Former MFM FC of Lagos forward Stephen Odey has joined Ligue 2 side Amiens from Belgium outfit Genk on a season long loan deal, owngoalnigeria.comunderstands.

Ojora Babatunde, a France based Nigerian journalist confirmed the move on his twitter handle with a post of the player having his medicals with the Ligue 2 side.

Odey joined Genk last season from Greek side FC Zurich but found his way into becoming a regular blocked by more established forwards at the club. A situation which saw him make just eleven league appearances with no goal to show.

He had a very good pre season by scoring goals in test games but he hasn’t made the squad for any game this season hence his decision to leave on loan with Amiens his preferred destination.

The 22 year old will be hoping to help the club achieve their dream or gaining promotion to the French top division at the end of the recently started French Ligue 2 season.

Osas Mahawi 

In two weeks time the five major European Leagues namely the French Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and the English Premier League will all resume .

Owngoalnigeria.com takes a look at some Nigerian players who are set to feature in the above mentioned leagues but are somehow unknown back here.

In England , former Tottenham Hotspur youth prospect Josh Onomah will be one of the players on parade when they kickstart their campaign with a game against Arsenal on Saturday.

Onomah isnt much a household name in Nigeria like other England youth internationals that are been linked with a switch of allegiance to Nigeria. However all of that could change with a strong showing.

Already he is a target of coach of the team Gernot Rohr who was obviously impressed with his showing in the English Championship playoffs where he impressed for Fulham.

In Spain, the name Kelechi Nwakali is one many are eager to see when Huesca begin their La Liga campaign against Villarreal. Another Nigerian is at the club as well and he is Kelvin Carlos Omoruyi.

At 19 years old, the forward who has been promoted to the first team from the B team could struggle to get games even though he has been ever present in their pre season games.

Still in the La Liga Saturday Erimuya who was a part of the Samson Siasia squad for the 2016 Olympics has progressed to the first team and even played in their last pre season game.

He is expected to see some minutes following their promotion to the La Liga from the Spanish second division. Although he didn’t get to play a single minute for the first team last season with all of his 26 appearances coming for the B team.

In France Lesley Ugochukwu is a 16 year old who will spark a tug of war between Nigeria and France as he is eligible for both countries.

He was only recently elevated to the first team of Rennes and coach of the Nigerian team Gernot Rohr is a strong admirer of the midfielder who could get his breakthrough in the Ligue 1 this season.

With Paderborn relegated to the German second division, Nigeria lost a player in the top division in Jamilu Collins but the trio of Anthony Ujah, Suleiman Abdullahi and Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee are still at Union Berlin and Augsburg respectively.

Kingsley Ehizibue swells the number to five as he has at Cologne and recently was called up to the senior national team of Nigeria after agreeing to switch from the Netherlands to Nigeria .

However one make that many are unaware of is Felix Agu, the right full back of Werder Bremen who is according to some reports among the players who have switched allegiance to Nigeria. He is expected to be a regular for the team that narrowly escaped relegation last season.

In the Italian Serie A where all talks has been about Victor Osimhen following his record breaking move to Napoli, many have forgotten of his U17 teammate Kingsley Michael who is at Bologna and has played a part in their first set of pre season games.

Michael will be hoping to get games in the Serie A to start his self desire to be a part of the Nigerian team for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Osas Mahawi 

Former Nigeria U17 trainee Ovie Ejaria will likely not be able to make his debut for the senior national team of Nigeria next month even if he gets the all clear from FIFA on his application to switch allegiance to Nigeria from England, owngoalnigeria.com understands.

Ejaria has already applied for a switch of nationality from England to Nigeria after representing England at various youth levels, the 22 year old fancies his chances with the senior national team of Nigeria than that of England.

The former Liverpool midfielder who only recently concluded a move to Reading on a permanent deal from Liverpool after impressing while on loan last season is facing another hurdle in his quest to represent Nigeria.

Sources close to the player revealed to Owngoalnigeria that he is yet to be issued a fresh Nigerian passport, no thanks to the coronavirus pandemic which brought about the lockdown and closure of offices.

Although it’s still unclear if he has been given the green light by FIFA to make his switch to Nigeria, it’s also not clear if he will be allowed to play for Nigeria without a Nigerian passport in a friendly game even if he gets his documents sorted before then.

We understand that he is hopeful of sorting it out before the end of the year but will be glad if the process is completed in time in order for him to make his Super Eagles debut next month, which is also dependent on approval by FIFA.

Michael James

Newly signed FC Porto leftback Zaidu Sanusi showed his class for FC Porto in a test game against Tondela at their training camp as they round up preparations for the start of the new season in Portugal.

Signed a little over a week ago, the 22 year old Nigerian didn’t was introduced as a substitute in the 4-3 win and for the time that he was on the pitch he impressed coach Sergio Conceicao.

He combined his defensive duties with forays upfront to aid the attack. A trait he was famous for at his former club Santa Clara. More importantly he didn’t look out of place despite training with his new teammates for just a week.

His strong showing will no doubt boost his chances of getting game time when they start their campaign on the 19th of September with a game away to Sporting Braga.

Zaidu has been pencilled down for a call up to the senior national team of Nigeria for their upcoming friendly games in October which will take place in Austria against two of African top teams in Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia respectively.

Ade Emmanuel 

Coach of CSKA Moscow says newly signed Nigerian winger Chidera Ejuke has impressed him so far since his move to the club two weeks ago.

48 hours after joining the Russian side , the soon to be Nigeria international was handed his debut in the game against Akhmat which they won 3-0 away from home.

Ejuke was introduced as a substitute in the game and he left a good impression on coach of the team Victor Gancharenko with his display for the time he spent on the pitch .

Speaking on the 22 year old Nigerian, the coach was quick to point out the one quality many have praised the winger for which is his ability to go past his markers with ease “ His qualities were clearly visible. He easily works with the ball. Knows how to beat his man in one in one situation. He goes it today”, the coach said.

Two days ago he also played in a friendly game against Arsenal Tula which ended they won 1-0 with the coach playing him for the entire duration of the game to help his adaption to the demands of playing in the league and country.

Bordeaux forward Samuel Kalu has made a u-turn on a proposed loan move to Turkish side Fenerbahce from Bordeaux, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Kalu agreed terms with the Turkish side with a loan fee and terms of the payment of his wages the remaining details left in the deal to be made official.

However a late twist has happened to the agreement as Kalu has now decided to remain at Bordeaux and fight for his spot instead of joining the Turkish side.

Last season Kalu struggled to get into the team but this season since returning to training after recovering from coronavirus he has twice been played as a substitute as he continue to build his fitness.

His aim is to win his spot back in the team to prove right the reason why they splash big to sign him from Belgium side in 2018. In his first season he did fairly well even though he was seriously hampered by injuries and fitness issues.

Daniel Martins

Victor Osimhen has cemented his spot as the first choice forward of the senior national team of Nigeria with the emphasis now on who will be his deputy.

Coach is the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has in previous games called up Paul Onuachu, Ahmed Musa, Josh Maja With Kelechi Iheanacho and Cyriel Dessers the other players called up for the last international game halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The duo of Iheanacho and Dessers were the top two rival of the newly signed Napoli forward prior to the lockdown owing to their form for their respective teams.

However all of that has changed with Josh Maja cementing his spot as first choice striker at Ligue 1 side Bordeaux. A position he took with both hands with a goal in their last league game which was a 2-0 win against Angers before the international break.

Rohr has been heavily impressed with the way the former Sunderland forward has asserted himself in the French top flight and he still has the potential to get better.

Although the coach has an unwavering faith in a fit Iheanacho but the issue is his lack of game at Leicester City. Dessers’s form of late hasn’t quite convinced Rohr as he is yet to settle down at his new club Genk.

That leaves Maja in pole position to win the race to be the second choice forward of the Super Eagles especially if he keeps his spot in the starting lineup of Bordeaux till October when the Super Eagles converge for their next round of engagements.

Alphonsus Chukwuebuka Dire popularly called Ebuka has made the step up from the U19 of Portuguese giants FC Porto to the B team, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

A defensive midfielder by trade , the 19 year old who was signed last year he earned his promotion to the B team with a string of impressive performance for the U19.

The B team is a step away from the main team where fellow Nigerian Zaidu Sanusi is among the new players signed by the team for their campaign when the season gets underway.

Ebuka will be hoping for better fortunes like Chidozie Awaziem who made the step up to the main team but fell out of favor and has since then not been able to break into the team. A situation which has seen him go on loan severally.

While Awaziem was fortunate enough to get games for the first team. Musa Yahaya who was one of the stars of the Nigeria U17 team of 2013 hasn’t been able to make the grade with the first team after three seasons.

He recently resumed training with the B team with Ebuka but he is reportedly keen on a permanent move to a team where he will be guaranteed first team football to further aid his development.

Daniel Martins

The Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) have shelved the idea of approaching Crystal Palace new signing Ebere Eze as they are tired of his unwillingness to commit his future to Nigeria.

Eze made a verbal promise to the president of the NFF Amaju Pinnick that he will commence his switch of allegiance process at the end of last season, but he only recently accepted an invitation to be part of the England U21 team.

Injury made him pull out of their games but the fact that he hasn’t act as agreed when he met with Pinnick has made the NFF to shelve the idea of trying to speak with him even in the future.

“ We wish him the best and hope he enjoys his career with England. I think he has been approached thrice. The last time he promised to start the process at the end of the season but didn’t instead accepted an invitation to be part of the English U21 team.

“ This is a boy who trained with the Super Eagles in 2017. He was a nobody back then but was allowed to train but all of a sudden he feels he is bigger than the team. No one can be bigger than Nigeria, we have moved on”, a chieftain of the NFF told Owngoalnigeria.com.

French Ligue 1 side Olympique Marseille have joined the list of clubs interested in signing Nigeria international forward Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure.

Owngoalnigeria.com exclusively gathered that a bid of around €10 million plus add ons which could see the total fee rise to €15 million has been submitted by the Ligue 1 outfit.

Club Brugge are yet to respond to the offer but they have previously stated that the 22 year old will be allowed to leave the club this summer if an offer in the region of €25 million is received for his services.

So far no club has tabled any offer close to what they are demanding with Atalanta, Napoli and Sheffield Wednesday all pulling out of his chase over the fee as they consider it excessive going by recent financial reality.

The forward has already started the season with Club Brugge with his future unresolved. He is hoping on a gentleman agreement reached with the club on his exit this summer to secure his move away as he wants a new challenge after three seasons in Belgium.

Daniel Martins