On the 14th of August , the coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr In an interview with Oma Akatugba of Daily Times revealed that two new players have agreed to switch nationality to the senior national team of Nigeria.

The coach made it known while speaking on the possibility of playing games in September before the games were shifted to October where Nigeria will take on Côte d’Ivoire and Tunisia in two friendly games in Austria.

“Two new players want to camp with us now. And this is a very important news for us. I travelled to meet them in March. I met one of them but didn’t meet the other until three weeks ago,” he said in August.

Although the coach didn’t mention the names of the players, owngoalnigeria.comcontact in Germany revealed that reports has it that Rohr has succeeded in convincing the duo of Jordan Torunarigha and Felix Uduokhai to play for Nigeria.

Hertha Berlin defender Torunarigha and Augsburg Uduokhai delayed their decision to play for Nigeria earlier as they are part of the Germany U23 team preparing for the Olympics which was supposed to have taken place this year .

The postponement made them to bring forward their plans to represent Nigeria and they are most likely going to train with the senior national team of Nigeria next month in Austria.

“ Reports I’m getting in Germany has it that Torunarigha and Uduokhai have agreed to play for Nigeria but there’s also Felix Agu of Werder Bremen not forgetting Kevin Akpoguma as well. However while those two could be it, my money is on Torunarigha and Uduokhai because they both met with Rohr early this year”, he concluded.

Former Enyimba FC of Aba defender Valentine Ozornwafor is few details away from rejoining Spanish second division side Almeria on another loan deal from Galatasaray, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The 21 year old is presently in Nigeria on holiday but his representatives are locked in talks with the Spanish side where he spent last season on loan about another loan deal.

Galatasaray are not opposed to his desire to play elsewhere as they believe he still need more games to reach his potentials. All that is left now is for both teams to agree on the terms on payment of his wages.

Plucked after excelling with the Nigeria U20 team of 2019, the left footed defender who also played for the U23 same year and made his debut for the senior national team of Nigeria made just five appearances last season for same club.

A combination of administrative issues relating to work permit played a role in his lack of games at the club but the club appears to have seen the prospect in him by agreeing to extend his deal for another season.

Daniel Martins

Chidozie Awaziem recently made a loan move from FC Porto to Boavista as first reported by this portal upon his return from a loan spell with LaLiga side Leganes.

Many expected Awaziem who was ever present for Leganes to make a move to a team in a league higher than that of the Portuguese League, if he isn’t part of the plans at Porto as he was part of the shining light of the Leganes team that fail to beat the drop to the second division in Spain.

That was the perfect idea before the coronavirus pandemic as it was the reason why a high profile move to Sevilla was dashed, after Leganes revealed that they won’t be signing him permanently following their demotion to the second division.

Porto placed a fee of €10 million as his asking price but even when they dropped it to €5 million , teams still battling with the effect of loss of income due to the shutdown to combat the spread of coronavirus couldn’t meet up with the price tag.

Nantes of France made a €2 million bid for the 23 year old but it was rejected by Porto while the player himself turned down a move to Rizespor of Turkey who were willing to meet the demands of Porto. His desire is to remain in mainstream Europe.

When he resumed training with Porto he was told that he isn’t in the plans of coach hence he is free to leave if any club meets what Porto wants as he head into the final year of his deal at the club.

Porto sanctioned his loan move to Boavista after he extending his contract by a year to rule out losing him for free next summer with Boavista given the option of signing him permanently next summer .

However he might be heading to Lille of France at the end of the season if all goes according to plan as the Ligue 1 side recently acquired 51% stake in the Portuguese outfit.

The idea is to use the Portuguese team as a way of getting players ready for the demands of Ligue 1 and Awaziem will be assessed for a transfer next summer.

In the long run a move to Ligue 1 or somewhere better is what is the long term goal of his immediate decision to join Boavista on loan with emphasis on regular playing them to further aid his development.

Daniel Martins

Ola Aina has agreed a loan move to Fulham from Italian side Torino after two years in Italy where he made his mark in the Serie A.

The deal also gives Fulham the option of signing him permanently at the end of his loan spell if he impresses for the newly promoted English Premier League side.

23 year old Aina switch his international allegiance to Nigeria in 2017 despite representing England from U16 to U21 level and he has since made 14 appearances for the Super Eagles.

On the growth of his career Kelvin Lewis who runs a blog on Chelsea Youth team prospects, said the Chelsea Academy graduate grew in leaps and bounds primarily due to the exposure he gained from playing international football for Nigeria.

“ International football has made him a better player although one has to mention the faith Torino showed in him. Beyond that when you play international football you get exposed and trained with some of the best.

“ The trips to play in difficult grounds. Pressure of carrying the hopes of millions in a country brings out the best in players and Aina had all of that playing for Nigeria “.

Osas Mahawi

Newly signed Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen has spoken out on the type of person his coach Gennaro Gattuso is.

The 21 year old Nigerian is Napoli’s record buy after joining from Lille for a fee in the region of €81 million, one year after scoring 18 goals in all competitions for the French side.

At Napoli he has taken to life like a duck to water with six goals in his first two pre season games which has already led to talks about how well he will perform when the Serie A resumes.

One man who was keen on hiring him was Gattuso with reports having that the coach even took a pay cut to enable the team meet up with the salary demand of the former U17 World Cup top scorer .

Speaking on the personality of Gattuso, Osimhen said he is brutally honest from even the looks in his eyes “ From the way he talks to you and by looking him in the eyes, you can see that Gattuso is a real man, he’d never bullshit you”, he was quoted as saying by GazzetadelloSport.

Ade Emmanuel 

As many as five ex England youth internationals have indicated their willingness to switch allegiance to the senior national team of Nigeria, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Manchester City defender Tosin Adarabioyo tops the list with coach of the Nigerian team keen on having the defender who excelled on loan to Blackburn Rovers last season to bolster his defence.

Adarabioyo is back at City where his future is uncertain but the 22 year old who has represented England at several youth levels is certain that he want to henceforth represent Nigeria at international level.

Ovie Ejaria who only recently made a permanent move to English Championship side Reading has already gotten his wish to play for Nigeria after meeting with coach Rohr last year.

Confusion still trails the process of his switch with sources saying it has been completed and the only thing holding it is his failure to get a Nigerian passport due to the lockdown.

However some backroom staff of the Nigerian team insist that they have not been communicated officially if the switch has been approved by FIFA and the player’s camp.

Sheffield Wednesday 25 year old defender Dominic Iorfa, the son of ex Nigeria international Dominic Iorfa has made a u-turn on his earlier decision to snub Nigeria with his switch of allegiance form in the hands of FIFA waiting for approval.

RB Leipzig winger Ademola Lookman has not hidden his desire to represent Nigeria but if that is to happen then he has to work on his form at the German side to get an invitation. His switch of allegiance documents is also with FIFA.

The surprise name in the list is that of ex Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Josh Onomah who impressed in the play offs for Fulham helping them gain promotion to the English Premier League .

Already he has been contacted by the technical crew of Rohr but as at the time of filing in this report, there is still no clear picture on if he has applied for a switch of allegiance.

Michael James

Nigeria international goalkeeper Maduka Okoye played his first competitive game for Dutch side Sparta Rotterdam when he lined up in goal for the Reserve Team of the Dutch side in their first game of the season.

The B team of the Dutch side play in the Tweede Divisie which is the highest amateur football league in the Netherlands and it’s meant for Reserve teams of professional football team .

Okoye played the entire duration of the 2-2 draw against Jong FC Volendam who were able to secure a draw despite playing with ten men for large spell of the game .

The B team of Sparta Rotterdam twice in the game but had to settle for a draw with Okoye producing a late save that help them to rescue a point from the game .

Although he conceded twice he was left terribly exposed by his defenders. The few times he was required to do a job for his team he did really well. He will be hoping to be a part of the first team when they start their Eredivisie campaign on Friday.

Osas Mahawi

Fans of newly promoted LaLiga side Huesca were full of praises for former Nigeria youth international Kelechi Nwakali after his dazzling display in their 3-0 pre season win over Sabadell.

The midfielder who captained Nigeria at U17,U20 and U23 level was introduced with scores at 1-0 after the half time break and he immediately got in the act.

Playing as a deep lying playmaker, the 22 year old showed why he was once on the books of Arsenal as he broke up play and dictated proceedings to help his team to a comfortable win .

Huesca ended their pre season games with an unbeaten run with Nwakali playing in all of their games and the fans have taken to him with many topping him to be the star of their campaign next deals in the Spanish top flight.

On Twitter and Instagram he was the talk of the fans of the club with one going as far as suggesting that he could be one for the FIFA player of the year award In the nearest future .

Michael James

Villarreal rounded up their preparation for the start of the La Liga with a friendly game against Levante which ended in a 2-3 loss.

The Unai Emery tutored lads took the lead through Paco Alcácer but were pegged back with Levante scoring twice to secure a 2-1 win ahead of the start of the league next weekend.

Once again Nigerian midfielder Samuel Chukwueze showed what he is made up with a dazzling run before setting up Alcácer for the first goal of the game.

The assist was the fourth the Nigerian is registering in four consecutive games ahead of the start of the season where he will be hoping to better his performance last season.

Already he has started on a positive note with so much impressive display which has delighted Emery who has now settled for the Nigerian as part of his starting line up as he has started their last four games .

Ade Emmanuel 

Former Nigeria U20 midfielder Tom Dele-Bashiru was one of the brightest spot of the Watford team that secured a shock 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Dele-Bashiru joined the team on a free transfer last summer but didn’t get to play in the Premier League as they fail to beat the drop and were subsequently relegated to the English Championship.

Up against established midfielders like Tanguy Ndombele , Dele Ali and Erik Lamela , the former Manchester City youth prospect dominated the game from the get go.

Early into the game he drilled a low cross into the box but Domingos Quina couldn’t provide the decisive touch that will direct the ball into the back of the net.

He followed it up with a pass to Quina who although has a lot to do shocked the Premier League team when he decided to try his luck from range and his effort beat Joe Hart for the first goal of the game.

20 year old Bashiru who was also a part of the Nigeria U23 that failed to qualify for the Olympic Games showed his quick feet with a strong run that drew a foul in the box of Spurs.

Andre Gray stepped up and drilled the resultant spot kick home to put the Hornets two goals up. Heung Min Son pulled a goal back but it ended up as a consolation goal.

Head coach of Watford Vladimir Ivic was so pleased with the performance of the Nigerian and gave him a warm embrace following his substitution. His opposite counter part Jose Mourinho also have Dele-Bashiru a firm hand shake.

Michael James