Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has marked down young Nigerian goalkeeper James Emmanuel of Turkish side Gaziantep FK for further scouting.

The young shot stopper has impressed for the U23 of the Turkish side and has trained severally with the first team with many speculating that he could make his debut before the season ends.

19 year old James was lined up by coach Ladan Bosso of the Nigeria U20 for the WAFU Championship but his club turned down the option of allowing him play for the Flying Eagles.

A source close to Rohr revealed that the Franco-German coach is aware of the progress of the shot stopper and he is tracking his progress for a possible invitation to the Super Eagles.

“ Rohr knows him a lot and already scouts are on his case tracking his progress. If he continue to improve there is a chance that he could get a call up in the future because the team needs young goalkeepers”, he said.

Nigeria International midfielder Alex Iwobi says he is constantly working hard to be at his best for his club Everton and also the senior national team of Nigeria.

Iwobi has impressed this season for Everton playing as a wing back as opposed to his original role as a midfielder when he was signed from Arsenal two seasons ago.
Carlo Ancelotti has found a way to get the best out of the Nigerian with his new role in the team and Iwobi says he is working hard to be at his best for the team and also the senior national team of Nigeria.

“Everyday I try to prove to myself I should be here, that I should be playing for Everton. That I should be in the starting XI. That I should be representing my country. I always have that motivation”, he said.

Villarreal and Super Eagles of Nigeria forward Samuel Chukwueze has stirred up debates on social media after posting pictures of his new hairstyle yesterday.

The 21 year old shared a picture of his new looks and as expected he was criticized by some while some praised his new looks as he battles to regain his starting spot in Villarreal team.

Now wearing a blonde hair , Chukwueze has so far made 13 LaLiga appearances this season with one goal and two assists to his name, a return that can be considered not too impressive considering his ability.

He has moved from starting games to the role of a substitute in their last two games against Real Betis and Osasuna respectively as they continue to make a statement under coach Unai Emery.

The coach has preferred 19 year old Japanese Takefusa Kubo who is on loan from Real Madrid ahead of the Nigerian but surprisingly he is yet to score or assist in the 13 games he has played so far.

Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo is expected to get the all clear to represent Nigeria next year after agreeing to switch nationality to the Super Eagles.

The 23 year old has shown his class for Fulham this season since joining the team on a permanent deal in the summer from Manchester City where he was a youth team player.

He made the set up from City’s U18 to the first team but despite a fairly successful time on loan to West Brom and Blackburn Rovers In the English Championship he wasn’t guarantee a spot in the team for the season.

He pushed for a permanent transfer and so far it has worked out well at Fulham with many crediting their rise up the table to partly his signing as he has impressed in the ten games he has played.

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is aware of his exploits and also his desire to play for the Super Eagles.

“ Rohr knows he follows the Super Eagles and want to play for the team but there’s a process to be followed with FIFA to properly clear things up. Rohr sees him as one who will fit into the team because of the physical nature of the English Premier League and also his ability to pass from the back with ease”, a source close to the coach told Owngoalnigeria.com.

On loan Liverpool forward Taiwo Awoniyi says he is enjoying his best form in a long while after scoring four times in his last six games for Union Berlin in the German Bundesliga.

The 23 year old scored the opener for Union Berlin as they secure a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund, three days after scoring in the 2-2 draw against Stuttgart in same competition.

While his best season in front of goals still remains the 2018/2019 season where he scored eleven league goals for Mouscron in the Belgium league , he still rates his form at the moment as his best ever.

“ I can’t deny the obvious improvements in my game and I want to thank my coaches and teammates for the support. I feel more confident now in front of goal more than ever. I am in the form of my life and my goal is to continue to work hard in training and in games”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

His form has led to talks about an invitation to the senior national team of Nigeria but the 23 year old who has played for Nigeria at every level bar the senior team said he is not bothered.

“ It will come when the time is right and ordained by God so I’m not bothered. My focus is on my form with my club. That to me is more important than dreaming of a spot in the national team which will come naturally”.

On loan FC Porto defender Chidozie Awaziem could be on his way out of Boavista this January if interested teams are able to reach a deal with his parent owners, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Awaziem has emerged as one of the shining light of a struggling Boavista team as he has played in nine out of the ten games they have so far played this season.

The 23 year old who has one official man of the match award and two club man of the match awards have caught the interest of teams from outside Portugal.

Top of the list is Spanish side Valencia who were keen on signing him this summer after impressing during a loan spell with Leganes but the deal fell through.

Valencia are pushing to have him in January but they need to reach a deal with Porto for his loan deal with Boavista to be terminated in order for him to make the move.

The summer looks like a more realistic time for the deal to happen and feelers from the camp of the player indicate that they are willing to wait as well with other teams also interested.

English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers who are famed for signing players from the Portuguese league have also sounded out his representatives about a deal in the summer.

German side Borussia Monchengladbach will also try again for him next summer after failing to acquire him on loan directly from Porto before his move to Leganes in 2019.

Gennaro Gattuso the coach of Italian Serie A side Napoli is unhappy with the recovery of club record signing Victor Osimhen who is out injured with a shoulder injury.

Osimhen picked up the injury while on international duty with Nigeria on the 13th of November after falling awkwardly during the Super Eagles 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone.

He was expected to be back in action in a month time but that date appears to have been pegged backwards with recent reports suggesting he could be out till next year.

Speaking after his team 0-2 loss to Lazio , Gattuso said it’s frustrating not to have the Nigerian who was expected to lead the line for the team this season.

“ We have other players in his position but we know why we brought him in for that amount of money. The idea of the team with him is why he is here but he is injured so we can’t play that way. It’s frustrating and I’m unhappy with the speed of his recovery but it’s normal for us to rely on our doctors”, he said.

Coach is the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has made some changes to the backroom staff of the senior national team of Nigeria that went unnoticed.

The coach who is still keen on having Salisu Yusuf back as one of his assistants presently has just three assistants as opposed to when he use to have four with him on the bench.

In the past Rohr use to have Jean Luc Royer as his fitness coach with Nabil Trabelsi doubling as his technical assistants and video analyst. Imama Amapakabo took the role of Salisu Yusuf as first assistant following his suspension over his involvement in a cash for spot scandal, while at the helm as coach of the Nigerian B team popularly called CHAN Eagles.

Alloy Agu and Enrico Pionetti who was appointed by Rohr before the World Cup were saddled with the responsibility of drilling the goalkeepers of the team ahead of game.

Checks by Owngoalnigeria.com revealed that Pionetti has since left the team with Agu with the sole responsibility of getting the goalkeepers ready for games while the appointment of Joseph Yobo has also cost him another option on the bench.

Yobo came in as a replacement for Imama who was taken out of the team months after his elevation to the role of first assistant from his role as second assistant. That role of second assistant now technically belongs to Yobo who now act as first assistant at lest till the appointment of another in that role of the return of Yusuf.

Former Tottenham Hotspur forward and coach Tim Sherwood says Wilfred Ndidi showed he is world class with his performance for Leicester City in their 2-0 win over his former aide at White Hart Lane.

Ndidi was solid all through particularly in the first half where he completed all his passes, won all his duels and also made the most interceptions among all the players on the pitch.

Speaking at the half time break , Sherwood who was in the studio as a pundit during the course of the game was full of praises for Ndidi who made it difficult for Spurs to feed the front two of Heung Min Son and Harry Kane.

“ Kane is not getting the balls he need to do damage. Ndidi is making it difficult for them to break the press and release him. That’s what you want from a midfielder. He is world class in the way he interprets his role”, he said during the half time break.

Most fans of Leicester City also took to social media to praise the Nigerian whose return from injury has galvanize the squad into the sort of form that made them a feared force last season.