Italian Serie A side AC Milan are confident that Fulham will trigger the option of the permanent signing of Nigeria international winger Samuel Chukwueze who is currently on loan with the English side, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

The loan deal of Chukwueze gave Fulham the option of signing him permanently at the end of his loan spell in the summer, based on his performance.

So far he has made himself a key figure in the squad of coach Marco Silva with three goals and four assists in 12 games.

According to Italian publication Gazzetta Milan are confident that the 26 year old will be signed permanently, and have already started making plans for the funds his sale will generate.

Like we exclusively reported last month, Chukwueze is also keen on staying at the club beyond his loan spell at the end of the season. A permanent deal that will run for four years will be the most likely if he is signed permanently.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

As many as five players who didn’t make the squad of the senior national team of Nigeria to the recently concluded AFCON are expected to be back in the squad this year, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Head coach Eric Chelle will hand certain players another chance to be a part of his team after leading the team to a third place finish at the AFCON, without their services.

We can exclusive reveal that as many five players who missed out on the AFCON party due to different issues are going to be back in the team, when the qualifiers for the next AFCON begins.

Three players who missed out due to injuries in Benjamin Fredrick, Ola Aina and Felix Agu will no doubt return to the team. In particular Aina who has made a full recovery and has been consistent for Nottingham Forest.

The coach is also looking for more options in attack and as a big fan of players playing in big leagues, he has his sights on a recall for Valencia striker Sadiq Umar and Taiwo Awoniyi of English Premier League side Nottingham Forest.

However their inclusion will depend largely on the progress they make in the coming days leading to the naming of the squad for the next international engagement.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Stanley Nwabali has dropped a big hint on why he decided to mutually terminate his contract with Premier South Africa side Chippa United, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Fresh from the AFCON where he kept his spot as the first choice of Nigeria, who were the third best placed team at the tournament he decided to end his four year association with the team where he was made captain last season.

Nwabali it was thought had options on the table before taking the decision, but he revealed that he has no option when he asked to leave, and hinted at why he took such a weird decision particularly after the closure of the January transfer window.

Speaking in an interview with South Africa radio host Andile Nchube, Nwabali said he took the decision during the AFCON tournament but only made it public after the end of the transfer window.

“The agreement was accepted yesterday,” he said after the announcement. “But I made this request before we finished our AFCON, so that is like two or three weeks ago.”

He explained: “It was a tough decision. It is not a nice feeling but in football, you have to make a step forward. It was something I really needed to do.

“There was very good understating between both parties and it was something we both felt was the best.”

On what prompted the decision he remained coy but hinted at his desire to win trophies which wasn’t possible at Chippa United, and also he prioritised his happiness.

“Nothing changed. In football, you wait for the right moment, you really need to enjoy where you are staying.

“Football is something that deals with happiness. Your happiness comes first.”

Every player wants to win a trophy, every player wants to play in a bigger stage.

“My dream is to win something. I tasted a trophy back home in Nigeria, it is a nice feeling. I wished to do it with Chippa but it was not coming.

“Every strong player wants competition, I want competition because when you get competition, you can see what you want to fix in your life and in your career.”

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has explained why Samuel Chukwueze who missed a spot kick in the AFCON semi final defeat to Morocco was picked among the takers, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Chukwueze played one of the most non challant penalties at the tournament literally passing the ball to the goalkeeper at a point, where Nigeria were pushing to take the advantage after a save by Nwabali.

The manner which he took the spot kick led to talks about why he was picked among the takers in such a tense game, where only the best should be considered for such a task with many blaming Chelle for the decision.

Speaking yesterday with AfterRMC podcast, Chelle said at the end of every training session the players take penalties, and he chooses the takers based on those statistics.

According to his data, Chukwueze is the best penalty taker in the Super Eagles since he hasn’t missed any of the 150 penalties he’s taken in training, which makes his attempt against Morocco even more puzzling.

He however said there is no hard feelings because even the best takers also missed from the spot.

Ade Emmanuel

Former Nigeria U17 forward Umar Abubakar scored his first goal at professional level as his Portuguese side Famalicao in their 3-1 win over AVS, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Abubakar joined the team in the summer from the youth side of Belgium top level side Gent, after the club declined to give him an extension to his deal despite his impressive goal scoring record for their B team Jong KAA Gent.

Famalicao beat all comers to reach an agreement with his primary owners Footwork FC of Nigeria, and he signed on a deal that will run for five years. A deal seen as a coup by many.

So far he has played in 11 games and yesterday against bottom of the table AVS , in what was his first start for the team he scored in 67th minute to complete a comprehensive win for his team.

A member of the Nigeria U17 team of 2023, he will be hoping that the goal is the start of a career of many goals with the modest Portuguese side who are currently 6th on the league table.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has made plans to reach out to five players born abroad and eligible to play for other countries to pledge their allegiance to his team, OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The coach has already started plans for the second phase of his rebuilding process of the Nigerian team, after leading them to a third place finish at the last AFCON with an impressive brand of football admired by all.

Chelle is now preparing for the next stage with emphasis on improving the depth of his team, as the start of the qualifiers for the next AFCON draws near.

So far he has succeeded in securing Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo who has agreed to switch from England to Nigeria. This season in the English Championship he has made a total of 28 appearances behind the sticks, 1 in the FA Cup and also two games in the Carabao Cup.

He is now in prime position to push for the number one spot of Nigeria with first choice Stanley Nwabali currently without a club, after mutually terminating his deal with Chippa United.

Progress has also been made with Carney Chukwuemeka of Borussia Dortmund, who also has the option of playing for Canada but for now he is more sold out on switching to Nigeria, from his current position as a youth international for England.

Sources close to Chelle revealed that over the weekend he scouted Genoa centre back Alessandro Marcandalli in their 2-3 loss to Napoli. He is keen on the 23 year old to bolster his options in defence.

Also Rangers of Scotland defender Emmanuel Fernandez has caught the eyes of Chelle with his impressive performances, that recently saw him win another player of the month award. The 24 year old is Chelle’s surest option ahead of the next international fixture.

Gibson Yah of Dutch side Volendam is high on the list of priority of Chelle as an option in the midfield, but he is currently out injured hence an immediate call up is not an option at the moment.

Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle says top striker Victor Osimhen made him cry at the recently concluded AFCON in Morocco, where Nigeria finished third with a 4-2 penalty kick win over Egypt.

Osimhen was Nigeria’s top marksman at the tournament but got injured in the semi final defeat against Morocco forcing him to miss the third place playoff against Egypt.

Chelle revealed that while preparing for the game against Egypt, he spoke with Osimhen on the need to go all out and win the game, even though he can clearly see that the 27 year old is Injured and won’t be available for the game.

“I had a discussion with Victor on the field. I told him that we absolutely had to go for that third place. But I could see that he was injured, that things weren’t going well at all. So I told him: ‘I’m proud of what you’ve done since I took over this team. If you ever need me, whatever happens in your life, you call me, I’ll come”, he said in an interview with AfterRMC.

Continuing he said: “When I arrived, you were already a great player, I didn’t arrive as a great coach.

“He looked at me and said: ‘Coach, maybe you were a small coach, but now you are a great coach.’ At that point, I burst into tears. Honestly, it was hard to go on to training afterwards.”

Spanish side Malaga have completed the signing of young Nigerian left back Wahab Musa from Abuja based football academy Mavlon FC , OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.

Described as a player of tremendous promise by those who knew him , the 18 year old will be a part of the youth team of the second division side where his progress will be monitored for elevation to the main team.

The deal per what we gathered is a three year deal with the option of an extension based on his progress and also the success of the team, who are presently placed 5th and pushing for promotion to the top division.

His teammate Elisha Ephraim also moved to another second division team in league leaders CD Castellon last week.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has given head coach of Marseille Roberto De Zerbi some useful tips on Nigeria international midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi, who joined the team from Belgium side Zulte Waregem in the January transfer window.

Nnadi who was a part of the Super Eagles team to the recently concluded AFCON made his international bow under Chelle, who has backed the 22 year old to be a huge hit at the club.

Chelle spoke about the qualities of Nnadi. “He’s a player who plays simply; his strength is his ability to harass the ball carrier over 15-20 meters. He’s capable of winning the ball back from opponents’ feet. He’s not someone who will cut off passing lanes; he’s very aggressive,” the coach said before telling De Zerbi about what the Nigerian will add to his team.

“There isn’t this type of player at OM today; he’s not a player who will dictate the tempo of the match. Nnadi will bring that aggression to the midfield. An atypical profile at 1.76m, which will offer a range of options in the Marseille squad,” Chelle concluded.

Head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Eric Chelle has revealed what happened that led to a bust up between Victor Osimhen and his teammate Ademola Lookman during the Super Eagles round of 16 game against Mozambique at the AFCON.

Both players had a go at each other with Osimhen the aggressor seemingly angry at a teammate in Bruno Onyemaechi for not passing the ball to him, while he was in a good position to score.

Lookman tried to intervene but Osimhen reacted angrily and had to be separated from his teammate. He subsequently requested to be subbed off and refused to join the team’s play until he was replaced by Paul Onuachu.

Speaking on the rift that almost destroyed the team at the tournament, Chelle explained the conversation that led to the bust up and how it was subsequently addressed for the good of the team.

“On the pitch, there was a discussion with Lookman. Victor told him: ‘We need to stop playing in front of goal like this.’ Things got a bit heated, a minor clash, but that’s just part of life in the dressing room. At the end of the match, he came back angry, he needed time to cool off. And once he’d calmed down, he was back to being the Victor we all know”, Chelle told RMC in an interview monitored by our editorial team.

“There was never any question of him not playing against Algeria, never. What happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room. I didn’t even need to intervene. We got back to the hotel, the two of them talked it out, and that was the end of it,” the coach revealed.