Victor Osimhen has tested positive for coronavirus putting his return to action on Sunday against Cagliari on hold, Owngoalnigeria.com reports.

Napoli announced that he is presently asymptomatic and hasn’t met with the rest of the squad since his return from holiday abroad meaning there is no threat of transmission to the rest of the team.

The 22 year old reportedly returned a positive result after yesterday’s molecular nasopharyngeal swab test on the Napoli squad ahead of their game on Sunday, where they will be aiming for a first win to start the year after losing and drawing their last game of 2020.

It means his return from the shoulder injury that has kept him out since November won’t happen until two weeks time after he must have received treatments and also isolate from the rest of the team.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr will later in the year hold face to face talks with PSV Eindhoven midfield maestro Noni Madueke with the hope of having him play for Nigeria.

Madueke has already represented England at youth level but towards the end of last year talks about a switch of nationality to Nigeria popped up.

Eligible for Nigeria through his father, the attacking midfielder who has excelled this season with five goals and five assists in 13 Eredivisie games this season is reportedly keen on meeting with the coach of the Nigerian team.

The form of the 18 year old has already caught the attention of Real Madrid who are reportedly lining up a bid for him in the summer base on the recommendation of their former forward Ruud Van Nistelrooy who is a youth team coach at PSV.

Van Nistelrooy is according to Spanish outlet Don Balon using his links and good relationship at Real Madrid to push them into snapping up the left footed teen as his form if maintained could trigger a bidding war in the nearest future.

Out of favour Monaco forward Henry Onyekuru wasn’t part of the Monaco team that resumed training two days back as Ligue 1 get set to resume following the break for Christmas holiday.

Onyekuru has been told he is surplus to requirements with coach Niko Kovac who earlier gave him a chance to rediscover himself at the club making a u-turn on his future as long as he remains as coach of the team.

The Nigerian who spent the second half of last season on loan to Galatasary is in talks with the team for a third spell which will likely be a permanent deal or a loan deal with the option of signing permanently.

Talks are well underway between the team and his representatives while the 23 year old is in Nigeria waiting for the next instruction regarding the next line of his career which hasn’t been the same since he moved to Everton three years ago from Eupen of Belgium.

Sold by Everton to Monaco after a fairly successful time on loan to Galatasary, his 18 months stay at the club hasn’t been the best for his talents and this season he has played just six games.

An offer from Al Ain of United Arab Emirates rumored to be worth close to $100,000 a week was turned down by the player who is still keen on remaining in Europe.

Victor Osimhen has been given the permission to return to competitive football after recovering fully from the shoulder injury he suffered while on international duty with the senior national team of Nigeria last year.

Osimhen fell awkwardly during the Super Eagles 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone in Benin on the 13th of November and since then he hasn’t kicked a ball in anger for both club and country.

He was initially expected to return in two weeks time but he suffered a set back that made him travel to Belgium to see a specialist last week. He is now back in training with Napoli.

Owngoalnigeria.com exclusively gathered that he will return to action on Sunday when Napoli take on Cagliari in their first Serie A game following their return from the Christmas break.

He will likely play a big part role in the game but he should be fit for more minutes when they play Spezia on Wednesday as Napoli aim to return to winning ways.

They ended the year with a draw against Torino which came after losing 0-2 to Lazio three days earlier. The return of their most expensive player who has scored twice in six Serie A games this season will no doubt improve the confidence in the squad.

The dip in form of Nigeria and Bordeaux of France winger Samuel Kalu has been traced to the way he was treated by the management of the team when his mother was abducted by kidnappers in Nigeria .

Kalu’s mother was later released after the payment of a ransom but the trauma of having his mother in the kidnappers den and lack of support from the American owners of Bordeaux left him broken.

According to top French scout Laurent Calippe, the Nigerian hasn’t been the same since that incident saying he should have been loaned out to regain his confidence and not transfer listed like the club did.

A loan move according to Calippe would have helped Kalu to get over the incident of his mother in the kidnappers then and he would have returned a better player for the team.

“He’s a player who had great potential. I know he’s lost a bit since his mother’s kidnapping in Africa. It didn’t do him good at all. I think that there was a break at that point.

“He may not have had enough backing from the Americans who didn’t want him at that time. So they put him on the transfer list and he was tossed right to left. But he is a player who, for me, has potential and has not yet been exploited to his value”,he told WebGirondins during an interview.

“ Frankly, I think this whole thing with his mother’s kidnapping hit him really, really hard in the back of the head. He had a hard time coming back. I think the solution in those cases would have been to loan him to someone. ‘he takes a breath of fresh air somewhere else and maybe becomes better to come back. “

FC Porto Nigerian left back Zaidu Sanusi has been picked among the breakthrough players in this season UEFA Champions League according to an announcement by the organizers.

Zaidu joined the Portuguese giants from Santa Clara in the summer and he has immediately established himself as first choice left back following the departure of Alex Telles to Manchester United.

That same form has also helped him cement his spot as first choice left back of the senior national team of Nigeria and now he has been recognized by UEFA in the list of players who have made an impression in the tournament despite playing it for the first time.

23 year old Zaidu played in all of Porto’s game in the group stages with a goal to his name as they book their spot in the knock out round where they will take on Juventus in the round of 16 in March.

The captain of the Nigeria U20 team of Ladan Bosso Mohammed Abdallah could be ban from all football related activities for two years over his plans to force his move away from Nasarawa United.

Abdallah didn’t return to Lafia after the Nigerian team crashed out of the U20 WAFU qualifiers at the group stage of the tournament which is the qualifiers for the Africa U20 Cup of Nations.

His absence made the club to declare him AWOL ( Absence Without Leave) as he still has a valid contract with the team for another year and he has been paid all of his dues to date.

Reports has it that he is in the camp of an NPFL team in the Southern part of Nigeria with claims that he is a free player following the expiration of his contract with Nasarawa United.

However a source at the League Management Committee ( LMC) told Owngoalnigeria.com that the 19 year old still has a year to go on his deal with Nasarawa United.

“ He still has one year to run on his deal and if he dare signs for another team that will automatically trigger a two year ban from football both for him and the club that signed him. It’s in the rule book. There is a standard way to move from one club to another not by going on AWOL. We won’t hesitate to ban him if he persist with the move”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

Oghenekaro Etebo is not having the best of time in Turkey where he is presently on loan to league giants Galatasary from English Championship side Stoke City.

Etebo who spent the second half of last season on loan to Getafe of Spain was allowed to leave on another loan deal by Stoke as he was deem not to be in the plans of team in their quest to gain promotion to the English Premier League.

He landed at Galatasary where he was sure of getting regular run of games but that hasn’t been the case since his move to the team in the summer as he has only featured in eight league games.

So far he has only completed 90 minutes twice. Injuries and loss of form have not been kind to the 25 year old who is currently out injured with a thigh muscle strain.

Although reports of a cancellation of his loan are wide off the mark it will however be an option if he fails to sort the fitness issues that has made him a bit part player at the club where many expect him to be one of the standout players.