Leicester City suffered a set back in their quest to finish among the top four teams in England losing 2-4 to Newcastle United in the Friday night game of the English Premier League.

The Foxes surprisingly went 4-0 down with Joe Willock, Paul Dummet and a brace from Calum Wilson giving the visitors an unexpected wide lead.

Ten minutes from full time, Marc Albrighton pulled a goal back for the home side with Kelechi Iheanacho dummy off a cross wrong footing the defence of the Magpies.

Iheanacho grabbed a goal for himself with three minutes left to play as Leicester try to mount a late rally but it ended in futility as the scoreline remained 2-4 in favour of Newcastle United.

For 24 year old Nigerian Kelechi Iheanacho, the goal was his 15th in his last 14 games in all competitions with 12 coming in the English Premier League making him the top scorer of the team. Overall he has scored 18 goals this season.

Nigeria international striker Paul Onuachu isn’t slowing down on his tremendous run in front of goal with another goal to help Genk to a 3-0 win over Club Brugge in the Belgium Champions Playoffs.

The 26 year old opened scoring in the 57th minute before further goals from Junya Ito and Kristian Thorstvedt put the game beyond the reach of Club Brugge.

He is well on course to be crowned the top scorer in the Belgium division as he has ten more goals than his closest challenger in Thomas Henry of OH Leuven.

It has indeed been a remarkable year for the forward who has also reclaim his spot in the senior national team of Nigeria where he scored in back to back games against Benin Republic and Lesotho respectively.

Already there are talks over a summer move away from Genk who are not opposed to his desire to move to a league higher than the Belgium league provided their price tag of €25 million is met.

It was an eventful evening for two Nigerians on the books of Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam as they were both heavily involved to help the team to a 3-0 win over Vitesse Arnhem.

Nigerian first choice goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was in goal for his 26th appearance of the season and he ended up raking up his ninth clean sheet of the season, a run which has seen him concede 34 goals.

However the night belongs to 18 year old Emanuel Emegha who was making his 15th appearance of the season following his step up from the U19 to the main team.

He rose from the bench to claim his first top flight goal with the third goal for Sparta holding off his man before finishing with aplomb.

At the end of the game he was announced as the man of the match despite spending just 17 minutes on the pitch as he was introduced in the 73rd minute for Sven Mijnans.

Born in Holland to Nigerian parents he has long pledged his senior international future to Nigeria despite representing the Dutch U15 team once.

Nigeria international midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo will be returning to his parent owners Stoke City at the end of his loan deal with Galatasary following their decision against signing him permanently.

Galatasary in the loan deal that brought the 25 year old inserted an option of signing him permanently at the end of the loan spell but they won’t be taking up the option.

Already his representatives have been told the decision of the team and he is set to return to Stoke City where he has two more years to run on his deal at the club.

At Stoke City he went from winning the player of the year to struggling to get game time which culminated in his decision to move to Galatasary during the summer transfer window.

In Turkey he has battled with injuries and fitness issues limiting to just 24 games out of a possible 37 games this season for Gala who are 3rd placed on the Turkish League standing.

Italian Serie A side Atalanta have opened discussions with Club Brugge over signing of 23 years old Nigerian forward Emmanuel Dennis.

Dennis is out on loan to Cologne but he has been told he has no place in the plans of Brugges next season hence he should start his search for a new team in earnest.

Brugge are willing to listen to offers in the region of €3 million and Atalanta who have been a long term admirer of the winger are already talking with his representatives over a summer transfer.

Once hailed as one of the brightest prospects in the Belgium league, a combination of disciplinary and on pitch issues have seen him lost his way leading to his loan move away in search of game time.

It hasn’t worked out at Cologne as he has just one assist this season in eight Bundesliga games. In the past four games has only played a combined 36 minutes. He wasn’t listed in the squad for the last league game against Mainz 05.

Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho says his close friend and teammate Wilfred Ndidi never for one day doubted his ability even when he struggled to get going at the club.

The Nigerian has discovered his mojo since the turn of the year with nine goals in his last eight games aside four more goals he has scored in the FA Cup including the winner which booked their place in the final.

Already he has been rewarded with a new deal till the summer of 2024 and as they continue their push for a top four finish he is seen as one of the most important players to coach of the team Brendan Rodgers.

According to Iheanacho, the one person who stood by him when he wasn’t at this level was Ndidi who he said has gone beyond a friend as he now sees him as his brother. The pair have been together since their path crossed in 2013 while at the U17 camp of Nigeria.

“ He is not like a brother but he is my brother when you judge how far we have come since 2013. All through the times I was struggling to get going he never gave up on me. I can’t speak about the turnaround in my fortunes without mentioning him”, the 24 years old said.

23 year old Pacos Ferreira midfielder Abbas Ibrahim has placed himself in pole position for a first time call up to the senior national team of Nigeria.

The midfield is one area where coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has said he needs more options and making the emergence of Abbas enticing to the Franco German coach.

On loan from second division side Arouca, he has stamped his feet in the first team the last one month leading to talks about a permanent signing for the player who has been in Portugal since 2015.

This season Abbas has held his own in the middle of the pitch for Portuguese surprise package Pacos in the nine games he has played so far for the 5th placed team.

He has commanded the midfield with the authority of a veteran with his most recent display coming against SC Braga who are 4th on the log after 31 round of games in Portugal.

Owngoalnigeria.com exclusively gathered that he has been added to the list of players who will be scouted extensively by the Super Eagles coach ahead of the start of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Fans of Italian Serie A side AS Roma have urged incoming coach of the team Jose Mourinho to bring back former youth team striker Sadiq Umar who was allowed to leave the club on a permanent deal two seasons ago.

Sadiq rose from the youth ranks to the main team of the Serie A side in 2016 but instability in the coaching department of the first team saw his game time limited with other coaches going for other players in his position.

He was sent on loan to several teams but not until two seasons ago did he come to live at Serbian side Partizan Belgrade who were quick in turning his loan deal into a permanent one before trading him off to Almeria last summer.

At Almeria he has emerged as their go to man for goals in their quest to gain promotion to the La Liga with 18 goals and five assists in 33 games this season.

His form hasn’t gone unnoticed with fans of his former team Roma naming him as one of the young forwards the club should aim to sign when they start their rebuild under Mourinho next season.

Speaking on a forum created for the fans, they call on the coach freshen up the attack with a young forward like Sadiq with their top striker Edin Dzeko now 35 years old.

Mujaid Sadick Aliu has emerged as one of the players relegated German side Schalke 04 plan to sign as part of the rebuilding process of the club.

Schalke 04 want an immediate return to the Bundesliga and the 21 year old is seen as one player who can help in that regard and talks are already underway regarding a deal worth around €2 million to sign him from Deportivo La Coruna.

Sadick who 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.

A host of second division teams and even some La Liga teams have shown interest in signing him but for now it’s Schalke 04 interest that is seen as the most concrete among all.

With the 3rd division league coming to an end this Sunday, there is every chance that the defender who was born in Spain to a born to a Nigerian mother and a Ghanaian father won’t be around next season.

He is eligible for Nigeria, Ghana and Spain at international level but for now he has only represented Spain at two different youth levels, all that could change with a strong showing next season be it at Deportivo or elsewhere.

Enyimba FC of Aba winger Anayo Iwuala is the subject of a bid of around €500,000 from French Ligue 1 side Angers, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The offer is coming 48 hours after Belgium side KAS Eupen submitted a bid in the region of €350,000 for the 22 year old, who is valued at €1 million by Enyimba.

So far the offer from Angers is the closest to their valuation of the former Delta Force prospect who has two caps for the senior national team but Enyimba are still holding on for more money.

Talks are believed to be progressing nicely even though both teams are poles apart in their valuation of the player who is expected to leave the team before the end of the summer transfer window in Europe.

Enyimba are opened to letting him leave for less than the price tag of €1 million but they will demand a higher percentage inserted as sell on clause and also add ons.