French Ligue 1 side Nantes have completed a deal for the permanent signing of fringe Nigeria international Mikel Agu from Vitoria Guimaraes Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Agu was on the books of FC Porto for nine years but after progressing from the pith team he fail to stamp his authority in the first team leading to several loans before finally leaving on a free transfer last summer.

Vitoria Guimaraes signed him on a permanent deal on a free after impressing during a loan spell at the club and he proved himself to be a shrewd acquisition by making 24 appearances in all competitions.

His display didn’t go unnoticed as Nantes have now beat all comers to his signing which is expected to be announced in the coming days .

At Nantes he will team up with Moses Simon who was last year voted the best player at the club and started the new season on a high with a fine performance in their first game of the season which ended in a nil draw against Bordeaux.

Daniel Martins 

The agent of Heerenveen star Chidera Ejuke has played down reports of a deal with Russian giants CSKA Moscow which will see the 22 year old move to the club for a fee in the region of €12 million.

Reports from Russia and the Netherlands has it that a deal has been agreed after the Russian side met the conditions set by Heerenveen for his acquisition with further reports suggesting that a medical will be done later this week before his unveiling.

Speaking on the reports, Atta Aneke who manages the affair of the wing forward said although talks are on with several clubs a deal to join CSKA Moscow is not yet done as speculated.

“For now nothing is agreed but talks is ongoing with several teams as he is a wanted man chases by many teams”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

Ejuke who cost Heerenveen €2 million when he was signed from Belgium side Valerenga last summer scored nine goals and had six assists last season.

Osas Mahawi

19 year old Tim Akinola was in the news last week when he signed the dotted lines to join Arsenal on a free transfer following his release from Huddersfield.

Described in several quarters as a combative box to box midfielder, he will start with the Arsenal U23 team from where his performance will be monitored for promotion to the first team.

Tipped by many to make the grades at Arsenal in a not too distant future, his international future is one that will no doubt provoke a tug if he eventually becomes a mainstay in the first team of Arsenal.

Akinola is eligible to represent Nigeria and also England but he is yet to be capped by both nations at any level although unconfirmed reports has it that he pushed to train with the Nigeria U20 team of last year but wasn’t considered.

On his Instagram handle he has the flag of both nations but that of Nigeria came first before that of England and he has severally commented on matches involving the senior national team of Nigeria.

That could be a sign of where his allegiance lies in terms of his international future but for now he has to focus on getting his career underway at Arsenal .

Michael James

Soon to be Nigeria international Zaidu Sanusi has told his representatives that he is not interested in a move to Greek giant Olympiakos despite a big money bid for his service.

The left full back who worked his way up to the Portuguese top division after starting out from the third division enjoyed a breakthrough season with Santa Clara last season.

His performances earned him a deal with the agency that manages the affair of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and as expected top teams tabled bid to lure him from Santa Clara.

However despite offers from three teams abroad most notably Olympiakos, owngoalnigeria.com that first broke the interest of FC Porto in signing him can authoritatively reveal that he is only keen on joining Porto.

“ It’s a straight decision. Zaidu doesn’t want to leave Portugal and he has told his representatives that he wants Porto or he will remain with Santa Clara for another season.

“ Porto are In talk with Santa Clara but with Zaidu all has been agreed on a five year deal with several bonuses. So it’s close to be happening. Patience is needed at this moment”, a source close to the player told owngoalnigeria.com.

Daniel Martins 

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr isn’t keen on exploring the recent adjustment proposed by FIFA for players wishing to switch nationality.

The coach who has been active in luring players of Nigerian heritage since his appointment in 2016 has in recent times fail to lure the duo of Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori to the Nigerian national team from England .

Speaking on the new rules, a source close to the coach told owngoalnigeria.com that even though the coach is aware of the adjustment proposed by FIFA, Rohr isn’t interested in using that option at least for now.

“ No player who turned down Nigeria will be approached to have a change of mind base on the proposed adjustment. We have moved on from them and we can only wish them the best in their careers”, he said when asked about the chances of using the new rule to make another push for Tomori and Abraham.

Ade Emmanuel 

Captain of Bordeaux Laurent Koscielny says their plan in the Ligue 1 opener against Nantes was anchored on stopping Nigerian winger Moses Simon.

Simon was by far the liveliest player on the pitch for Nantes in the game that ended 0-0 despite Bordeaux playing with ten men following a red card incident in the first half .

Speaking after the game , the former Arsenal captain said the Nantes player of the year had what it takes to open up any defence hence their decision to keep an eye on him.

“ When you play against a player with pace like Simon you have to be focused on him because he carries a threat. Hence our decision to focus more on defending against him”, he said.

He said after they were reduced to ten men, they had to reorganize at the back and that include putting more men on Simon to stop him from using his pace.

“ We has to defend a lot deeper not to give the pace they have upfront an advantage. We did on the left against Simon to deny him the chance to use his pace and it paid off”.

Michael James

The Nigeria Football Federation ( NFF) has taken a decision on the coaches who will handle the youth national teams for the next two years, owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

A decision was reached last week with the NFF not renewing the contracts of coach Manu Garba of the U17, Paul Aigbogun of the U20 and Imama Amapakabo of the U23 respectively.

So far three coaches have been penciled down for the above mentioned jobs following a meeting of the technical committee of the NFF and their recommendations have been submitted to the board for approval.

Ladan Bosso, Fatai Amoo and Gbenga Ogunbote were picked for the various teams with the quartet of Caleb Esau, Abdullahi Biffo, Oladunni Oyekale and Haruna Ilerika picked as assistants.

An announcement is expected next week with the NFF keen on ensuring a better performance for all youth teams of Nigeria who are expected to be supervised by coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr.

Osas Mahawi 

Victor Osimhen will resume training with his new team Napoli tomorrow following his record breaking move from Lille for a fee in the region of €80 million.

Ahead of the start of training coach of Napoli Gennaro Gattuso has already outlined how he intends to get the best of the Nigerian who scored 18 goals for Lille last season.

Gattuso intends to readjust his formation from last season to accommodate the 21 year old Nigerian who will lead the attack of the team next season. The plan is to play him in a 4-2-3-1 formation. A departure from the 4-3-3 formation they played last season.

The idea will see Dries Mertens, the all time top scorer of the team stationed behind Osimhen according to Italian news outlet Corriere dello Sport.

Also talks are on with Roma on the sale of Arkadiusz Milik with Andrea Petgna who spent last season on loan to SPAL picked as back up to Osimhen for next season.

Ade Emmanuel 

28 year old former Nigeria U23 striker Odah Onoriode Marshal has joined top division Israeli side Hapoel Hadera on a free transfer, owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

The well travelled forward put pen to paper on a deal with the top division side to end his search for a new club following his departure from Iraq side Naft Al Wasat SC in January.

Odah who plays primarily as a striker had a stint in Egypt where he played for Enppi and Ismaily after leaving Nigeria Professional League side Rivers United in 2017.

Quick and strong in duels , he signed a one year deal with the option of another year base on certain variables agreed with his representatives and the club prior to his signing.

Hapoel Hadera will be hoping he fires with his goals to a position higher on the league table than how they finished last term out where they placed 9th.

Heartland FC of Owerri goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa won’t be a part of the Super Eagles squad for their upcoming friendly games in September, owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.

Nigeria have lined up a training camp in Austria where they are expected to play two friendly games if FIFA permits national teams to return to football following its suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Already coach of the team Gernot Rohr has drawn up a list of players who will take part in the camp and in the friendly games if they go ahead as planned.

One name that has been taken out of the list is that of Heartland goalkeeper Ezenwa who hasn’t played a minute of football since March when football activities were halted in Nigeria.

The trio of Daniel Akpeyi, Maduka Okoye and Francis Uzoho who are back to playing football at their various clubs abroad were picked by the coach for the camp .

Ade Emmanuel