Despite the uncertainty surrounding his future Ike Ugbo showed his predatory instinct in front of goal with the winner for Chelsea in a 2-1 pre season win over Bournemouth.

Ugbo who is back at Chelsea after a fairly successful time on loan in Belgium with Cercle Brugge nodded home what ended as the decider in the 76th minute off a corner kick from Ross Barkley.

His goal will have little or no impact in his future at the club as he is presently locked in talks with Genk over a permanent transfer to the Belgium side. He is expected to replace hot in demand striker Paul Onuachu.

The move which is thought to be well advanced will be concluded in the coming weeks with Ugbo who has already filed papers for a nationality switch from England to Nigeria keen on finding a permanent home after several loan spells.

Rangers of Scotland defender Leon Balogun has taken a swipe at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over the unpaid bonuses of the senior national team of Nigeria.

The senior national team of Nigeria at a point in time didn’t collect any form of bonus for 18 months despite actively getting involved in qualifiers games and friendly games.

33 year old Balogun who has been an integral part of the team since 2016 when present coach Gernot Rohr took over discussed the issue of unpaid bonuses in a show monitored by OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Balogun speaking in a recent edition of The Beautiful Game podcast hit out at the NFF for the lack of transparency in the handling of the issue as they contradict themselves.

Below is an extract on some of the things he said about the treatment of the Super Eagles and why many see him as a troublemaker for speaking up for his teammates.

“We are not been provided with the best to do our job. It starts with pitches or it starts with accommodation but it goes on to pitches and all these kind of things. As I said I am always quite outspoken. I know if some people hear that from here, they might come after but I don’t care . Because that is just how it is, If you say you want to see the next Messi coming out of Nigeria or the next Cristiano Ronaldo or whatsoever.

“If you want to see us soar then you need to make sure that back home in Nigeria we have the best possibilities like why don’t we have a base in Nigeria where we meet up like St. George’s Park in England. We don’t really have something like that.

“ And you spoke of the unpaid bonuses in the news. It’s not a secret even and then I have read something recently when people in charge they contradict themselves said things have been paid, then they admit they haven’t been paid.

“It’s like everybody is so concern about the look of Nigeria we have to represent Nigeria well and we cannot embarrass Nigeria but make sure you are not embarrassing Nigeria with your own action.

“ I think it’s also a matter of. It’s a culture thing also to show respect in these kind of things and that’s also something where I clash probably because I’m not afraid to speak my mind even if it is with the coach or the manager.

“If I feel like something is wrong, I might at one point talk just about it and then they will always like okay this boy is a troublemaker but I’m not a troublemaker because at the end of the day I stand in for my teammates, I do that with pleasure and if I have to take the fall, I probably did in the past and it’s always also motivated by personal issues not issues but things I feel like I don’t have to deal with this now and any of us should. So there is lot of work to do”, he concluded.

Nigeria international wing forward Henry Onyekuru has agreed to join Greek giants Olympiakos on a permanent deal from Ligue 1 side Monaco, OwnGoalNigeria.comunderstands.

Monaco have told the Nigerian that he isn’t in their plans for next season and he was subsequently axed from the pre season squad as reported by this portal two weeks ago.

He had interest from teams in Turkey where his rating is very high owing to the successful time he had at Galatasary where he led them to the league title during a loan spell from Everton. He also played on loan at the same club last season but with little success.

Galatasary couldn’t reach an agreement with Monaco on signing him permanently and his agent confirmed that he is also in talks with Fenerbahce and Besiktas but Olympiakos is where he is heading on a permanent deal.

It hasn’t been the best of move for the talented winger since he joined Monaco in a permanent deal from Everton. He has failed to stamp his authority in the team despite working with several managers. He will be hoping to launch himself with this move especially as they will be playing in the UEFA Champions League.

Captain of Enyimba FC of Aba Austin Oladapo has been handed a one year ban from football by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after failing a routine drug test.

Oladapo had his sample taken after the game against Pryamids of Egypt on the 16th of May during the CAF Confederation Cup and test revealed the presence of prohibited substances “Prednisolone/Prednisone.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) were informed about the result and asked if the player will like to have an analysis of another of his urine sample taken but the player in his reply by his club elected not to have another sample taken.

Enyimba maintained any trace of the prohibited substance found in his sample might have resulted from a medication the player was on during that period of time. CAF argued that he didn’t file for a therapeutic exemption prior to the test and he is in charge of what goes into his body.

Even though Enyimba physician argued the clean record of the player in a hearing held on the 14th of July, CAF maintained the suspension which will run from a year starting from 4th of July when he was provisionally suspended.

Alex Iwobi will get the opportunity to play in his favorite role as the number ten of English Premier League side Everton, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Rafael Benitez the new coach of Everton has signed two wingers in Demarai Gray and Androos Townsend effectively taking Iwobi from the flanks where he has played for the majority of his time at the club.

In their recent friendly game against Colombian side Millionarios James Rodriguez, who is Iwobi’s main rival for the number ten role was substituted during the half time break with speculations saying he has been told he can leave if a suitable offer comes in for him.

Iwobi played in the number ten role and lasted owner 70 minutes and according to reports Benitez loved his contributions from that role and want to see more of him in the coming days.

The 25 year old Nigerian have always maintained that he is best suited playing the number ten role and it appears he will get the chance next season if he impresses in the remaining pre season games.

The Technical assistant to the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has taken out time to explain the process of luring a player who have played for another country to switch to Nigeria.

Tunde Adelakun in an interview with aoifootball revealed it goes beyond wanting the player and the Nigeria Football Federation as the country the player have represented have to also give their consent.

The process as explained by Adelakun partly shows why the likes of Ebere Eze and co will find it hard to switch nationality from England to Nigeria at senior level.

“Some of them only know the UK as a home for instance. Because that’s where they grew up. So they need to be softly convinced to jump ship. Makes it more complicated when they have played at one age-grade level for the European country where they were born. They need to write a letter unequivocally stating that they want to come to play for Nigeria, and that by writing that letter, they have given up their rights to ever play for their country of birth.

 “That can be really scary for a young player. But they do. Then they need to prove their Nigerian citizenship. By having a passport of their own or at least for one of their parents to have a valid Nigerian passport. This proof of citizenship is key,” Tunde further revealed to aoifootball.

 “We also have to request from the nation’s FA (England and the home countries if the player is from the UK) asking them to give a no-objection verification to the NFF for the release of the player. Sometimes this is difficult because the said FA might still feel they potentially could do with the player’s services in the future. 

 “It’s when we get the no-objection confirmation that we can put it all together in a package and submit to FIFA for their approval,” Mr Tunde concluded.

Not so often in the past few years can one speak of a Nigerian player who held his own in defence against a top opposition to the extent of earning the accolades of man of the match.

That was however the case when Calvin Bassey came up against Nicolas Pepe of Arsenal in the 2-2 draw where he was picked as the man of the match by fans of the club.

Bassey followed that up with another impressive performance against Real Madrid and this time around he ended up on the winning side as they grind out a 2-1 win over the most decorated team in European club football history.

He is one player who has come a long way from the player who was denied a chance to be a part of the Nigeria U20 team in 2019. Bassey is now viewed as one of the best young defensive prospect in Scotland.

Last season he was impressive in the few games he played as he was making the step up from U23 football in England to Rangers, where he was immediately involved in a title push that ended with his team ending the season without losing a game.

Many expect him to be the main man in defence for Rangers this season with his ability to attack and defend when needed an added advantage against those he is battling with for a starting spot.

Sometimes around last year with recommendation from the now assistant technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Paul Aigbogun, Bassey spoke with the head coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr.

Rohr assured him that if he progress as expected he will be a part of his squad for the build up to the 2022 World Cup and even the tournament proper if Nigeria makes it to the global event.

With all due respect to the duo of Jamilu Collins and Zaidu Sanusi, who are the first choice at left back , Bassey has what both of them lack in one way of the other particularly the fact that he defends better and also provide coverage to the centre back than the aforementioned duo.

The time to call him up is now with Collins now set to play another season in the German second division with Padeborn due to lack of interest from teams in top division. Zaidu on his part is very much in favour at Porto but Bassey will provide the type of competition to push him to the edge with the senior national team of Nigeria.

SK Sered have announced the signing of Dejan Iliev from Arsenal on a season long loan deal hot on the hells of Matthew Yakubu conceding another cheap goal in their 0-3 loss to MSK Zilina in the first league game of the season.

The goalkeeper who was last year called up to the Super Eagles squad for the set of friendly games against Algeria and Tunisia respectively has continually frustrated with the manner of goals he is conceding lately.

Yesterday one of the three goals he conceded was an under hit effort which he could easily have gathered with his legs effortlessly, but his attempt to pick the ball up embarrassingly ended with the ball going into the net in between his legs.

It isn’t the first time that the 22 year old who had just 11 clean sheets from 33 games at the club and conceding 44 in the process has made such error during games the past few months.

He will likely lose his spot as first choice with 25 year old Iliev prime to be the new first choice following his high profile arrival from Arsenal on loan. Yakubu has suffered a serious dip in form which many attribute to arrogance after his maiden call up to the senior national team of Nigeria.

Per a podcast focused on Leicester City matters, the club is open to the idea of selling James Maddison who has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal.

Maddison according to several reports is a key target for Arsenal before the end of the transfer window although they have not been any report of an official bid.

Listening to the Foxes podcast, sources at the club reveal that if an offer in the region of £60-65m is tabled for Maddison, the club will be forced to consider it particularly if the player wants to leave.

Leicester City hierarchy believe they coped really well in the absence of the playmaker last season with coach Brendan Rodgers adjusting his system of play to good effect by introducing Kelechi Iheanacho.

That has now made the team to believe that letting him go at the right price won’t be a bad idea as they have areas they will like to use the funds generated from his sale to address.

Same can’t be said about Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, another who has been tipped for a move away but hasn’t been linked to any club lately but all that could change as we head into the business end of the transfer window.

Ndidi is seen by Rodgers as irreplaceable for now as he is going to be pivotal in their quest to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after two near misses. Only if they qualify will they be open to doing business for the 24 year old.

Luciano Spalleti has taken out time to explain why Napoli record signing Victor Osimhen isn’t as prolific as many expected him to be after his lone goal in their 1-0 win over Pro Vercelli in a pre season game.

Osimhen who scored ten goals last season despite battling fitness and a failed coronavirus test has scored five goals in two pre season games but it could have been more.

He was guilty of missing two glaring chances against Pro Vercelli in Saturday’s pre season game and Spalleti put it down to his constant desire to put himself up for the team.

Explaining after the game, Spalleti said that he is always running makes it easy for him to lose some sharpness in front of goal which most times leads to error when presented with a chance to score.

“Osimhen has the ability to change any situation into an opportunity. Obviously, this running around and continually making himself available to press, it does have an effect on his sharpness in front of goal and can lead to errors”, he said.