Fans of German Bundesliga side Union Berlin say newly signed Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi is as important to them like Erling Haaland is to Borussia Dortmund.

The Nigerian has started the season like a house on fire with three goals in the first two games of the season after his brace against Finnish side KuPS in the Europa Conference League.

He opened his season account with the only goal for Union Berlin in the 1-1 draw against Bayern Leverkusen. This weekend he will be aiming to be among the goals when they take on Hoffenheim tomorrow in the Bundesliga.

Already he has warmed himself to the fans of the team and also proved those who doubted his ability when the club decided to sign him permanently from Liverpool in a record deal. He spent last season on loan at the club.

Injury took the hit of his fine start to the season last season but he did enough to convince the team to splash over €7 million to sign him permanently. The biggest outlay in their history.

Players of the senior national team of Nigeria want the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to pick a permanent base for their home games in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

They want a something similar to what they had during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers where all their games took place at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.

Since then a lot has changed as they have been moved around different stadiums as seen during the qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. The players want a stop to that practice.

Their campaign will begin at home on the 3rd of September against Liberia in Lagos, and it is expected that they will hold talks with the NFF over the issue of their outstanding bonuses and also a permanent venue for their games.

Captain of the team Ahmed Musa is expected to lead the talks aimed at ensuring that they have a smooth campaign and hopefully qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Ajax Amsterdam won’t be having a clear run at Nasarawa United coveted forward Aliyu Abdullahi as another Dutch team has joined the race to sign the 17 year old.

Nicknamed Aguero, the GBS Academy starlet who is on loan to the Lafia based side was one of the standout performers for Nasarawa United, who were beaten finalist in the Aiteo Cup.

He scored a goal in the final 2-2 draw against Bayelsa United before they were eventually beaten on penalties by the second division Nigeria League side. His performance hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Aside Ajax who have scouted him extensively, we gathered another Dutch side in Heerenveen have also joined the queue of teams pushing to have the forward join them when he turns 18.

Fresh from scoring one of the goals that helped Almeria to get their season campaign up and running with a 3-1 win over Cartagena, Sadiq Umar was once again pivotal in yesterday’s 2-1 win over Real Oviedo.

The lanky forward set up Jose Carlos Lazo for the opening goal of the game in the 5th minute to claim his first assist of the season as they maintain their perfect start with two wins in two games.

Still linked with a possible departure before the close of the transfer window , he is for now not showing any sign of a player whose concentration level has dipped.

Aside the assist for the goal, he was a constant menace to the defense of the visitors all through the duration of the game watched by coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr.

Rohr has invited him to the national team of Nigeria twice but he hasn’t been able to honor the call up due to club engagements. He might however be available if called up for the World Cup qualifiers which begins on the 3rd of September.

Coach of newly promoted English Premier League side Brentford Thomas Frank says the midfield partnership that prosecuted the game against Arsenal is partly responsible for the win over the Gunners last week Friday.

Brentford marked their return to the English top flight with a 2-0 win over Arsenal with their Nigerian midfielder Frank Onyeka who was signed in the summer catching the eyes with a strong performance in the midfield.

Ahead of the game against Crystal Palace this weekend, the coach praised the midfield which had the Nigerian as part of their success against Arsenal saying they did an unbelievable job.

It is expected that all three players mentioned by the coach will play an important part of their plan this weekend as they go in search of another win at Selhurst Park.

If everyone was fit, there is a big chance that both Josh Dasilva and Mathias Jensen would have started the game. It is fantastic to have Vitaly Janelt and Frank Onyeka doing an unbelievable job alongside Christian Norgaard of course. We need to have that strength in depth and also players to play different games”, the coach said at the pre match conference for Saturday’s game.

”For Arsenal, it was good to have Frank and Vitaly who are two pressing machines; they are constantly going and must be a nightmare to play against. They were a big part of why we were successful on Friday night”.

Former captain of the senior national team of Nigeria Ogenyi Onazi has returned to Turkish side Denizlispor, 18 months after terminating his contract with same club.

Three days ago Lithuania side Zalgiris announced that the 28 year old has decided to end his association with them as he wants to take another step in his career.

Earlier today he rejoined Denizlispor, the team he joined in 2020 after leaving fellow Turkish side Trabzonspor where he spent four of the best years of his club career.

Since mutually agreeing to terminate his deal with Trabzonspor in 2019, he hasn’t commanded a transfer fee as his contract with the teams he has played for since then ended up getting terminated.

His second spell with the Turkish side means he has played for three different teams in 18 months as he also represented Danish side SonderjyskE.

Arnaut Danjuma who recently moved to Spanish La Liga side Villarreal from English Championship side Bournemouth says he hasn’t close door on playing for Nigeria.

Danjuma is eligible to represent Nigeria at senior level through his mother who is a Nigerian plus the fact that he was born in Nigeria. He has however played for the Dutch side at senior level but recent changes by FIFA means he can still switch to Nigeria.

With that option in mind he was interviewed by Dutch outlet NOS on the possibility of playing for Nigeria and he said it is an option he will consider if he doesn’t get a call up to the Dutch side.

Although he is hoping that he will get a call up from the new coach of the Dutch national team Louis Van Gaal, if he asserts himself properly at his new club but he said he is not going to wait for the chance for too long with Nigeria also there for him as an option.

“I think I have a better chance of being called up to the Dutch national team again if I assert myself at Villarreal .  That is certainly an objective,” Danjuma said . On the option of playing for Nigeria he said “Yes, of course. I’m also honest: at a certain point the enough is full”, he explained

“I have always consciously chosen for the Dutch national team and I would very much like to play for Orange again,” he said. “But of course I can’t wait until my thirtieth birthday, because I also really want to play football as an international and experience a major world tournament. If that is not possible somewhere, then you have to look for your happiness elsewhere, I think,” he remarked.

The agent of newly signed Salernitana forward Simy Nwankwo says his client doesn’t owe the coach of the senior national team Gernot Rohr any explanation over his decision to join the newly promoted side.

Last season Simy scored 20 goals in the Serie A but it wasn’t enough to keep Crotone in the top division as they were relegated to the Serie B. Rohr advised the lanky forward to make a move to a team better than Crotone if he wants to get his spot back in the national team of Nigeria.

“I know Simy very well, it was me who called him for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He performed well at that competition, after which he played for some time in the Italian Serie B. I have never forgotten about him and have always observed him, not just now that he is doing so well.,” Rohr told Europa Calcio.

“However, the competition is huge: we have Osimhen, Iheanacho from Leicester and Onuauchu from Genk, who is very similar to Simy in terms of features and physical structure. Without forgetting Sadiq and Ighalo.

“So it is very difficult to be part of the Nigeria attack, we have very good players. As I said before, I have never stopped following his performances, but I believe that next year he must go and play in a club and in a team that is stronger than Crotone.

“It will not be equally easy, but he would already have a better chance of returning to the national team “.

Simy was linked with top teams like Lazio and Sampdoria including newly promoted English Premier League side Norwich City but nothing came out of the link leaving him with no choice but to join Salernitana.

Reacting to the move and his national team ambition, his representative said it is the best for his career and he owes Rohr no explanation over his decision to move to the newly promoted side.

“ It is the wish of the coach just as we also wished but at the end of the day had to settle with the best available option that will see him stay in the Italian top flight. He could have made more money if he took up the offers he got from Asia and the Middle East”, his agent said.

“ Salernitana matched his ambition of staying in Italy and playing in the Serie A hence I don’t think he owes the coach any explanation on the move. He has to make it count if he wants to get his spot back in the national team. It’s as simple as that”.

Zaidu Sanusi is facing the prospect of limited game time at Portuguese side Porto following the arrival of Brazilian left back Wendell.

The Nigerian joined the club one year ago from Santa Clara but after an impressive start to his career at the club, he suffered a dip in form towards the end of last season. He was subsequently benched in some games.

He appeared to have won back his spot when he started their first league game of the season against Belenenses which they won 2-0 but he dropped to the bench in the next game against Famalicao.

Zaidu was introduced for Wilson Manafa in the 71st minute of the 2-1 win and he nearly cost Porto all three points when he lost possession in a clumsy manner allowing Famalicao to equalize. The goal was however ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) saving his blushes.

After the game he was subjected to several insults by fans of the club forcing the club to move swiftly in signing Wendell for a fee in the region of €4 million. He is seen as an upgrade on Zaidu whose growth has someone stall.

When Napoli kick off their Serie A season on Sunday against Venezia they will be wearing their new EA7 kits designed by global fashion brand Giorgio Armani.

Napoli’s record signing Victor Osimhen was among the models used by the club to announce the deal, he wore the famous blue version of the kit in the promotional picture.

It is the first time the designer company will be kitting a professional football team playing in a top flight league but they have been involved in athletics and basketball.

The classic blue home kit has a dark blue collar and lines on the sleeves, whilst the second kit is red with light blue linings on the sleeve and the collar. The third kit, however, is of a white base colour and has golden linings.

“The agreement envisages, for the first time, the study of the creativity of the official match kits and technical material of the first team and the Primavera,” the press release said.

“The designer shared with the Societa Sportiva Calcio Napoli that a part of the profits from the marketing of the products created will be destined for the community and the common good.”