…Milan ahead of PSG, Spurs in race for Osimhen
Nigerian players were in imperious form at the weekend in Europe and Asia. In the Chinese Super League, Odion Ighalo continued his goal scoring spree by netting his sixth goal of the season. In the Saudi Arabian League, Ahmed Musa contributed two goals for Al Nassr in their massive 5-0 win.
Other Nigerian goal scorers in major leagues of Europe included; Sylvester Igbonu (Russia) and Anthony Nwaekeme in the Turkish League.
Meanwhile, former schoolboy international, Victor Osimhen is attracting interest across Europe with Italian giants, AC Milan said to be leading the race for his signature.
In yet another extensive report, the News Editor, ADEBAYO OLODAN scouts Europe and Asia for updates on Super Eagles players and hopefuls.
ENGLAND
Alex Iwobi (Arsenal): He was a 46th min substitute as his team suffered a 2-3 loss against Crystal Palace.
Ademola Lukman (Everton): The striker was an unused substitute when his team thumped Manchester United 4-0.
Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City): Ndidi went the full distance while Iheanacho played the last six mins as their club shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw against West Ham Utd. With the game tied at 1-1, Ndidi came close to giving the Foxes the lead but his shot went just wide after the ball fell nicely for him inside the box.
Iheanacho hopped off the bench for his 34th appearance of the season in all competitions.
Leon Balogun (Brighton): He was not listed as his team was held to a goalless draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium. The centre back has not played in the Premier League since December 2018.
CHAMPIONSHIP
John Obi Mikel (Middlesbrough) & Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City): Mikel delivered a long ball from deep in the lead up to his team’s goal against Stoke City for whom Etebo shone brightly. The 2013 AFCON winner has played in Stoke’s last 16 matches, featuring for 90 minutes in no less than 12 of those matches.
Etebo’s Stoke City loses to Mikel’s Boro on Good Friday
John Obi Mikel and Oghenekaro Etebo were in action for their respective club in English Championship Clash between Middlesbrough and Stoke City on Friday.
Etebo and his Stoke City teammates travelled to Super Eagles Captain John Mikel Obi’s Middlesbrough with the home nicking the game by a lone goal to continue their playoff chase.
The duo were instrumental for their team with Etebor helping his team to 58% of the ball possession and break up several counter attack from the home side.
Mikel’s borrow took the lead as early as the 2nd minute of the match thanks to Congo DR import Britt Assombalonga and they managed to checkmate their visiting opponents who had greater possession control from converting any of the chances created.
Boro has now gone to win their last three championship game after ending winless streak of eight games against struggling Bolton Wanderers three weeks ago.
Friday’s loss is the first defeat in four matches for Stoke City who are 16th on the log with 52 points in 43 matches and they welcome Norwich to the Bet360 stadium on Monday.
Middlesbrough on their part are 6th on the log with 67 points in 43 matches and the Tony Pulis’s side will next trade tackles with Nottingham Forest away on Monday.
Semi Ajayi (Rotherham Utd): He saw 57 mins of action and was cautioned when his team lost away to Swansea.
Iorfa stars in dramatic game for Sheffield
Nigerian-born defender, Dominic Iorfa performed excellently for Sheffield Wednesday who surrendered a slim lead to draw 2-2 against Norwich at Carrow Road.
The versatile player was rewarded with full match action in the highly entertaining cracker.
Marco Stiepermann fired the home side in front in the 20th minute, only for Fernando Forestieri to equalise with a goal-of-the season contender, curling an unstoppable shot into the top corner from 30 yards out.
Steven Fletcher put the visitors in front early in the second half in controversial circumstances, Tim Krul saving the initial effort as Fletcher slid in at the far post before the ball bounced back and appeared to hit the striker on the arm before trickling over the line.
However, Mario Vrancic lashed home a free-kick from just outside the area with the last kick of the game to edge his side closer to the top flight.
Sheffield Wednesday are 11th in the Championship table with 60 points. They are five places off the final play offs spot.
SPAIN
Moses Simon (Levante): He was a non-playing substitute when his club drew 2-2 at home to Espanyol.
Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal) & Kenneth Omeruo (Leganes): The duo made the starting line-up and lasted the distance as Villarreal earned a 2-1 win over Leganes. Chuwkeuze had his 3rd min goal ruled out for offside after being kept on by Omeruo. He however went on ti impress largely by tormenting the defence of the visitors all day.
ITALY
William Troost- Ekong (Udinese): Ekong saw 76mins of action as his team drew 1-1 against Sassuolo. The central defender has played no less than 30 games for his team this season.
Ola Aina (Torino): He saw 90 minutes of action when his team secured a 1-0 win over Genoa.
FRANCE
Samuel Kalu and Josh Maja (Bordeaux): Kalu was not listed while Maja scored the first goal (also his first Bordeaux goal) in the 13th min but his team suffered a 1-2 loss at Nimes. Maja was substituted at half time after sustaining an injury.
GERMANY
Karim Onisiwo and Anthony Ujah (Mainz 05): Onisiwo scored in the 67th min to inspire his team to a 3-1 win over Fortuna Duesseldorf. Meanwhile, 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup flop Anthony Ujah didn’t taste action for the home side.
Onisiwo also set up Jean-Philippe Mateta for the first goal of the game in the first minute to send the fans into ecstatic mood. Onisiwo has played a key role for Mainz in campaign making 23 appearances and netting six goals.
The 27-year-old forward was on the books of Austrian side SV Matterburg before he joined Mainz.
DIV 2
Jamilu Collins (Padderborn): The left-back was on from start to finish as his team overcame Holstein Kiel 2:1.
RUSSIA
Idowu silences critics with impressive showing
Brian Idowu silenced his critics on Saturday with an impressive showing for Lokomotiv Moscow in his second outing of the 2018/19 Russian Premier League season.
He was a second-half substitute for the Steam Locomotives as they drew 1-1 with CSKA Moscow but his performance when he came on delighted his fans.
Benedikt Hoewedes’s 13th minute effort was canceled out by Fedor Chalov.
Idowu took over from Dmitri Tarasov in the 46th minute and his hardworking performance and passing ability will assure coach Yuri Semin of the Nigerian’s potential.
The Super Eagles star joined on a free transfer from Russian club Amkar Perm last summer.
Igbonu nets 7th league goal
Sylvester Igbonu scored his seventh league goal of the campaign as FK UFA lost 2-1 at home to Arsenal Tula to record their 11th loss of the season.
Igbonu started his 20th league game of the campaign but it was the visitors who struck first when Zelimhan Bakaev put them ahead after just three minutes.
Igor Gorbatenko then made it 2-0 halfway into the clash before Sylvester Igbonu reduced the deficit after 38 minutes to make it 2-1 as the visitors went into the break with the advantage.
The second half, however, failed to produce any goals as the visitors ensured UFA will remain in the relegation playoff zone for another week.
Igbonu was on for the entire match duration, earning a game rating of 7.3, completing 72 per cent of his passes and also making one key pass.
TURKEY
Nwakaeme scores again
Out of favour Super Eagles striker, Anthony Nwakaeme was on target for Trabzonspor in their 2-1 win over Yeni Malatyaspor 2-1 at Medical Park Stadyumu (Trabzon) on Saturday.
The inform striker also set up winning goal for Trabzonspor who came from behind to snatch the maximum three points in the Turkish Super Lig clash.
On the 31st mins of the highly entertaining game, the one capped Super Eagles striker restored parity for his side after Sismanoglu’s goal had given the visitors the lead.
The former Hapoel Be’er Sheva striker completed the man of the match performance as he turned provider with 11 minutes left on the clock when his cross into the box was headed home by Rodallega.
The striker is still hoping that his good form can earn him a place in the Gernot Rohr’s team for the 2019 African Cup of Nations coming up in Egypt.
Henry Onyekuru (Galatasaray): He was missing as his team secured a 3-1 win over Kayserispor. The Nigerian was the match hero last weekend as he netted the only goal in their 1-1 derby draw over Galatasaray but missed the matchday 29 clash after accumulating five yellow cards.
The 21-year-old would, however, return for Galatasaray’s crunch semifinal second leg cup tie away to Yeni Melatyaspor as they maintain their pursuit for a league and cup double
Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor): The right-back played a cameo role as 89th min substitute in his team’s 1-1 draw to Kasimpasa. He had been rooted to the bench in the previous league fixture.
BELGIUM
Milan ahead of European giants in race for Osimhen
Super Eagles Striker Victor Osimhen is reportedly wanted by many European big clubs ahead of next season.
It’s believed that Italian side AC Milan are leading the race for the striker’s signature ahead of French giants, PSG, Tottenham Hotspur and Milan city rival, Inter Milan.
Report in Italian media has it that Milan aren’t far away from signing the Wolfsburg of Germany striker and that the Rosseneri are ready to loan him to French modest outfit club Lille to continue his development.
Osimhen who is currently on loan at RSC Charleroi of Belgium from VFL Wolfsburg of Germany has scored 12 league goals for the Belgian side this season.
SWEDEN
Alhaji Gero (Östersunds FK): He watched from the substitutes’ bench as his team drew 1-1 with Elfsborg in the Swedish Allavenskan.
Gero has made three appearances for the Östersunds FK in the ongoing campaign. He represented Nigeria at the 2013 U20 World Youth Championship before moving to Sweden, where he played for Oster for two seasons before moving to Denmark and he represented Viborg for two seasons.
The attacker departed Östersunds FK to team up with Azadi Stadium outfit Esteghlal in August 2018 on a three-year-deal.
Hammarby, Norrkoping risk FIFA sanctions over illegal signing of U-17 stars
Two Swedish Allsvenskan clubs Hammarby IF and IFK Norrköping risk incurring the wrath of FIFA over their illegal signing of two minors; Akinkunmi Amoo and Ishaq Abdulrazaq.
One of the standout players for the current Golden Eaglets, Amoo is on the radar of clubs based in England, France and Austria but the interested teams have embarked on a wild goose chase as he has signed a preliminary contract with Hammarby IF.
Hammarby IF has reached a club-to-club agreement with Sidos FC Lagos for the attacking midfielder to join the Stockholm-based club.
They illegally signed Amoo and have put the papers in their own records to pull up when he turns 18 on June 7, 2020.
As for Abdulrazaq, the midfielder has confirmed penning a contract with IFK Norrköping, even before celebrating his 16th birthday, which is in violation of Article 19 of the FIFA Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players under the age of 18.
It is confirmed that the former Nigeria U-17 international signed a contract with IFK Norrköping more than a year ago after he was approached by a scout Torgeir Knutsen.
All paperwork has been signed, including club-to-club agreement between IFK Norrköping and Unity Academy, Kaduna, and the player’s contract.
Stig Torbjornsen, a scout from Norrköping, was also in Nigeria to scout him before he was invited to Sweden in the last quarter of 2017.
SAUDI ARABIA
Musa scores brace in Al-Nassr’s massive win
Super Eagles stand-in captain, Ahmed Musa ended his three-month goal drought in the Saudi Arabian League in grand style as he scored twice and assisted another to help Al-Nassr to a comfortable 5-0 win over Al-Fateh.
With a chance to go top of the league momentarily, the hosts started like a house on fire and were awarded a penalty after eight minutes but Abderrazak Hamdallah saw his effort hit the woodwork before he made amends 20 minutes later to put Al-Nassr 1-0 up.
Musa then doubled his side’s lead on the 38th minute to net his sixth league goal of the campaign before Giuliano made it 3-0 deep into first-half stoppage time.
Musa then setup Hamdallah for his 29th league goal of the season before the Moroccan set up the Nigerian again twelve minutes from time to complete a comprehensive 5-0 thrashing.
Musa narrowly missed out on the man of the match award with a game rating of 9.2, completed 71 per cent of his passes, won three duels and also completed 3 of his four dribbles.
With his brace, the 26-year-old has now scored seven goals in 22 league games whilst also adding a further seven assists to his name.
CHINA
Aluko ends goal drought
Super Eagles outcast, Omatsone Aluko has ended his goal drought in the Chinese Super League as he scored in his side’s 2-2 draw Shenzhen.
Aluko who is on loan from English Championship side Reading scored for Beijing Renhe at the Beijing Fengtai Stadium on Saturday.
The former Hull City winger volleyed home from inside the area to make it 1-1 four minutes into the second half. It was his sixth game in Beijing Renhe’s colours.
Aluko represented England in the age grade competition before switching an allegiance to Nigeria.
Ighalo scores 6th league goal
Odion Ighalo continued his rich vein of form for Shanghai Shenhua by netting the equalising goal in their 1-1 away draw against Wuhan Zali in a Chinese Super League clash on Sunday. Ighalo hit the back of the net a minute after the half hour mark after he was set up by Giovanni Moreno.
His strike cancelled out Jiang Minwem’s 16th minute opener for the home team.
It was Ighalo’s sixth goal from six league appearances for Shanghai Shenhua this season.
The former Watford striker who has scored in each of Shanghai Shenhua’s last five league games is now top scorer in the CSL with six goals.
Shanghai Shenhua will host Tiajin Tianhai in their next league clash next week Saturday.
JAPAN
Ado Onaiwu (Oita Trinita): Ex-Japan U23 striker, Onaiwu made it two goals in two matches after finding the net in the 25th minute as Oita Trinita played to a 1-1 draw with Gamba Osaka.
