Highly rated Nigerian winger Hilary Gong is entering his fourth season as a player of Dutch top division side Vitesse Arnhem with a different kind of mentality after overcoming his injury demons.

Long term injuries including two cruciate ligament injuries has restricted the 22 year old to just 13 appearances most of which came as a substitute, but he is enjoying a new lease of life in pre season games.

So far he has started in all of their pre season games, a sign that he is back to full fitness “ Injuries are part of life as a top athlete. Everything has a purpose. This is my destiny”, Gong told regional Dutch newspaper De Gelderlander from their training camp in Zeeland.

“ Everything went wrong for two years. Last season I hit the road again but slowly I do not give up. I keep faith in myself knowing fully well that in football you must go through tough and rough period. With God’s power and Vitesse has supported and helped me in everything. I’m fit now and want to show my qualities”, he said.

With his style of play leading many to tag him as a very similar player to Liverpool star Sadio Mane, Hong says he want to turn his main asset which is his pace into a weapon of success at Vitesse next season.

“ I have to turn my speed into a weapon again. The power is back and the knee feels good. Last season I was able to get some minutes. Not much but that’s a start. Rhythm and ball feel provide confidence. So I have to get playing time and train hard.

“ The basic principle is good football. Work hard and enjoy the Gong Run on the pitch, that’s what it’s all about”, he concluded.

A member of the senior national team of Nigeria who was part of the team that suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat to Mexico in Sunday’s friendly game says their case wasn’t helped by pre match comments.

Speaking to OwnGoalNigeria.com upon arrival in Nigeria earlier today, the player who spoke on the condition of anonymity blamed the Nigerian populace for not having trust in them ahead of the game.

He said right from when they were in camp in Nigeria all what was said about the game was centered on how many goals they will concede with no one giving them a chance to spring surprise.

“ We listened to several radio stations while in camp in Abuja and all they were saying was the amount of goals we will concede. No one gave us a chance and it affected the mentality of the team”, he said.

“ In our hearts we were defeated even before a ball is kicked. The pre match criticism where we were called no match for the Mexicans destroyed our morale and the result is the 0-4 bashing. We have however learnt a valuable lesson from the trashing”, he concluded.

In the wake of the trending report linking Nigeria international midfielder Wilfred Ndidi with a move away from Leicester City, coach Brendan Rodgers have already warned potential suitors to back
off the 24 year old.

Fans of Manchester United made the Nigerian a trending issue on social media in the wake of the news over their signing of Jadon Sancho urging manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to bid for the Leicester City man. So much that he was trending on Twitter.

It’s not the first time that Ndidi has been linked with a potential transfer to the Old Trafford outfit who are in dire need of a defensive midfielder to shore up their midfield.

Ndidi who still has three years on his contract is valued at the region of £70 million by the Foxes but his manager Rodgers isn’t in anyway keen on cashing in on the Nigerian.

Newly invited goalkeeper Joshua Oluwayemi says his long term plan is to claim the number one spot of the senior national team of Nigeria.

The Tottenham Hotspur U23 goalkeeper was handed a maiden call up to the senior national team of Nigeria for the Mexico friendly game but didn’t get to play in the game which ended 4-0 in favour of the Mexicans.

Oluwayemi who has been promoted to the role of third choice at Spurs is however not bothered by the lack of minute in the Mexico game and he has already switch his attention to future games.

He said his aim is to cement his spot in the team and that will mean displacing Maduka Okoye who is currently the first choice goalkeeper of the team.

“Firstly I have to focus on the near future get ready and making sure I’m at my best and to give my best. The long term is to make sure I keep coming back to this call up and cement myself in this team”, he said.

Arsenal legend Patrick Vieria has made his first signing as manager of Crystal Palace by giving the go ahead for the club to trigger the £8m release clause in the contract of Reading midfielder Michael Olise.

Olise has just one year left on his deal at the club leaving Reading with little or no option than to cash in on him or risk losing him for free next summer. Palace who have long been interested in the 18 year old moved swiftly to land him.
The left footed midfielder who can also play on the wings enjoyed a stellar season for Reading in the English Championship last time out making 46 appearances in all competitions and scoring seven goals.

He was nominated for the English Football League Young Player of the season award for his performance as his side finished just outside the play-offs. He had 12 assists as well.

Although he has represented France at I18 level he is still eligible to represent Nigeria and he was called up to the senior squad for their last round of the qualifiers for the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations but placed on standby.

Coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr said the decision to place him on standby was due to difficulties in traveling in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic but since then he hasn’t been called up.

Aside Nigeria and France, he is also eligible for England as he was born in London and Algeria where his mother hails from. Algeria have according to reports made available to OwnGoalNigeria.com sounded him out.

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye will likely leave Sparta Rotterdam before the close of the current summer transfer window, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.

Okoye who was voted the player of the season at Sparta Rotterdam was heavily linked with a move to fellow Dutch side Ajax but the move didn’t materialize with Ajax settling for another goalkeeper.

However just when it seems he will spend another season at Sparta Rotterdam fellow Dutch side AZ Alkmaar have placed him on top of their priority list as replacement for Marco Bizot who is set to leave the club.

Bizot is close to joining Olympiakos forcing AZ to step up their pursuit of Okoye as his replacement per several reports in the Dutch media monitored by OwnGoalNigeria.com.

Leganes of Spain Nigerian defender Kenneth Omeruo says has backed the Super Eagles team that were beaten 4-0 by Mexico in Sunday morning friendly game.

The senior national team of Nigeria made up of players from the Nigeria Professional Football League were thumped 4-0 by Mexico who had most of their regular players based in Europe on parade.

Reactions has trailed the heavy defeat suffered by the team that was handled by NFF deputy technical director Paul Aigbogun. Many are of the opinion that the main team of the Super Eagles won’t be beaten that way.

Omeruo who is a part of the main Super Eagles team thinks otherwise as he said the Mexican team has quality players who can trouble any team in the world.

‘Mexico is one of the best teams in the world and even with the main Super Eagles it would have been difficult and it can go either way how much more a whole team of home-based players with just one or two weeks to train and that is not enough”, he said in Abuja.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has reorganized the technical crew of the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of the start of qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in September.

While Gernot Rohr will keep his role as head coach of the team, Salisu Yusuf who was suspended and later relinquished of his role after a bribe for spot scandal while handling the CHAN team is back in the team.

Yusuf is returning back to the team owing to demand made by Rohr who hasn’t have the best of time with Joseph Yobo who is presently his first assistant. The NFF yielded to his request as most of the best results the Eagles have had under Rohr came with Salisu as his assistant.

His return means Yobo will now drop to second assistant, same role Imama Amapakabo whom he replaced had with the team and it involves scouting of opponents for the technical crew.

The changes will be made official in the coming months following the approval from the ministry of youth and sports who were earlier heavily opposed to the idea of Salisu retaining his post after the suspension.

23 year old Italian-Nigerian midfielder Michael Folorunsho has been handed a chance to stake a claim in the first team of Napoli by new coach Luciano Spalleti.

Spalleti replaced Gennaro Gattuso as coach of the Serie A side after their not too impressive performance which saw them missed out on Champions League football at the end of the season.

Folorunsho spent last season on loan to Serie side Reggina and they were keen on having him for another season on loan but he has been told to return for pre season training by Spalleti.

Comfortable in a role behind the striker, he scored six goals with three assists last season for Reggina and if he impresses Spalleti he will likely play behind fellow Nigerian Victor Osimhen in attack.

Born in Italy to parent of Nigerian descent he is yet to represent any of the countries at any level but his performance last season caught the attention of coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr.

Rohr is keen on more options in midfield and he is aware of Folorunsho as an option if he makes an impression in the Serie A or even in the Serie B.

Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Obafemi Akanji says at no point in time in his career did he contemplate playing for Nigeria even though he is eligible for the West African country.

The 25 year old was a star for the Swiss side that went all the way to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Euros 2020 before losing 2-4 to Spain on penalties.

Akanji is off Nigerian descent and up until 2017 he was eligible to play for Nigeria despite representing Switzerland at U20 and U21 levels but he said at no time was he approached by Nigeria.

“ I represented Switzerland at youth level and it was three years later in 2017 that I got the chance to be a part of the senior team. Before that time I knew of the opportunity of representing Nigeria but I wasn’t at anytime approached by them”, he said while speaking on his first international tournament with the Swiss national team.

“ Maybe I would have been tempted but my dream is what I’m living now playing for Switzerland. I support the Nigerian national team when they play and hopefully they will make progress to the top”.