Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr has refused to rule out a return to the Super Eagles for Crotone forward Simy Nwankwo.

Simy has been in the international wilderness since failing to impress at the 2018 World Cup with Paul Onuachu taking his place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

However a good run of 18 goals in 34 Serie B games, a form which has already propelled Crotone back in the Serie A has made Rohr to have a rethink on the international future of the 28 year old.

“ He has always been a part of us but he wasn’t doing great that’s why he was out of the team. He is doing well now and next season he will play in the Serie A. We will

monitor him and hope he does well for the sake of the team but he is still in my plans “, Rohr said.

Simy will however find competition for spots a lot tougher than it was when he made the squad for the World Cup in Russia with the likes of Paul Onuachu, Cyriel Dessers and Kelechi Iheanacho now fully established as back ups to main striker Victor Osimhen.

Osas Mahawi 

20 year old Rangers of Scotland leftback Calvin Bassey is keen on representing the senior national team of Nigeria after failing to make the U20 team for the last World Cup tournament in Poland.

Owngoalnigeria.com gathered that the defender who only recently moved to the Scottish giants from the U23 of English Premier League side Leicester City is still in close contact with coach of the Nigeria U20 Team Paul Aigbogun.

Eligible for England as well. His heart is however set on representing Nigeria with his mother keen on seeing him play international football for Nigeria.

Bassey who has been ever present for Rangers in the test games they have been playing ahead of the continuation of their campaign in the Europa League recently told Aigbogun that he will be honored if he is called up to the senior national team of Nigeria.

A strong and uncompromising defender who can also play in central defence he has a deal with Rangers till the summer of 2024. His teammate Joe Aribo is a full fledge international with the senior national team of Nigeria with six caps to his name.

Already coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is aware of his rise at Rangers since his move and the coach recently watched him in action against Lyon in one of the test games played by Rangers.

Osas Mahawi 

Former Nigeria international defender Celestine Babayaro says incumbent captain of the Super Eagles Ahmed Musa is the only big game player in the team at the moment.

Musa who is presently playing in Saudi Arabia is heavily linked with a return to mainstream Europe this summer and Babayaro who spent 11 seasons in England playing for Chelsea and Newcastle United believe he still has what it takes to cut it at the highest level.

He said Musa has shown over time that the Super Eagles can rely on him in big games especially with most of the players in the present set up relatively new to international football and the pressure that comes with it.

” Musa has been around for a long time but that doesn’t mean he is old. He was lucky enough to have come into the team at a very young age. He is been there since 2012. What I have noticed about him is that he scores in big games where the pressure is heavy. Such players are useful at top clubs in top leagues”, Babayaro told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” At two different World Cup we have seen him come alive in key games even in some qualifiers. In the Super Eagles team at the moment he is the only big game player as most of them in the team are relatively new to international football which is totally different from club football. Gernot Rohr and the Super Eagles team still need him”.

Osas Mahawi 

The agent of Ostersunds of Sweden forward Kadiri Attah says his client won’t be joining the Champions of Belgium as claimed by several news portal.

Reacting to a story posted by owngoalnigeria.com, Attah Aneke said the news about Club Brugge which has gone viral isn’t true and at no point in time did he try to make the 20 year old reject the club in preference of Manchester City.

The agent who is also the long term representative of Manchester United forward Odion Ighalo said only one bid has been submitted for Attah and it came from City Group, the parent company of Manchester City and their plan is to loan Attah to their sister club in Belgium Lommel SK , who are in the second division.

” First of all I will like to set the record straight on the Club Brugge rumours. It’s not true and at no time did they put in a bid for him. Secondly I allow my players make their choices , I don’t force any club on them. That’s how I work , so if there’s an offer from Club Brugge and he wants to go there . I will give him my support”, he told Owngoalnigeria.com.

” We had an offer from Lommel SK of Belgium via City Group, the parent company of Manchester City and more. The idea is they want him to join their sister club but their offer wasn’t sufficient to get the deal done. For now Attah is still at Ostersunds as we await his next career step”.

Osas Mahawi

Chief coach of the Super Eagles, Salisu Yusuf has exonerated Coach Imama Amapakabo of any blames after the later failed to qualify Nigeria’s CHAN Eagles for the CHAN 2021.

Imama was also in charge of the Nigeria U23 team that failed to qualify for the Olympic Games which has been postponed to 2021 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic but Salisu is adamant that the coach isn’t entirely at fault for the failures.

Salisu said Imama’s failure could happen to any coach in the world, as football is about moments and it could go past anyone.

He added that focus should be diverted to starting early preparations for the next task. “It can happen to any coach, it is just to focus and prepare in time. When we were going to CHAN, we only had two weeks to train in Abuja, under hot conditions while the tournament was to be played under cold conditions but we took advantage of our moments.

“Technical crew, players, federation and all should organize and prepare again, I know we will do better next time”.

Godwin N

Coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr is not in any way pushing to beat England to the services of Arsenal teen wonder Bukayo Saka, Owngoalnigeria.com understands.

The 18 year old is still eligible to represent Nigeria at senior level despite playing at different youth levels for England. His recent form at Arsenal has however led to suggestions over a call up to the senior national team of England.

Nigeria have already make contact with his representative who also handles the affair of Alex Iwobi, Ola Aina and Joe Aribo. Saka was even invited to watch the Super Eagles AFCON 2021 qualifiers against Sierra Leone by the Nigeria Football Federation before it was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The desire shown by the hierachy of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is not same with that of coach of the team Gernot Rohr who is a fan of the player but want the player to show commitment before making any move to cap him.

Rohr is threading carefully after the experience with Fikayo Tomori, Tammy Abraham and Philip Billing who used interest from Nigeria to catch the attention of other countries where they are now senior international.

The Franco-German coach believe the relationship he has with the agent of Saka is enough for him to be informed when he is ready to switch allegiance to the senior national team of Nigeria.

Osas Mahawi

Per reports exclusively gathered by Owngoalnigeria.com editorial team, the delay in Victor Osimhen agreeing to a move to Napoli was caused by interest from three teams who are willing to match Lille’s asking price for the Nigerian.

Lille have already agreed to a fee of €80 million as transfer fee for Osimhen but the 21 year old is yet to give his greenlight to the move happening despite visiting Naples last week where he met with the president of Napoli and the coach as well.

We gathered that the trio of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan contacted the representative of the forward where they made it known that they are willing to match the fee Lille has agreed with Napoli.

Osimhen’s dream has always been to play in England hence the offer from the English Premier League sides got to him making him to ask for more time before deciding. Per Inter Milan we gathered his girlfriend loves the city of Milan and the fact that they will be playing in the Champions League next season is a big factor as well.

However, Napoli are still the front runners for his signing as Lille are more open to doing a deal with them due to the several clauses they have agreed with the Ligue 1 side which will help the finances of the club who are servicing debts incurred in the course of running the team.

Daniel Martins 

Southampton forward Michael Obafemi has revealed why he shunned the idea of waiting for a chance with the senior national team of Nigeria in favour of Ireland.

The 20 year old is now a full fledged international with the Republic of Ireland but prior to making his senior bow he was eligible for Nigeria and even played in a friendly game between Nigerian players born in the diaspora against the 2015 Under 17 team.

Obafemi played in that game but wasn’t considered good enough by coach Emmanuel Amunike whose team later ended as champions at the U17 World Cup that same year in Korea.

Speaking on his choice of national team, the player revealed that at no point in time did he contemplate the option of playing for Nigeria and he was never contacted even when he made the step up to the first team of Southampton.

“I never really entertained any other options. I didn’t speak to any other country. I knew in my mind what I was going to do and what I can do.

“The thing is, I didn’t really pay attention [to social media]. Obviously you see little bits, but I didn’t really think about it and it didn’t hinder my decision. It didn’t really play a part in my mind because obviously I knew myself that I was going to pick Ireland.

“Anything anyone was saying about me just went to the back of my mind. It didn’t mean anything.”

Daniel Martins

Freshly signed Chelsea U18 goalkepper Prince Adegoke has openly displayed his desire to be first choice goalkepper of the senior national team of Nigeria in the future.

Adegoke signed his first professional contract with Chelsea two days ago after progressing nicely from the youth team of the London based Premier League giants.

Signed on same day as fellow Anglo-Nigerian goalkepper Kelechi Chibueze but while Chibueze has already represented England , Adegoke hasn’t yet and he was even invited to the 2019 Nigeria U17 team but Chelsea blocked him from honouring the invitation.

Rated as a sure prospect for the first team in a not too distant future , the 17 year old didn’t hide his desire to be the first choice goalkepper of Nigeria when a user on instagram told him that he is the future number one goalkepper of the senior national team of Nigeria.

He reacted by saying ” Thank you. I appreciate that “. A sign of his desire to represent Nigeria when he comes off age and possibly progress to the first team of Chelsea as expected by many who have tracked his progress the past few year.

Odion Ighalo is the most celebrated Nigerian at Manchester United since his move to the team on transfer deadline day during the January transfer window.

However there is another Nigerian teen at the team who has gone unnoticed largely because of the fact that his name sounds more like that of a Dutch national than Nigeria and he has also represented them at youth level.

Dillon Ifunanya Chukwu Hoogewerf joined Manchester United around this time last year from Ajax after scoring ten goals and creating six in 18 appearances for the Under-17 side of the Dutch giants.

Rated as a quick feet 17 year old , the teen star who is born to a Nigerian father and a Dutch mother is still eligible to represent Nigeria despite playing 19 games for the Netherlands from U13 to U17 level with ten goals to his name.

At Manchester United he has scored three goals in 13 games before the league was brought to a halt by coronavirus. His rise to the senior team is no doubt almost certain next season if he maintains his progress with the U19s of the Premier League giants.

In the future his senior international career will no doubt spark a tug of war between Nigeria and the Netherlands if he progresses to the first team of Man United as expected. If he does he will be following in the footsteps of William Troost-Ekong, Tyrone Ebuehi and Kingsley Ehizibue who all picked Nigeria despite their eligibility for the Netherlands.