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Eagles Watch

Ideye set to revive career in Greece

 

…Musa explains bench role against Burundi

The Super Eagles began their 2019 African Nations Cup quest on a
winning note though it took Coach Gernot Rohr’s team 77 minutes to
break the scoring duck and earn the three points against a resolute
Burundian side. Despite playing below par, the German tactician would
be delighted he has the three points in the bag after a number of
injuries and illness that depleted his squad in Egypt.
In Greece, Super Eagles outcast, Brown Ideye has been presented an
opportunity to revive his career after signing a one year deal with
Aris Thessaloniki FC. The former Warri Wolves forward will hope to
bang in enough goals to earn his recall to the national team ahead of
the 2022 World Cup.
The News Editor, ADEBAYO OLODAN reports the performances of Nigerian
players in the Scandinavian and news surrounding the future of our
stars.

ENGLAND
Leicester City makes transfer decision on Ndidi
Leicester City is unwilling to sell Wilfred Ndidi in the summer transfer window.
The central midfielder has been linked with a move to all the big
clubs in the Premier League, with Manchester United, Liverpool and
Arsenal all credited with an interest in the Nath Boys Academy
product.
It was however gathered that no official bids have been submitted by
the clubs even though they are genuinely interested in adding him to
their ranks.
Leicester City will not allow Ndidi, who is valued in the region of 60
million euros, leave the King Power Stadium before the close of the
transfer window because it does not make business sense.
The Foxes are believed to be working on a deal to sign Youri Tielemans
and the Belgian central midfielder is more expensive than Ndidi, a
negative earnings for the club if the Nigerian is transferred and they
manage to win the race for the services of the Monaco man.
In addition, it would be difficult for the King Power Stadium outfit
to sign a capable replacement for the former Genk starlet kid because
there are few players with his qualities and their services don’t come
cheap.
Ndidi is contracted to Leicester City until June 30, 2024.
SCOTLAND
Highly-rated midfielder, Aribo, joins Rangers
Scottish Premiership giants, Rangers is on the verge of announcing the
signing of highly-rated midfielder, Joe Aribo.
The 22-year-old has agreed personal terms with the Light Blues and
will undergo a medical with the club over the weekend ahead of his
unveiling.
After spending three seasons with Charlton Athletic’s first team,
Aribo has become a revelation in the English Football League, so much
so that top clubs in England, Germany and France were scrambling for
his signature.
But Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard has convinced the midfielder to
choose Rangers over his other suitors.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Southampton, Stoke City, Benfica and
Eintracht Frankfurt had been credited with an interest in Aribo before
Rangers won the race for his services.
He will be the second Nigerian player signed by Rangers in the summer
transfer window, following in the footsteps of Sheyi Ojo who made a
loan move from Liverpool last week.
GERMANY
Ujah joins promoted Union Berlin for 2m Euros
Former Nigeria international, Anthony Ujah has joined Bundesliga new
comers, Union Berlin, from Mainz 05 for a transfer fee of two million
Euros.
“I was able to convince myself about Union on site here in Berlin. The
impressions at the Alte Försterei were very positive and so it was
clear to me after my visit: I would like to play here. I’m looking
forward to an exciting challenge and want to put my experience and my
performances at the help of the team in order to deliver a successful
season,” said Ujah.
The 28-year-old scored four goals in 22 appearances for Mainz last
season. It was his second spell at Mainz.
His previous clubs included Werder Bremen and FC Cologne and he has
also played in Norway and China.
Ujah is a direct-playing centre-forward with power and speed.
He has joined up with compatriot Suleiman Abdullahi ‘Daddy’, who has
also joined Union Berlin on a permanent basis after he played on loan
at the club last season.
Augsburg signs Bazee on 5-yr deal
Super Eagles invitee, Noah Sarenren Bazee has joined German Bundesliga
club, Augsburg following a successful medical.
The exciting winger who last played for Hannover 96 has put pen to
paper on a five years deal until June 2024.
Bazee, 22, recorded 15 appearances in the German top flight during his
six years stint at Hannover 96.
Reacting to his move to FC Augsburg, Bazee told the club’s official
website: “I want to take the next step in my development in
Augsburgand I am happy that the FCA board have put their trust in me.
“I’m looking forward to playing my first games in an Augsburg shirt.”
Born in Stadhagen to a German mother and a Nigerian father, Bazee
trained with the Super Eagles in March 2017 but could not make his
debut in a friendly against Senegal because he was struggling with a
knee injury.
He has been allocated the number 17 jersey at Augsburg for the 2019/20
season.
DIV 2
Holstein Kiel announces loan signing of Iyoha
German 2. Bundesliga club, Holstein Kiel has announced the signing of
German-born Nigerian striker, Emmanuel Iyoha on loan from Fortuna
Düsseldorf.
The 21-year-old joins Holstein Kiel on a temporary deal until the end
of the 2019-2020 season.
Born in Düsseldorf, Iyoha has played a total of 15 games for the
German U19, U20 and U21 teams, and previously enjoyed loan spells at
VfL Osnabrück and Erzgebirge Aue.
Iyoha is looking forward to having a successful season at Holstein
Kiel, saying: ”I hope to be able to take the next step in my football
development here in Kiel.
”Holstein plays an extremely offensive football, attaches great
importance to playful solutions and variability.
”I want to get here fast, get to know my team and then play a good
second division round. ”
The 1.91m tall Iyoha will link up with his new teammates on Sunday and
join the training camp in Sommerfeld.
GREECE
Ideye set to revive career with Aris
Super Eagles outcast, Brown Ideye has put pen to paper for Greek Super
League club Aris Thessaloniki FC on a one-year deal.
Since his departure from Malaga at the end of the 2017-18 season, the
30-year-old has been without a club and he will be hoping to
rejuvenate his career at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium during the
2019-20 season.
The Nigerian International previously played in Greece with
Olympiacos, where he impressively scored 28 goals in 65 matches across
two seasons and also contributed to the Greek outfit winning the
2015-16 Super League title before his departure to Chinese Super
League club Tianjin Teda in February 2017.
Last season Ideye was on loan at LaLiga side Malaga where he made 13
appearances.
The 2013 AFCON winner will be aiming to help Aris qualify for next
season’s UEFA Europa League group stage after their fifth-place finish
in the 2018-19 league campaigns.
… has highest accumulated transfer fee for Nigerian player
Not many football fans rate Brown Ideye, despite him helping Nigeria
beat Zambia in a 2018 World Cup qualifier. While his international
career hasn’t been looking good since that appearance, Ideye’s club
career has made him the Nigerian with the highest accumulated transfer
fee.
To get a player’s accumulated fee, you have to add up all the transfer
fees that have been paid for them since their career started. Football
stats site, Transfer market crunched the numbers for Nigeria players,
and Ideye came out tops, with a total of €43.18 million (over N17.6
billion).
Obafemi Martins comes close to the 30-year-old with a total of €42.35
million (over N17.2 billion). Given that Ideye has only gone through
six transfers so far, and still has age on his side, his accumulated
fees might spike in the future, as he’s likely to go through more
transfers in his career.
Speaking of transfers, Ideye was just signed by Greek club, Aris FC
and he is expected help the club qualify for the Europa League next
season.
NORWAY
Sam Adekugbe and Chidera Ejuke (Vaalerenga): The duo lasted 90 mins as
Adekugbe was cautioned in the 88th min of their club’s 1-1 draw with
Sarpsborg 08.
Akeem Latifu (Mjoendalen): He lasted the duration of his team’s 1-1
draw at Ranheim.
Samuel Adegbenro and B.D Akintola (Rosenborg): Adegbenro was on from
start to finish while Akintola was substituted in the 72nd min of
their club’s 0-1 loss at Tromsoe.
Moses Ebiye (Lillestrom): He was an unused substitute when his team
played a goalless draw with Sk Brann.
DIV 2
Izunna Anthony (Nest Sotra) & Michael Ogungbaro and Chuks Anene(Jerv):
Anthony lasted 90 mins while Ogungbaro came on for Anene in the 83rd
min of Sotra’s 4-1 defeat of Jerv.
AFCON 2019
Nigeria 1-0 Burundi: How Super Eagles fared in opener
The Super Eagles has been known to start slow at most tournaments and
it was not any different on Saturday when they kicked off their
African Nations Cup campaign against the Swallows of Burundi, who held
off their more vaunted opponents for 77 minutes.
After so many illnesses caused by a virus that hit the camp and injury
scares to some key players, Gernot Rohr named Samuel Chukwueze as
Samuel Kalu’s replacement. Jamilu Collins’ replacement, Shehu
Abdullahi, had to go off injured in the first half. In the end,
another substitute, Odion Ighalo, scored with almost his first touch.
… I’m satisfied with Akpeyi’s performance – Rohr
Super Eagles Coach, Gernot Rohr has expressed satisfaction with
goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi following his clean sheet performance against
Burundi on Nigeria’s opening 1-0 win at the Africa Cup of Nations in
Egypt.
The 32-year-old, who was chosen to start ahead of erstwhile number one
Francis Uzoho, provided moments of genuine quality interspersed with a
jitteriness that nearly cost the Super Eagles on a number of
occasions.
“The goalkeeper did not concede a goal which is good for him and for
the team, and he stopped a wonderful opportunity in the first half and
as you know that the first goal is the most important, so in that
situation, he was really very good.
“Then we know that sometimes there can also be mistakes like what
happened when he tried to dribble with the ball. I didn’t like that he
did it but we will try to make it better next time.
“But what I saw from him the last three weeks was really so good in
the training sessions that today he was our number 1,” Rohr concluded.
Meanwhile, Akpeyi has said that his side were lucky to have come out
with all three points against debutants Burundi.
On his performance, the former Dream Team goalkeeper added that the
most important thing for him at the moment was the three points
secured.
“The most important thing is the victory and the three points. For me
I am just picking it up gradually. If I get another opportunity I will
try and do my best again,” Akpeyi concluded.
Below is how the players fared against Burundi
Name                    Mins.   Performance
Daniel Akpeyi           90      The Kaizer Chiefs goaltender started well but with
his team under some pressure towards the                                end, he started making
the mistakes that could have been costly for his team. Rohr will have
been a bit apprehensive going against more stellar opposition.
5/10
Shehu Abdullahi                 42      Was steady until he got injured though he was
not as offensive as the Eagles’ technical team                          would have liked.
5/10
William Troost-Ekong    90      Was strong and quick even though the
Burundians were better towards the end of the game.                                                                     5/10
Kenneth Omeruo          90      The more active of the centre-halves, Omeruo
showed that his good form with Leganes was no                           fluke and that Rohr
did not make a mistake benching Leon Balogun for him.   6/10
Ola Aina                        90      Playing on the left, Aina was powerful at both ends of
the pitch and provided guile with the                                   masterful back-heel that
created the only goal of the game.              8/10
Wilfred Ndidi           90      The newly married midfielder was all over the
pitch, cleaning up and delivering passes that                                   pushed his team
forward.                                7/10
Oghenekaro Etebo                90      Etebo was busy in midfield but could have
pushed forward since the Eagles had a majority of                               possession.
5/10
John Mikel Obi          58      Mikel was supposed to play very close to Onuachu –
in the hole but his fitness flagged and he                              could not combine very
well with Chukwueze and Iwobi. He needs to get better as the
tournament progresses.                  5/10
Alex Iwobi                      90      More is expected from the Arsenal man and he looked
up for it at the beginning, when he created                             some goal scoring
chances from the left flank. He is likely to be deployed as a central
midfielder                              in subsequent matches.                  6/10
Paul Onuachu            73      The lanky forward was too soft in the opening
stanza and went to ground too easily. Though,                           lively and ready to
run the channels, his decisions appeared too hasty.             5.5/10
Samuel Chukwueze                90      Was very bright at the start but showed his age
in some of the moves when he could have passed                          to a better-placed
teammate. He also missed a great chance to score in his first
competitive                                     match for the Super Eagles.             6/10
Subs
Chidozie Awaziem                48      The centre-back committed fouls upon his
introduction but he tried to combine offensively with                           Chukwueze in
the later stage of the match.           5/10
Ahmed Musa              32      The assistant captain was a shot in the arm
immediately he came on as the Eagles became more                                of a goal-scoring
threat down the left flank.     7/10
Odion Ighalo            17      The China-based forward showed why he is the main
scoring Eagle with his well-taken goal just                             minutes after coming
on. He linked well with his teammates and the Eagles were more
dangerous as soon as he was sent on.            7/10
Manager, Gernot Rohr:   He got the Eagles to play on the front foot
despite the hiccups the team had to deal with in readiness of the
opening                         match. He made huge calls for the team, dropping Ighalo,
Balogun, and Musa but he made up for any gaffe by                               making the right
substitutions, especially in the second half.

…Ighalo elated to score lone goal against Burundi
Odion Ighalo is delighted to score the only goal of the match for the
Super Eagles’ 1-0 win against the Swallows of Burundi in Saturday’s
AFCON 2019 Group B clash at the Alexandria Stadium.
Ighalo who plays for Chinese Super League club, Shanghai Shenhua came
off the bench in 73rd minute for Paul Onuachu, and netted the winner
in the 77th minute.
Ighalo received a delightful back-heel pass from Ola Aina and did a
sublime finish to help the Super Eagles secure the maximum points in
the game.
The former Watford striker also stated that the hard-earned win will
boost the morale of the team as they look to win a fourth AFCON title.
“I really feel great to have come on and scored because as a player
when you are called upon to come in you have to do your best. It
wasn’t easy for us, but then again you don’t expect easy matches,”
Ighalo told reporters after the game.
“I think we have set the tone for ourselves moving forward and our
confidence has improved. We won it in 2013 and obviously being here we
want to win it again.”
Gernot Rohr’s men top Group B with three points, while Guinea and
Madagascar have a point each. Burundi is rooted to bottom of the log
with no point.
The Super Eagles will take on the Syli National of Guinea in their
next game on Wednesday at the Alexandria Stadium.
Reason I was benched against Burundi – Musa
Super Eagles vice-captain, Ahmed Musa has explained why he was offered
a substitute role in the opening match against Burundi on Saturday
admitting that he was not in tip-top condition.
The former Leicester City forward was among the Super Eagles players
that fell ill during the second phase of preparations in Ismaila.
Coach Gernot Rohr’s decision to start an injured Shehu Abdullahi who
is Musa’s closest pa later backfired as the Bursaspor defender was
unable to complete the first half.
“Every first game in a tournament is very difficult, the most
important thing is that we have three points,” Musa told reporters in
the mixed zone.
“I was eager to come in but I know that I fell ill, so the coach
talked to me. As you can see Shehu too was ill. At the beginning of
the game he was injured, so that’s what the coach was a little bit
worried about that.
“Finally I came in and the game changed and we had three points,
that’s the most important thing.”
Musa came off the substitutes’ bench in the 58th minute as replacement
for former Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel.
Awoniyi expresses disappointment over AFCON snub
Liverpool striker, Taiwo Awoniyi has expressed disappointment having
being left out of the Super Eagles squad for the 2019 African Cup of
Nations tourney in Egypt this summer.
The 21-year-old came to limelight after helping the U17 national team
win the FIFA World Cup in the UAE in 2013. Two years later, he was
signed by Premier League giants Liverpool in a four-year deal around
€1 million but has never featured for the Merseyside due to his
failure to secure work permit in the UK.
The tall striker has spent the last four seasons on loan at different
clubs and was impressive in all the outfits he played for during his
stay. However, Awoniyi, who is yet to make his Super Eagles debut,
despite having his teammate Kelechi Iheanacho in the team believes
being snubbed from the squad could be disheartening. The forward
enjoyed a successful time at Royal Excel Mouscron during the second
half of last season as he finished with 11 goals from just 16
appearances. His performance in Belgium was however not enough to earn
him a place in Gernot Rohr’s team for the tournament.
“Actually for me if a player is trying his best in his club, you
believe you are doing the best you can and if you don’t get invited,
not even once, you’ll be sad about it,” Awoniyi told Liverpool Echo.
“That is the truth, but there is nothing you can do about it. You just
have to keep on working and keep on believing in yourself, that is
football.”
In a related development, Schalke 04 has tabled a £10 million offer to
sign Awoniyi this summer. The 21-year-old is also in the radar of some
other top European clubs as they hope to secure his services for the
coming season. The Liverpool forward, who re-joined Belgian side
Mouscron on loan earlier this year spent the first half of the 2018-19
campaign on loan at Gent. Report from the German League side further
revealed that the Bundesliga outfit contacted Liverpool manager Jurgen
Klopp directly to inquire about Awoniyi’s availability this summer.

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