The immediate future of former Nigeria U17 trainee Malcolm Ebiowei has been one of the talking point of this summer transfer window as he nears the end of his contract with relegated English Championship side Derby County.

Ebiowei was one of the few success story of what was a very difficult season for Derby County which started with a hefty point deduction that later played a role in their demotion to the English third tier.

He signed a one year deal when he joined on a free transfer from Scottish side Rangers and his deal will expire by the end of the month, making him free to join any club and as expected he has offers from top teams.

Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Manchester United are the three teams rumoured to be keen on signing him this summer with Manchester United reportedly having an edge over their rivals.

Aside from the fact that they are the biggest among the teams interested in signing the 18 year old. Wayne Rooney who gave him a shot at senior football is a legend of the club and want him to join them.

Rooney is said to have told the winger who trained with the 2019 U17 team to accept a move to United, where it is expected that he will be loaned out to gain more experience with new coach Erik Ten Haag set to begin a rebuilding of the club.

A decision is expected to be known by the end of the month with the winger also keen on sorting out his future on time so he can be available for pre season with his new team. He made 16 appearances last season with a goal to his name. He is a nephew to the first assistant coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Finidi George.

Hot in demand Super Eagles and Nantes of France winger Moses Simon is in talks with English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion over a summer move, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Simon is a subject of interest from several clubs after picking up another ten plus goal contribution for the third season in a row in a team that is largely set out to defend. He scored six goals and provided eight assists in 30 Ligue 1 games last season.

Nantes turned down a bid of around €10m last summer but they are now open to the prospect of selling him for same amount as opposed to their asking price of €15m last summer.

The Nigerian who will turn 27 next month is however not keen on a move away with Nantes set to play in the Europa League next season. Nantes are however pushing for his sale with two years left on his deal.

Brighton and Hove Albion are for now the front runners ahead of several teams with preliminary talks already held with the player’s representative per what we exclusively gathered. A decision will be made if a fee that matches Nantes valuation is submitted by the English side.

20 year old Nigerian midfielder Abdulrazak Ishaq will be unveiled as a new player of Belgium side Anderlecht after passing a routine medical check, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

He will be joining the team on a five year deal from Swedish side IFK Norrköping , where he has spent the last two years of his career developing into one of the most highly rated young players in the league.

” Ishaq has passed his medicals with Anderlecht. We expect him to be signed this week if all goes as planned”, an official of his nursery team in Kaduna state exclusively told OwnGoalNigeria.com.

“Golden boy” as the former Unity Academy of Kaduna prospect is called by friends and admirers was a part of the 2017 Nigeria U17 team which failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Two years ago he moved to Sweden after impressing scouts at a tournament in Ghana. Since moving to IFK Norrköping he has played a total of 61 games with two goals to his credit. He has been majorly played as a right winger of a center midfielder.

Relegated English Premier League side Watford have reached an agreement with the representative of Nigeria international Emmanuel Dennis to leave the club this summer, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Dennis was one of the breakthrough stars of the English Premier League last season scoring a total of 11 but it wasn’t sufficient enough to keep Watford in the top flight of English football.

Chased by several clubs after the relegation of Watford, they were fears that Watford will want to keep him to aid their chances of an immediate return to the English Premier League, but after talks with his representative he has been granted his desire to leave.

Watford however made it clear that only a fee in the region of £20m with add ons and a future sell on percentage will be entertained for the 24 year old who still has four years on his deal at the club.

For now West Ham United are the only club linked with a move for him but things are expected to heat up soon with his representatives now at liberty to sound out other clubs over his availability.

Union Berlin and Nigeria international forward Taiwo Awoniyi is few details away from joining newly promoted English Premier League side Nottingham Forest on a four year deal.

Awoniyi and his agent are meeting with officials of the English Premier League side in Greece. We exclusively gathered that an agreement on his wages have been reached all that is left is for a transfer fee to be agreed with Union Berlin.

24 year old Awoniyi is keen on the move to England as it is the wish of his wife to settle there. His desire made him to turn down a move to fellow German Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

A fee of €20m has been pegged as his buy out clause with Nottingham Forest expected to meet it with ease. His former club  Liverpool are due a percentage from his proposed sale as they had a sell on clause inserted in the deal that took him to the club last summer.

He scored 15 goals in 31 Bundesliga games last season and also made the Nigerian team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. He hasn’t been called up since then but new coach Jose Peseiro is reportedly keeping a close watch on him.

The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Sunday Oliseh says Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Nididi is a better defensive midfielder than ex Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel.

Oliseh famously dropped the then captain of the senior national team of Nigeria preferring to play a local lad in Paul Onobi ahead of the then Chelsea midfield lynchpin. Even when Vincent Enyeama quit the team making vacant his role as captain, Oliseh snubbed Mikel and went for Ahmed Musa as captain.

That decision was later reversed by Samson Siaisia and Mikel was made captain, Oliseh however had no regrets over how he handled Mikel during their time in the team and went a step further to explain why Ndidi is a better option in the role of defensive midfield.

“He’s a player who’s done some good with Chelsea. But when you talk about playing as an offensive midfielder, he’s not an offensive midfielder. My man here knows I’m blunt to say certain things. Offensive midfielders have certain qualities and he doesn’t have any of them”, he said in an interview with the Athlst Podcast,

“As regards as a defensive midfielder, I think he’s useful but I won’t play him. I’ll play Ndidi because a defensive midfielder’s work is you have to win balls without making fouls, you have to be very good in aerial balls. You have to have some control by helping others. “I’ll prefer to play Ndidi,” he stated.

He further explained how he was seen as controversial by the Nigerian press for benching Mikel insisting it was down to Mikel’s reluctance to play.

“When I coached the Super Eagles, I invited the man. There were lots of controversies. When you’re someone that’s principled, instead of saying that’s your decision, they try to link it to controversies. I invited the man to play with the Super Eagles. He didn’t want to play. I was like, okay, we’ll find another option”, he explained.

The former coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Sunday Oliseh says Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Nididi is a better defensive midfielder than ex Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel.

Oliseh famously dropped the then captain of the senior national team of Nigeria preferring to play a local lad in Paul Onobi ahead of the then Chelsea midfield lynchpin. Even when Vincent Enyeama quit the team making vacant his role as captain, Oliseh snubbed Mikel and went for Ahmed Musa as captain.

That decision was later reversed by Samson Siaisia and Mikel was made captain, Oliseh however had no regrets over how he handled Mikel during their time in the team and went a step further to explain why Ndidi is a better option in the role of defensive midfield.

“He’s a player who’s done some good with Chelsea. But when you talk about playing as an offensive midfielder, he’s not an offensive midfielder. My man here knows I’m blunt to say certain things. Offensive midfielders have certain qualities and he doesn’t have any of them”, he said in an interview with the Athlst Podcast,

“As regards as a defensive midfielder, I think he’s useful but I won’t play him. I’ll play Ndidi because a defensive midfielder’s work is you have to win balls without making fouls, you have to be very good in aerial balls. You have to have some control by helping others. “I’ll prefer to play Ndidi,” he stated.

He further explained how he was seen as controversial by the Nigerian press for benching Mikel insisting it was down to Mikel’s reluctance to play.

“When I coached the Super Eagles, I invited the man. There were lots of controversies. When you’re someone that’s principled, instead of saying that’s your decision, they try to link it to controversies. I invited the man to play with the Super Eagles. He didn’t want to play. I was like, okay, we’ll find another option”, he explained.

The newly appointed goalkepper’s tranier of the senior national team of Nigeria Ike Shorunmu has picked Francis Uzoho as the new first choice goalkepper of the team.

Uzoho was in goal for the Super Eagles in four straight games with regular first choice the past two years Maduka Okoye absent due to fitness issues but there are however suggestions that he deliberately skipped the games.

Shorunmu while speaking on the goalkepper’s situation of the team says Uzoho for now is the first choice goalkepper of the team, and said Okoye need time off the team to recover from the barrage of attacks he received for his error in the Super Eagles round of 16 loss to Tunisia at the Africa Cup of Nations.

“Uzoho from my observation needs more encouragement and support. I have to change the training strategy to beef up his confidence”, he told Alex Monye of the online version of The Guardian.

“It has been a long I left the national team duties and so many things have changed. But I have to keep focusing on building the goalkeeping department.,” he stated.

For Okoye he reckoned the new Watford goalkepper need to be left alone to settle in his new surroundings as well as sort whatever it is that will affect his confidence for the Super Eagles.

“I think it is a mind thing and there is no need to disturb him. We have to wait for him to put himself on track,” he added.

Emmanuel Osadebe has turned his back on the Republic of Ireland in favour of the senior national team of Nigeria despite playing for them at youth levels.

Osadebe who only recently joined League Two side Bradford City says he is hopeful of getting the attention of the national team handler of Nigeria in the shortest time.

He believes age is on his side and with a couple of good seasons starting from next season his dream will come true especially if he is able to play a role in Brentford gaining promotion.

“Ireland’s not for me, I want to play for Nigeria. I’m still only 25 years old, and if I have a good season this year, and then a couple more higher up, I know it can happen”, he was quoted as saying by Telegraph and Argus.

“I believe it will happen, and I hope that being at Bradford starts that process up and we keep moving up, because the goal is to get promotion.”

His versatility has seen him play in a whole lot of positions and when quizzed on his favourite position he said it’s about staying consistent in one or two positions next season.

Osadebe said: “I have played in a number of positions in the past. But I’ve already spoken to the gaffer and he’s keen for me to focus on one or two positions, which he knows I can do for the team.

“A big thing for me is to get those goals and assists up from the start of the season to the end.”

The decision of Udinese 19 year old defender Iyenoma Destiny Udogie to leave the U21 camp of the Italian national team during the recent international break has sparked talks of an imminent switch to Nigeria.

Udogie who was born in Italy to Nigerian parents is still seen as an option in the set up of the Nigerian team in the future making many to read several meanings into his decision to leave the camp of the U21 for the games against Luxembourg , Sweden and Ireland respectively on 6, 9 and 14 June.

Initial reports suggest he left the camp of the team in order to deal with issues around his immediate future as he is linked with a move to Inter Milan after excelling while on loan to Udinese from Hellas Verona.

Other sources are saying that he felt unhappy with his exclusion from the senior national team despite the decision of coach Roberto Mancini to leave out most of his regulars in the recent international round of games. He is also said to be considering the option of playing for Nigeria after the snub.

Last season Udogie was among the breakaway stars of the Italian Serie A as he didn’t only cement his spot in the first team but went on to be one of the pillars of Udinese. He scored five goals and also bagged four assists from his role as either a left full back or central defender.

As expected he was contacted by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with a view of having him switch allegiance especially if Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup but that wasn’t the case as they lost out to Ghana in the play off.