Belgium top division side Genk will in the coming days confirm the signing of Ghanaian-Nigerian defender Mujaid Sadick per several sources in Spain.

The 21 year old defender was rumored to have made up his mind on joining relegated German side Schalke 04 but that isn’t the case anymore as he has reportedly pick Belgium side Genk.

This season at Deportivo La Coruna, the defender who has represented Spain at U18 and U19 level has been ever present building up on the reputation that saw him make his La Liga debut at the age of 18 for same team.

He still holds the record of the youngest debutant for the club in the La Liga when he made his debut against Villarreal in May 2018 has been one of their standout players for Deportivo La Coruna who are now in the Spanish 3rd division.

So far he has only missed one game and that was due to suspension. He has started in 21 out of their 22 games playing a leading role in their going top to the table in view of promotion to the second division.

That form alerted host of teams in Europe but it’s Genk who have now moved ahead of the queue to clinch his signing with fees already agreed with Deportivo La Coruna. He is expected to join Genk at the end of their campaign in the Belgium Playoffs.

Despite representing Spain at youth level, he is still eligible for West African rivals Ghana and Nigeria with his international future particularly if he impresses at Genk set to pitch both nations against each other for his service at senior level.

The first choice goalkeeper of the senior national team of Nigeria Maduka Okoye has followed up his Man of the Match award (MOTM) with the honour of the player of the week in the Eredivisie.

Okoye was handed the official MOTM after a five star performance for Sparta Rotterdam in their 0-0 draw against Utrecht in yesterday’s Eredivisie clash.

At the end of the round of games, the Nigeria international received the highest rating of 8 among all players in action for his display which earned him his 10th clean sheet of the season.

He pulled more votes than Sergio Pena of FC Emmen and Vangelis Pavlidis of Willem II. The 21 year old was also included in the official team of the week for the third time this season.

Meanwhile, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal that Sparta Rotterdam have placed a price tag of €10 million on the shot stopper who has been heavily linked with a move to Ajax Amsterdam.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has revealed the number is players he will call up for the Super Eagles proposed friendly game in June.

Nigeria want to be busy in the month of June after the postponement of their 2022 World Cup qualifiers with talks underway with Senegal, Cameroon and an European country for three different friendly games in Austria.

Rohr who has been saddled with the responsibility to pick the squad for the game said he has already drawn out the number of players he has in mind for the game “ We will name 30 players and reduce in the last moment to 24”, the coach told Owngoalnigeria.com in an exclusive chat.

His statement negates the previous report carried by his portal where a source close to the coach revealed that 35 players will be in the squad for the game. Rohr was also silent on the issue of new players in the squad but our source revealed two new players will likely be in the mix.

It’s going to be hot at the San Mames Barria on Sunday when Athletic Bilbao host Real Madrid in a fixture from the 37th round of La Liga. Now it’s a perfect moment for us to provide you with our best soccer predictions for today. Let’s get to work!

After being eliminated from the Champions League, this is now Real Madrid’s only chance of a trophy this season – winning La Liga. Zinedine Zidane’s team suffered heartbreak against Chelsea, but now they still in the game for the La Liga gold medals.

Real Madrid could have been in an even better position if they managed to take a better result against Sevilla at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. It was a dramatic game in the Spanish capital, which ended with an exciting 2-2. Until the last seconds, Madrid were a goal down, but they managed to equalize with a goal from Eden Hazard in the 94th minute. It was not even a proper strike from the Belgian star because it was just a deflection from a ball hit by Toni Kroos.

Just as it was expected, Zinedine Zidane didn’t include Hazard in the starting eleven against Sevilla. He was replaced in the line-up by Fede Valverde, while Vinicius Jr. also started alongside Karim Benzema.

For Eden Hazard, this continues to be a complicated situation at Real Madrid simply because he can’t show the same level he was showing every week at Chelsea. Now it’s up to Zidane and Real Madrid to decide what to do with him – give him a chance for another season or find him a new club.

Marco Asensio and Rodrygo are two proper options for Real Madrid’s starting eleven on Sunday. Both of them started from the bench against Sevilla, and it was just Asensio who recorded some minutes on the pitch. Not just this, but he also scored one of the two goals against Los Rojiblancos – just one minute after entering the pitch.

Isco is one of the changes Zidane could make in his line-up. He can’t really fight with Modric, Kroos, and Casemiro for a place in midfield, but Isco can help the team if he starts a little bit upfront. Madrid could use his creativity and flair to unlock the opponent’s defense.

Let’s say few words about Athletic Bilbao as well. Marcelino’s team is 9th in the league, and this is not a bad performance at all. Let’s not forget that he’s a manager who arrived at the club in the middle of the season, so we should wait until the next campaign to see the fruits of his work. But one thing is for sure – Athletic have the potential to be better.

During the weekend, the Basques made their 13th draw for the season. Marcelino’s team hosted Osasuna at the San Mames Barria and hoped to win, but the game ended with a 2-2 draw. Jon Morcillo and Oihan Sancet scored for Athletic, but somehow these two goals were not enough for the win.

Karim Benzema and Alex Berenguer are the players who scored the most goals for their teams so far this season. Berenguer found the net 8 times for Athletic while the French striker scored 21 goals for Madrid during the campaign. It’s only Barcelona’s Lionel Messi who has scored more.

That’s our best soccer predictions for today for the La Liga fixture between Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid on Sunday. It’s always challenging to play on Basque territory, but it is what it is for Madrid – they must try their best to win and keep themselves in the title race. The fight for the first place is intense, so every point here could be crucial.

Former Leicester and England forward Emile Heskey says Nigeria international forward Kelechi Iheanacho has what it takes to play for any team in the world.

Ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday, the ex forward said the 24 year old Nigerian has proven that he can fit into any team base on his recent run of goals and display for Leicester City.

According to Heskey, Iheanacho who scored the winner in the semi final against Manchester United carried an unusual threat that most teams in the world need to go past opponents.

“ You look at Iheanacho and you see a player who has an unpredictable way of playing. A character that will make him fit into any team in the world. His movement with and without the ball is magnificent”, Heskey said in his preview of the FA Cup final.

Iheanacho will be looking to carry his fine form since the start of the year into the final of the FA Cup. He will be aiming to add to his tally of 18 goals in all competitions with five in the FA Cup against a Chelsea side who are rated as one of the most in form team in Europe at the moment.

Legendary Belgium forward Patrick Goots who scored over 156 goals in the Belgium top division says Paul Onuachu should leave the league for a new challenge at the end of the season.

Onuachu confirmed his status as the top marksman in the league this season with another goal yesterday. His 32nd of the season which helped them to avoid defeat against Anderlecht.

The goal also saw him equal a 40 years old record as no player has scored that amount of goals since Erwin Vandenberg scored 39 in the 1979-80 season.

As expected the 26 year old Nigerian has been linked with top clubs all around Europe and according to Goots, the best time to leave is in the summer. Genk have also said they are open to letting him leave for a new challenge.

“He is going to leave and he has already said that Arsenal is his favorite team. That would be something if he would draw there. He has scored more than thirty goals, finished third in the Golden Shoe and won the cup”, he told Nieuwsblad.be.

“He has achieved his goals in Belgium and now the big money awaits. He can’t risk staying. Suppose he stays and gets injured or doesn’t score that much anymore, then a transfer will be difficult. ”

17 years old Manchester City U18 forward Tai Sodje celebrated with the rest of his teammates as they clinched the 2020/2021 U18 Premier League North Division title.

Carlos Borges scored the all important goal in yesterday’s game against Burnley handing them a 1-0 win which help them leapfrog Manchester United to win the title by just a point.

They will now play the winner of the South Division which will be either Crystal Palace or Fulham for the national title. Both teams are battling it out for who will finish top in the South Division.

The star of the title triumph to many is Sodje who scored 19 goals in just 22 games this season. His last goal came against Leeds United on the 20th of March.

Despite going seven games without a goal, a drought which saw him miss two games he still finished as the top scorer of the club and second highest goal scorer in the league.

Serie A side Crotone have told interested teams the amount it will cost to price Simy Nwankwo out of the club this season after his 19 Serie A goals fail to keep them in the top division.

The relegated side are open to letting the Nigerian leave in the summer with as many as three teams going head to head for his signing according to several reports in Italy.

Sampdoria, Genoa and Udinese are currently the top three teams pushing for his signature and a price tag to get the lanky 29 years old has been set by Crotone.

Crotone want €8 million and for now talks are already advanced with the trio of clubs mentioned above but no breakthrough yet in terms of agreeing to the price tag.

Simy’s sale is a must for the relegated side as he has just a year left on his contract and the cash from his sale will no doubt help them strengthen their squad as they bid for immediate return to the top flight.

The agent of Napoli forward Victor Osimhen says the 22 year old Nigerian has what it takes to be the top scorer in the Italian Serie A next season.

Osimhen is back to the form that made him an instant hit in Belgium and France the past two seasons while at Charleroi and Lille respectively. He has scored five goals in his last five games taking his goal count to ten this season despite battling injuries and fitness issues.

William D’Avila his agent told Calcionapoli24.it that he is now fully settled in the city of Naples and looking ahead to a better next season even though he will be unhappy if coach Gennaro Gattuso leaves at the end of the season as widely speculated.

Below is extract from the exclusive interview where he confirmed that his client has what it takes to battle for the top scorer award next season.

On Gattuso’s relationship with Osimhen.

“ It depends on technical factors as they understand each other very well as far as things on the pitch are concerned but their personalities are perfectly matched as well. Victor has a great respect for Gattuso”.

On How He Will React If Gattuso Leaves

“ It’s football but it would certainly be a shame. He is a really good coach.

On If Osimhen Is Ready To Fight For Top Scorer Award Next Season

“ Of course he will. Get ready”.

Paul Onuachu is regraded by many as the best striker in the Belgium top division this season after scoring 31 goals in 35 league matches this season and in the process smashed the record of Wesley Sonck at Genk.

Another name who has popped up this season is German-Nigerian forward Lukas Nmecha of Anderlecht even though he has scored just 15 goals with eight coming from the spot. Eligible for Nigeria, England and Germany , he has represented both European nations at youth levels.

Presently the 22 year old plays for the German U21 team but he is still eligible for Nigeria at senior level. He could maybe pair Onuachu in attack for Nigeria if he decides to switch nationality to Nigeria.

Legendary Belgium forward Patrick Goots was asked to give his opinion on the duo with Nmecha who is on loan from Manchester City set to lead the line For Anderlecht when they take on Genk later today. Onuachu is expected to be the arrow head once again for Genk.

“They are two top strikers, but they are slightly different types. Nmecha dives much more into space, while Onuachu is stable and allows Genk to play better football”, he told nieuwsblad.be.

“Onuachu really makes the team run, while that is less the case with Nmecha. That is why I think the Nigerian is slightly better, but in terms of work ethic they are similar. They work for the team and are not just camping in the sixteen.

“Onuachu is much bigger and a real target striker. I lean a little more towards Nmecha. He’s a worker and I wasn’t really. I was a killer pur sang. Like Nmecha, I often walked in space and used my speed, which is mainly the similarity between the two of us. ”

Speaking further in the interview, the 55 year old who scored a total of 156 goals in the Belgium top division during his hey days rounded up by saying the duo are for now the best two strikers in the Belgium top flight. He described Antwerp forward Dieumerci Mbokani as a hit and miss striker despite scoring 11 goals this season.

“You have to look at the whole season and if we are honest, Nmecha and Onuachu are the two best strikers. Mbokani was hit and miss and also suffered from injuries. Dost started well at Bruges, but has been invisible in recent weeks. ”