The head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Jose Peseiro has drawn up a list of players he will run the rule on in view of a possible call up to the team when the season in Europe gets underway.

Sources reveal to OwnGoalNigeria.com five names on the list which will likely be expanded to accomodate more players particularly if there is a player having a breakthrough season in Europe top leagues.

We take a look at five names on the list starting with Saviour Godwin who led Portuguese second division side Casa Pia to promotion. Godwin was voted the best player in the Liga Pro which is the Portuguese second division after scoring ten goals with three assists in 29 games.

His form hasn’t gone unnoticed and Peseiro will have his eyes on him to see how he performs in the top division. 25 year old Godwin played for the Nigeria U17 team of 2013 and also the U20 team of 2015.

Out of contract Derby County winger Malcolm Ebiowei has also been mentioned with reports linking the former Nigeria U17 trainee with a move to Manchester United. He is the nephew to Finidi George, the first assistant of Jose Peseiro that alone could push him up the scouting list.

Antwerp of Belgium Alhassan Yusuf was originally named in the expanded list of players called up before the confirmation of the appointment of Peseiro. Upon his resumption Peseiro trimmed the list and left out Yusuf. The idea is to work with the players he is familiar with but Yusuf will no doubt get his chance.

Midfielder turned right wing back Bright Osayi Samuel caught the attention of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following rave reviews from Turker where he plays for
Fenerbahçe. His name was proposed to Peseiro who isn’t entirely satisfied with the lack of options at right back.

Another team that came from the NFF is Raphael Onyedika who plays as a midfielder for Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland. The 21 year old was voted as the best young player in the Danish league last season. He is seen as one who could be an option in an area where the team appears to be short in number.

Lorient of France midfielder Innocent Bonke says his aim going into his first full season with the French team is to further establish himself as a regular and hopefully pin same spot with the senior national team of Nigeria.

Bonke joined Lorient from Malmö in January and made 12 appearances Ligue 1 helping the team to beat the drop to the second division. He aims to be available for all of the games next season.

” I played 12 out of 16 games after I signed from Malmö. We had a nice run and maintained our status for next season. The idea next season is for me to play all games which I believe is possible and hopefully we will finish high up the table”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

He has five senior caps for the senior national team of Nigeria but he still isn’t seen as a regular mainly due to the fact that he plays in same role as one of the stars of the Nigerian team in Wilfred Ndidi.

” I really think we are two different players even though we play same role. It’s about what the team wants and if need be we can play in same team. I see him as my teammate. There is a new coach (Jose Peseiro) and it’s a fresh start for everyone. My aim like that of several others is to cement a spot in the team”, he concluded.

As many as five players who featured for Nigeria in the last round of international games are not sure of where they will be playing club football next season with their future uncertain ahead of the start of pre season.

OwnGoalNigeria.com picks five players who appear to be in the plans of manager Jose Peseiro but will need to sort their club future in order to stay in the team the Portuguese is building.

Leon Balogun – He played in the second half of the 10-0 AFCON 2023 qualifiers win over Sao Tome and Principe, he however doesn’t know where he will be playing club football next season as he was recently released by Rangers following the expiration of his contract.

Shehu Abdullahi – Seen as the utility player of the Super Eagles due to his ability to play several role, he announced his split from Cyrpus side Omonia Nicosia few days after playing a substitute for Nigeria in both AFCON 2023 qualifiers. His next destination is still unknown.

Ademola Lookman – Spent last season on loan to Leicester City from German side RB Leipzig but despite playing 26 games in the English Premier League and scoring four goals, there is still no talk of making his deal permanent. Again he doesn’t seem to be in the plans of RB Leipzig next season.

Chidozie Awaziem – The idea of him going to Turkey on loan from Boavista was to boost his marketability but that move backfired as he was a bit part player at Alanyaspor. Boavista are not keen on having him play for them as their intention still remains to trade him in order to recoup the high fee that made him their record signing when he joined from FC Porto.

Oghenekaro Etebo – Injuries didn’t help his aim of earning a permanent deal at Watford. He missed almost to entire season due to injury during his loan spell. Stoke City his parent owners don’t seem to see him as a part of their plans for next season. There are also reports that they might terminate the one year left in his deal just to take him off their wage bill.

Former captain and coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Sunday Oliseh has been appointed as the new manager of German regional side SV Straelen, the club has announced.

Oliseh will be the coach of the team for one year according to the president of the team “Sunday Oliseh will be our new coach. In the last 24 hours we have also been able to agree on an employment contract until June 30, 2023. We look forward to working together,” the President Hermann Tecklenburg told “Reviersport”.

Oliseh’s last coaching job was in 2018 when he worked for a little over a year as coach of the second division Dutch side. He was sacked after a row with the hierarchy of the club. Prior to that job he worked as coach of the senior national team of Nigeria but left less than a year into the job.

His first assignment will be against second division side FC St. Pauli on the 30th of July in the first round of the DFB Cup.

The Nigeria U17 team booked a place in the semi final of the ongoing WAFU B U17 Championship with a 3-1 win over Cote d’Ivoire in the semi final.

Nigeria fell behind very early into the game with Cote d’Ivoire taking the lead from the spot following a penalty awarded against the Nduka Ugbade led team for a foul in the box.

Cote d’Ivoire defended deep into their area denying the Nigerian team who had loads of possession space and time to draw level until the 23rd minute, when a freekick was awarded to Nigeria at the edge of the Ivorian box.

From what looked like an impossible angle Emmanuel Michael showed his abilities from set piece isn’t a one off as he cleverly bent the ball past the Ivorian goalkepper to draw Nigeria level.

He was on it again ten minutes later, this time around from the other side of the box. He bent it over the wall to hand the Nigerian team a 2-1 lead going into the half time break.

Abubakar Abdullahi put the game beyond the reach of the Baby Elephants with a third for Nigeria as he rose highest to meet a freekick from Ahmed Lawal to take scores to 3-1.

Nigeria will play the winner of the other semi final game between host Ghana and Burkina Faso but by making it to the final they have already sealed a spot at the U17 Africa Cup of Nations.

Turkish side Alanyaspor won’t be taking up the option of signing Nigeria international defender Chidozie Awaziem permanently following the expiration of his loan deal, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Awaziem joined the Turkish team on loan with an option to make the deal permanent but he will now be returning to his parent owners Boavista where he was signed for a club record fee from FC Porto.

His future is still shrouded in controversy as Boavista paid huge money to sign him with the thinking that he will be sold off almost immediately to help them recoup the money spent. For now that hasn’t been the case.

The Nigerian wasn’t at his best in Turkey last season playing in 18 out of a possible 38 games largely due to poor form, injury and also fitness Issues. He also lost his spot in the senior national team of Nigeria.

From playing in the first two friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador respectively under new coach Jose Peseiro, he wasn’t listed in the matchday squad of any of the two AFCON 2023 qualifiers games which the team won 2-1 against Sierra Leone in Abuja and 10-0 against Sao Tome and Principe in Morocco.

Yesterday Belgium top division side Anderlecht confirmed the signing of Nigerian midfielder Abdularazak Ishaq for a fee reported to be in the region of €4m.

OwnGoalNigeria.com senior editor Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman who knows the 20 year old from his days at his local club in Kaduna state list ten rare things many don’t know about Ishaq, including the origin of the nickname Golden Boy.

1. He started his career from a local team in Kaduna called Unity Academy. Same team that produced Lukman Zakari who was a part of the Nigeria U17 team that won the U17 World Cup in 2015.

2. In 2017 he was part of the Nigeria U17 team that failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations. He is among the few players who have made the step up abroad joining the likes of Arokodare, goalkeeper Adebayo Adeleye and Igho Ogbu.

3. He wasn’t a part of the team and was on his way back to Kaduna from the camp in Abuja when he was summoned to return back as majority of the players ahead of him failed the age test after the carrying out of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) test.

4. Comfortable as a midfielder, right winger, left winger or even defensive midfield. He was spotted at a scouting program in Abuja and later in Ghana where he went with a team but with permission from his team Unity Academy.

5. Ishaq was called up to the Ladan Bosso under-20 team of 2020 but left the camp of the team to resume at Norrköping. Prior to that time he has trained with their youth teams and also in test games.

6. At age 13 he was already playing with players of the age of 25 and above due to his abilities.

7. The nickname “Golden Boy” was given to him by the coach of his nursery team Taiye Tiamiyu as he shares same name as ex Ghana international Karim Abdul Razak Tanko who was famously called Golden Boy.

8. He turned down an offer from Union Berlin to join Anderlecht as he believe he will develop a lot faster and better at the Belgium side.

9. It took Norrköping two separate trips to Nigeria to finally seal a deal with for him as a mild tussle over his ownership made it impossible to locate him after the scouting program in Ghana where he was first sighted.

10. The owner of his nursery team turned down a 5 million Naira offer four years ago to sell the economy right of the then 16 year old. The offer was made by the owner of the team that Razak followed to Ghana where he was sighted.

Nigeria international and Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho has been granted UK citizenship, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

We gathered he completed the process during the last international break and it was why he missed the two friendly games against Mexico and Ecuador respectively in the United States of America and also the first two qualifiers game for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

He was in Nigeria for a wedding and sources close to the 25 year old revealed he has successfully picked up a British passport in addition to the Nigerian passport he carries.

For now his focus is how to be in the plans of new coach Jose Peseiro whose style of play suits his abilities to finish chances. Peseiro’s decision to play 4-4-2 in two straight games is said to have excited the forward as that’s almost same system he is used to at Leicester City.

Furthermore, the team under Peseiro creates lot of chances which is also in favour of Iheanacho due to the fact that he comes alive in the box where his finishing is rated as one of the best in the Nigerian team.

27 year old Hoffenheim Nigeria international defender Kevin Akpoguma will end his exile from international football if new coach of the Nigerian team Jose Peseiro assure him that he will be a regular in the team, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively report.

Akpoguma played for Germany at several youth levels before deciding to switch allegiance to Nigeria two years ago and he has three caps to his name. He however hasn’t played since the 0-0 draw away to Sierra Leone during the qualifiers for the last Africa Cup of Nations.

He was on the bench for four straight games in the World Cup qualifiers as Nigeria booked a place in the play off. Then in came the subsequent sacking of Gernot Rohr who convinced him to play for Nigeria. His sacking just before the AFCON cast doubts over the future of Akpoguma.

Listed in the preliminary list submitted by Rohr before his sacking, he was however not in the final list of players picked by interim coach Austine Eguavoen. He was later called up as a replacement for the injured Leon Balogun, but he declined and gave conditions to honour the call up.

We exclusively gathered that he told Eguavoen that he won’t be comfortable risking his position as a starter for the his club if he comes to the tournament and didn’t get to play games. Hence need assurance that he will be a regular.

Eguavoen didn’t accept his condition insisting that he must fight for a spot like every other player. Semi Ajayi was called up in his spot and according to a representative of his management Unique Sports Group the situation is still same.

” I see Nigeria have a new coach Jose Peseiro. Akpoguma hasn’t quit international football but just like it was with Eguavoen he want assurance on regular game time. He didn’t get much under Rohr. It’s risky for a regular to travel for games and sit on the bench almost everytime”, he told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

“If Peseiro wants him. He has to speak with him and agree on certain stuff. The experience with Nigeria was lovely and it hasn’t ended yet just a break, if you ask me*,he remarked.