his international future with Nigeria.

Okoye hasn’t played for Nigeria since the backlash he suffered from fans for his error which led to the goal Nigeria conceded against Tunisia in the AFCON that sealed their exit from the tournament.

The goalkepper skipped the world cup qualifiers playoff against Ghana claiming he has tested positive for coronavirus. He however pull out of the sqaud for the game against Sierra Leone and Sao Tome and Principe in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers.

He said he is recuperating from a shoulder injury picked up at Sparta Rotterdam but it has since been found out that it isn’t true as he is back in training with Watford. He hasn’t even spoken with the new technical crew headed by Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro despite their attempts to contact him.

New coach Jose Peseiro will speak with him before the next international round of games with Musa who is the captain expected to be a part of it. Also the NFF will be represented. The idea is to talk him into putting all that has happened behind and forge ahead.

In his absence, Francis Uzoho hasn’t done badly and even if he decides to return to the team, he can’t be sure that he will return to his previous position as first choice of the team.

Out of favour Nigeria international defender Tyronne Ebuehi made a huge financial sacrifice in order to complete a permanent move to Italian Serie A side Empoli from Portuguese giants Benfica.

26 year old Ebuehi hasn’t find it easy since picking up an injury in pre season, few weeks after he resumed training with Benfica following his signing from Dutch side ADO Den Haag.

He spent close to two years on the treatment table, dropped a level to the U23s in order to build his fitness and confidence level. Last season where he was on loan to Venezia was his first injury free season in three years.

Venezia were relegated at the end of the season and but he already made a huge impression on coach Paolo Zanetti who is now at Empoli. The coach immediately beckoned on him to join him at his new base.

However the issue of a transfer fee was proving too difficult to navigate with Benfica still having him on their books for one more year and not willing to let him leave for free. The dilemma forced Ebuehi into forfeiting his salary for the remaining one year of his deal.

His decision made it possible for him to move on a free as his contract was terminated. He will join Empoli on a deal for the next four years hoping to work his way back to the level that made him one of the stars for Nigeria at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

As teams continue to shape up for the upcoming season by playing friendly games , so too many young players are using the moment to make a mark with the first team.

Among them is ex Bayelsa United teen sensation Okardi Inikurogha who joined French second division side Grenoble in November last year after helping unfancied Bayelsa United lift the Federation Cup.

Okardi was a part of the team that defeated Nasarawa United in the final of the Nigerian version of the FA Cup, he also starred for them in the CAF Confederation Cup the next season before his move to France.

In France he started up with the B team last season but upon turning 18 and now eligible for first team football he has been elevated to the main team ahead of the start of next season, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

He has already started the process of making his mark in the team as he scored the winner that handed them a 2-1 win over Ligue 1 side Auxerre in a friendly game. The 17 year old forward is tipped to play a starring role as Grenoble bid to gain promotion to the Ligue 1.

Reigning Italian Serie A champions AC Milan returned to training ahead of the defence of their league crown and also their campaign in the UEFA Champions League.

While the team awaits the superstars who helped them to lift a first Serie A for the first time in 11 years , the coach of the team Stefano Pioli decided to give some young players the chance to step up to the main team.

Among them is Joseph Eletu, a 17 year old Nigerian who joined the team around a year ago after impressing at the Viareggio youth tournament in Italy. A huge leap from U17 football for the Lagos born defensive midfielder.

Predominantly a left footed player, Eletu played 18 games in the Primavera 1, which is the U18 league in Italy but such was his talent that he was pushed up to play with the U23s at the age of 16.

Already a decision has been made on his future at the club with a five year deal on the table for him to sign once he turns 18 on the 1st of April next year. He is the younger brother to former Nigeria U20 midfielder Peter Eletu.