As the transfer window slowly grinds to a halt , the future of three Nigerian players at their teams in Europe is still unclear as at the time of filling in this report.

Club Brugge forward Dennis Emmanuel Bonaventure who was promised a move away this summer is yet to get his desire fulfilled as no team has met the asking price of €25 million. A host of teams have made checks on the wing forward but none was able to stomp up the cash required to sign him.

He will likely spend another season at the club which will take him to within one more year left in his deal with the club at the end of this season and that will no doubt brought about a decrease in his market value.

Kenneth Omeruo suffered relegation with Leganes and was widely tipped to leave the team for another team in a top flight league but no offer has matched what Leganes want. If the situation remains same till the end of today he will end this season in the Spanish second division.

Jamilu Collins appears to be suffering same fate as Omeruo and Dennis but a lot worst in the sense that he hasn’t played in the last three games of Paderborn. A move to Union Berlin fell through just like what happened with his proposed move to Schalke 04 over the €10 million asking fee of Paderborn.

Former Nigeria U23 top scorer Sadiq Umar has said goodbye to his teammates at Partizan Belgrade as he closes in on a move to Spanish side Almeria.

The 23 year old who scored 17 goals and also had 17 assists last season is expected to arrive in Spain later today to seal the switch following breakthrough in talks over a transfer fee.

Partizan insisted on a fee of €15 million for the lanky forward but were forced to accept a fee in the region of €10 million with other ons taking the deal to within €12 million.

Since suffering relegation from the La Liga Almeria have found it hard to return to the Spanish top flight with lady season the closest they came to securing promotion.

The owner of the team Turki Al-Sheikh is keen on the club returning to the top flight hence the significant outlay on players that will help their push to the elite division.

Red hot Genk of Belgium forward Paul Onuachu has been contacted ahead of the senior national team of Nigeria upcoming friendly games on the 9th and 13th of October against Algeria and Tunisia respectively.

Owngoalnigeria.com exclusively gathered that the 26 year old was contacted by a backroom staff of the senior national team of Nigeria on the instruction of coach Gernot Rohr.

The forward who has scored six goals in his last four games including a back to brace against Mechelen and KV Oostende respectively netted the only goal yesterday in their 1-1 draw against Wassland-Beverley.

As it stands Napoli forward Victor Osimhen is a huge doubt for the games due to issue bothering on coronavirus isolation following fears over the spreading of the virus among members of the team.

It was reported that Napoli’s entire squad have been prevented from traveling to Turin for today’s game against Juventus and also for the international round of games but a leaked document suggests otherwise.

Per the documents, players of the team who came in close contact with Covid-19 positive player Piotr Zielinski were asked to go into fiduciary isolation and not the entire squad as reported in some quarters.

In order not to be caught unaware , Rohr has asked Onuachu to be on standby in the event that Osimhen is ruled out. The possible inclusion of Onuachu will come as a surprise to many.

Bordeaux forward Josh Maja is the name on the standby list for strikers but it appears Rohr has used form to pick the lanky forward ahead of the 21 year old.

The captain of the senior national team of Nigeria will arrive the camp of the team of the team ahead of any player in the team for the friendly games against Algeria and Tunisia respectively.

Musa will arrive the camp of the team tomorrow from Nigeria where he has been the past one month despite his club’s involvement in the Asian Champions League.

Al Nassr are currently taking part in the Asian premier club tournament but the 27 year old is working on his departure from the team hence isn’t involved in their campaign.

He is keen on returning to Europe after two years in Saudi Arabia. Talks is believe to be going on in that regards with the aim of securing a move before the current transfer window closes.

Despite his non activity at club level he is expected to lead the Super Eagles in both games with coach Gernot Rohr banking on his experience to guide the young players in the team.

The agent of 23 year old Manchester City defender Tosin Adarabiyio has assured that his client will accelerate the process of his nationality switch to Nigeria once he gets a clear picture of his future at club level.

Tosin is pushing to leave Man City before the end of the current transfer window after failing to get assurances from manager Pep Guardiola that he is part of his plans after a fairly good season last season with Blackburn Rovers.

He impressed for the Championship side and after one of the games met with the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr after which he agreed to play for Nigeria.

As it stand he won’t be requiring approval from FIFA to switch as he only represented England in friendly games but even at that he still need to get other documents most notably a Nigerian passport.

“ Usually the first step is to inform the coaches that you’re available for selection and he has done that. He need to also get a Nigerian passport as well. For now however the emphasis is on his club future. That one comes first”, a member of his representatives told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ For Tosin is a done deal. There’s only one team for him at the moment at international level and that is Nigeria. That will be his next focus when a clear path for his career is agreed with Manchester City”.

According to sources in Italy , coach of Napoli Gennaro Gattuso has decided to drop Victor Osimhen to the bench when they take on Juventus this Sunday in the Serie A.

GazzetadelloSport report that the coach has decided to tweak his formation for the game against Juventus from the 4-2-3-1 formation he used against Genoa last weekend to a more conservative 4-3-3- formation.

In the absence of the injured Lorenzo Insigne , Gattuso has decided to go with the trio of Hirving Lozano, Dries Mertens and Matteo Politano in attack with Osimhen dropping to the bench.

The report said the coach plan to maintain the formation for the first one hour of the game before deciding on what to do next which will probably involve the introduction of Osimhem against an expected tired Juventus defence.

His pace and abilities to get behind will come in handy with the Juventus defence out of steam. A final decision is however yet to be made on starting the 21 year old as they have been hit with a big blow.

Midfielder Piotr Zielinski tested positive for coronavirus and it could affect the plans of Gattuso for the game which could mean a switch in formation with Osimhen likely to start.

The representative of Arsenal teen star Bukayo Saka says the 19 year old informed the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria before accepting to play for England.

Saka was yesterday called up to the senior national team of England after impressing for Arsenal and also the youth teams of England. He is now expected to make his debut which will in a way put an end to Nigeria’s quest to lure him.

Saka has been on the radar of Nigeria for a while with the president of the Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) Amaju Pinnick particularly keen on having him play for Nigeria.

Saka was even invited as a special guest to watch the Super Eagles in action before the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to his agent, his parents insist he must inform Nigeria before accepting to play for England after he made up his mind on representing the Three Lions at senior level.

“ He told one of the sides of the coach to pass the message to the coach. That was last week. He made up his mind last week and immediately communicated with Nigeria. He thanked them for the interest but playing for England suits him more as he has been a part of the system for a while”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ His parents made it known to him that he must show maturity after making up his mind and they insist he should inform Nigeria of his decision out of respect. That he did before accepting England “.

The decision to pick Tyronne Ebuehi as replacement for Injured Wilfred Ndidi In the Nigerian squad for their upcoming games against Algeria and Tunisia didn’t go down well with many as Gernot Rohr replaced a midfielder with a defender.

Many were expecting Ramon Azeez who was placed on standby in the original list to get the nod as he plays in almost same position for his Spanish side Granada but he was overlooked by Rohr.

The decision to pick Ebuehi was first revealed by Owngoalnigeria.com before the coach formally confirmed it two days ago leaving many wondering about his choice.

We gathered Rohr picked Ebuehi because the squad already has players in midfield he wants to access before making a final decision on inviting them in future games.

Among those players is Mikel Agu, a player Rohr strongly believes in but he hasn’t truly stamped his authority in the team. This set of games and with Ndidi and Azeez absent will give him the chance to assess him further.

Also the invitation of Frank Onyeka who has been rated as the best midfielder in Denmark owing to his performance for Midtjylland who are through to the group stages of the UEFA Champions League also worked against Azeez.

Rohr has been very impressed with Onyeka and want to give him the chance to work his way into the position of pushing Ndidi for his spot starting with these games.

Azeez is still very much in the plans of the coach but his inclusion in future games is now heavily dependent on what these guys mentioned above offer the team against Algeria and Tunisia respectively.

The Nigeria Football Federation have gotten another talented German Nigerian defender to join the senior national team of Nigeria ahead of their friendly games in October, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

As first reported by this portal, Kevin Akpoguma confirmed his switch of allegiance to Nigeria from Germany where he played for their youth teams. Another defender has followed suit.

We gathered he has officially filed in his papers with FIFA after a meeting with Rohr and he will likely join the team in Austria as he already has a Nigerian passport unlike Akpoguma and Kingsley Ehizibue.

Like Akpoguma, Ehizibue hasn’t been issued a Nigerian passport hence wasn’t included in the list of players called up by Gernot Rohr for the game.

“ Yes he has filed his papers officially and if it comes through from FIFA as expected he will be in for his debut against either Algeria or Tunisia. His case is more clearer now but I’m sorry I can’t give you his name”, a member of the backroom team of Rohr told Owngoalnigeria.com.

His expected presence means the defence of the Nigerian team now has three players who were born in Germany as aside Akpoguma, there is Leon Balogun who has been a part of the team for a while now.

Former Nigeria international winger Garba Lawal says the senior national team of Nigeria won’t in any way be affected by the decision of Bukayo Saka to honor a call up to the senior national team of England.

The 19 year old was handed a first time call up by coach of the senior national team of England Gareth Southgate yesterday bringing an end to the his chase by Nigeria.

Nigeria were hoping to lure the highly rated left footed player to their team despite the fact that he has represented England at various youth levels. His parents were contacted by the NFF.

Saka was also invited by the NFF to travel down to Nigeria and be with the Super Eagles in a bid to have him get used to the system but he declined the offer using his contract standoff with Arsenal back then as an excuse.

Yesterday he posted his excitement at getting his first call up to the senior national team of England bringing an end to his chase by Nigeria but Lawal insist he wasn’t needed in the first place.

“ What Nigeria have in abundance at the moment is wingers. A lot of them unlike other areas. So if Saka has decided to pay for England it’s okay to wish him well. It’s not like he was needed badly. No he isn’t a priority “, Lawal told Owngoalnigeria.com.

“ I understand why the coaches try to get him because he is top quality and will improve any team but even without him they are players in the team who are almost at his level and can provide same input like him”.