Red-hot Osimhen makes French League, European Team of the Month

With the European and other Leagues on break due to international
matches, the Super Eagles players and their U-23 compatriots are
presently sweating it out ahead of their encounters against the
Ukrainian senior national and Sudanese U-23 teams on Tuesday.
While the Super Eagles led by William Troost-Ekong and Oghenekaro
Etebo arrived Dnipro in the Ukraine at the weekend, the camp of the
U-23 team otherwise known as the Dream Team, in Asaba, received a
boost as Kelechi Nwakali joined up with the rest of the squad on
Saturday for the reverse fixture.
Meanwhile, for their imperious form at the beginning of the season,
the trio of Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Simon Moses are in line
to win the Player of the Month and Goal of the Month Award of their
respective clubs.
ADEBAYO OLODAN, yet again, present you reports on Super Eagles players
and prospects from home and abroad.

ENGLAND
Anichebe set for Doncaster Rovers move
Doncaster Rovers manager, Darren Moore insists nothing has changed
with the situation of former Everton forward, Victor Anichebe who has
continued to train with the club.
Doncaster Rovers currently feature in the third tier of English
football and they are currently 11th in the Football League.
The club has discussed terms with the 31-year-old over a potential deal.
But boss Moore said there are still plenty of factors at play that
will determine whether the former Everton and West Bromwich Albion
forward commits his future to Rovers.
“It’s a two-way thing in terms of him training,” Moore said.
“He’s got to like the environment, it could be as well.
“We might need to see him in more games, you’ve got to remember things
like that.
“Training is really good to have but games are a different aspect.
“You’ve got to look at all aspects when you’re making a wholesale and
concrete decision going forward.”
Moore said Anichebe will continue to train with the club.
“He’s training with us.
“We made it quite clear – he’s come back in, after a spell overseas,
he’s come in.
“I worked with Vic at my previous employers and I know Victor well.
“He’s just been coming in and having some training and blowing off the
cobwebs if you like.
“It still remains like that.
“If something changes with that we’ll keep you well informed and up to speed.
“At the moment he’s training with us and long may it continue.”
Anichebe has been without a club for 18 months after his contract at
Chinese second tier side Beijing Enterprises was prematurely ended.

Balogun pulls out of England squad
Arsenal striker, Folarin Balogun, will not be making his debut for
England U-19 squad this month, after pulling out of the squad.
The English Football Association confirmed that Balogun has withdrawn
from the Young Lions squad due to injury.
He has been replaced by Leeds United’s Ryan Edmondson.
Balogun was among four Nigeria-eligible players named on the original
roster by manager Paul Simpson.
The others are West Ham loanee Ajibola Alese, Chelsea whizkid Faustino
Anjorin and Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka.
Balogun, 18, has played for England and United States at U-18 level
and was part of the Young Lions team that reached the semi-finals of
the 2018 U-17 Euros.

Akifenwa, Ikpeazu make FIFA 20 top strongest players
Ahead of the release date on September 27, the top ten strongest
players in FIFA 20 have been leaked with two Nigerian strikers making
the cut.
Wycombe Wanderers star Adebayo Akinfenwa otherwise known at the Beast
has reclaimed the title of the strongest footballer in the world after
he was upstaged by West Ham’s Sebastien Haller in the FIFA 19 winter
upgrades last February.
The Beast was officially the strongest player in FIFA 19 and was rated
83 physicality.
In FIFA 20, former Nigeria U23 invitee Uche Ikpeazu occupies the fifth
position on the list of top ten strongest players.
Super Eagles midfielder Anderson Esiti, who was the top man in
physicality last year, is no longer in the top ten strongest players
after taking the sixth position in FIFA 19.
No Nigeria-eligible player made the cut for FIFA 20 Ultimate Team top
100 players, a prestigious list containing the likes of Lionel Messi,
Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante and Virgil van
Dijk.

Ndidi gets Goal of The Month Award nomination
Wilfred Ndidi is in line for Leicester City’s Goal of the Month Award
for August following his nomination alongside five other players.
Ndidi’s superb header in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the Stamford
Bridge is among the six goals shortlisted for the award, according to
a report on Leicester City’s official website.
The Nigeria international midfielder has made three Premier League
appearances for the Foxes this season and has scored once.
Jamie Vardy’s two goals – against Sheffield United and AFC Bournemouth
are in the shortlist.
Harvey Barnes has also been nominated following his magnificent strike
in the away win against Sheffield United.
Leicester City supporters can now choose from the six separate strikes
with voting now open.
Voting closes on Sunday, September 8 at 11:59. The winner, who will be
selected at random, will receive a signed print of the goal
celebration.

FRANCE
Red-hot Osimhen makes French League, European Team of the Month
Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen has continued to hit the
headlines across Europe after he was named in the French Ligue 1 team
of the month for August and the European U-21 team.
The 20-year-old moved to Ligue 1 this summer from Belgian club
Sporting Charleroi and immediately adapted to the new terrain scoring
80 per cent of his side’s league goals in their opener four matches.
The 2015 FIFA U-17 golden boot winner announced himself in style with
a brace on the opening day of the league to earn Lille a 2-1 win over
Amiens before repeating the same feat two weeks later to help Lille to
a 3-0 win over St-Etienne.
That performance earned the hard-working forward a spot in
whoscored.com Ligue 1 team of the month as he leads the line alongside
Lyon Moussa Dembele with the likes of Memphis Depay, Thiago Silva and
Marco Verrati also making the cut.
Similarly, the Eagles forward was also rewarded with a spot on the
European U-21 team of the month for the top five leagues as he lined
up in a youthful XI alongside PSG’s Kylian Mbappe whom he beat to the
Ligue 1 best XI and Jadon Sancho who has also been in fantastic form
with Borussia Dortmund this season.
Osimhen averaged a rating of 7.70 in his first four league games,
scoring four of his side’s five league goals to share the Ligue1
scorers’ chart with Lyon Memphis Depay.

Simon nominated for Player of The Month Award
Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon has been nominated for Nantes Player
of The Month Award for August.
Simon is nominated along three of his teammates; Abdoulaye Toure,
Nicolas Pallois and Fabio.
The winger who is loan at Nantes from Spanish LaLiga club, Levante has
impressed in his first two games for the club.
The 25-year-old scored the winning goal on his debut against Amiens
and also provided the assist for the team’s winning goal in his first
full start against Montpellier last weekend.
He has teamed up with the national team ahead of their friendly
against Ukraine on September 10 in Dnipro.
Votes will be carried out online with fans given till Tuesday to
complete their votes.

BELGIUM
Bonaventure extends Club Brugge contract
Former Kwara Football Academy (KFA) starlet, Dennis Bonaventure has
signed a contract extension with Belgian First Division A side Club
Brugge until 2022.
The forward joined the Jan Breydel Stadium outfit in 2017 from
Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk, and has been a consistent performer for
the Blue and Black.
Bonaventure has scored 21 goals and provided nine assists in 78 games
across all competitions since teaming up with the side.

TURKEY
Honoured to be mentor to younger players – Mikel
Former Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel has expressed his delight
at the news that he was a case study for upcoming footballers who were
learning the tact of anchoring the midfield during their days at FC
Porto.
In a revelation by Portuguese and Wolverhampton midfielder Ruben Neves
who said, “Back in Porto we were given DVDs of John Obi Mikel to take
home and study everyday. We used to call him the professor of
football”.
Mikel, who replied in a post on his official Instagram page, stated
that he was honoured to have been able to inspire a whole lot of
younger generations to enable them reach the pinnacle of their game.
The video clips did however come in handy for 22-year-old Neves who
came through the ranks at FC Porto before joining Premier League club
Wolverhampton in the summer of 2017 for around €17 million.
Now with Turkish club Trabzonspor, the 32-year-old was a masterclass
in the heart of the Blues midfield, winning every piece of silverware
in what was a golden generation for Chelsea.

CROATIA
Osijek signs Mbakogu
NK Osijek has completed the signing of Jerry Mbakogu on a two-year
deal, informs the Croatian Prva HNL club.
The 26-year-old had been in search of a new team following his release
by Padova at the end of the 2018-19 campaign.
Mbakogu was one of the star players in the Italian Serie B and was
previously linked with a move to Leeds United and had been targeted by
Jurgen Klopp when he was coaching Borussia Dortmund.
In 152 appearances in the Serie B, he scored 42 goals while providing
27 assists.
Apart from a brief spell in Russia with Krylia Sovetov, Mbakogu has
played for only Italian clubs namely Scorzè Peseggia, Palermo, Juve
Stabia, Carpi and Padova.
Born in Lagos, Mbakogu has committed his international future to
Nigeria and is also eligible to play for The Azuris as he was recently
granted citizenship by Italy.

CYPRUS
Okoli completes loan move to Gocmenkoy SK
John Okoli has completed a season-long loan move from Yenicami Agdelen
SK to Gocmenkoy SK.
The Yenicami Agdelen SK forward had a productive time in the 2018/19
Northern Cyprus campaign.
He played last season at Gonyeli SK also on loan and did very well
there. In 30 matches, he scored 22 goals and provided 15 assists.
One of the main qualities of a striker is being the ultimate fox in
the box. Okoli’s ability to read the pass is magnificent. It’s one of
his greatest asset. What makes John Okoli a great striker is his shot
accuracy. He is also a complete striker. He can score a good header,
good with tap ins and long shots. He is pretty good with left foot and
his accuracy. This makes him a complete striker.
Okoli lists Soccer Warriors, Messiah FC and MFM FC as his former clubs.

Troost Ekong, Etebo,  20 others storm Dnipro
William Troost-Ekong and Oghenekaro Etebo led the Super Eagles into
Dnipro, Ukraine on Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s international friendly
match with the nation’s national team.
It is the Super Eagles first outing since they finished in third
position at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Captain of the side, Ahmed Musa pulled out of the trip on Thursday
night as a result of injury that has failed to heal as quickly as he
anticipated, adding to the earlier forced withdrawals of defenders
Kenneth Omeruo and Tyronne Ebuehi, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi and
forward Henry Onyekuru.
Anderson Esiti, Bryan Idowu, Josh Maja and Emmanuel Dennis have been
named as replacements for the quintet.
The Dnipro Arena, which is home ground to top club, FC Dnipro, is a
31,000 –capacity facility that was opened in September 2008 and
situated in the city of Dnipro, the third largest city in Ukraine
after the capital city Kyiv and Kharkiv.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Omonia FC, Cyprus); Ikechukwu Ezenwa
(Heartland FC); Emil Maduka Okoye (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany)
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Chidozie Awaziem (CD
Leganes, Spain); William Ekong (Udinese FC, Italy); Leon Balogun
(Brighton & Hove Albion, England); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07,
Germany); Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Bryan
Idowu (Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia)
Midfielders: Alexander Iwobi (Everton FC, England); Anderson Esiti
(PAOK Salonica, Greece); Oghenekaro Etebo (Stoke City FC, England);
Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Joseph Aribo (Glasgow
Rangers, Scotland)
Forwards: Victor Osimhen (Lille OSC, France); Moses Simon (FC Nantes,
France); Joshua Maja (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Samuel Chukwueze
(Villarreal FC, Spain); Samuel Kalu (Girondins Bordeaux, France); Paul
Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge, Belgium).

…resident permit knocks Onyekuru out of Ukraine clash
Super Eagles winger, Henry Onyekuru  won’t be available for Nigeria’s
high profile friendly against Ukraine this week due to resident
petmit.
The Monaco winger, who confirmed the news of his unavailability,
stated that he was yet to get a resident card and would find it
difficult to return to France should he fly to honour the game in
Kyiv.
“It is true that I won’t be available for the match against Ukraine
next week due to resident permit.
“I only arrived here less than a month and I’m yet to get my resident
card, so if I leave now I won’t be able to return and will then have
to apply for another visa to fly back to France,” Onyekuru explained.
The winger’s case could, however, be likened to what transpired
between former Arsenal midfielder Kelechi Nwakali who flew into
Nigeria for the U-23 qualifiers against Libya in March but had to stay
back for months due to resident permit to Portugal, a situation that
cost him his season with FC Porto.
In his absence, Coach Gernot Rohr has already called up Belgium-based
Dennis Emmanuel Bonaventure.
Dream Team gets Nwakali boost ahead Sudan return leg
Former Golden Eaglets captain, Kelechi Nwakali has arrived Nigeria in
time for this week’s second leg U-23 qualifiers against Sudan as
Nigeria bids to overturn the 1-0 first leg deficit.
The 21-year-old, who recently joined Spanish LaLiga 2 side Huesca on a
free transfer from Arsenal, missed the first leg on Thursday in
Ombudsman but will now be available for selection on Tuesday in Asaba.
Nwakali’s availability will be a massive boost for the Imama Amapakabo
led boys after his stellar performance in the Dream Team VII last home
outing against Libya where he bagged two assists in the team’s 4-0
win.
The Olympic Eagles are expected to arrive Nigeria in the early hours
of Saturday morning before flying to Asaba where they will be training
ahead of Tuesday’s return leg.

…Odey upbeat Nigeria’ll overturn deficit
Stephen Odey is confident the U-23 Eagles can overturn their 1-0 first
leg deficit against Sudan and secure a place at the Africa U-23 Africa
Cup of Nations in Egypt even as the team had their first training
session in Asaba,Sunday morning.
The Eagles dominated play in the encounter played at the Al Merriekh
Stadium, Omdurman but were let down by their poor marksmanship.
Odey, Taiwo Awoniyi and Muyiwa Olabinran all missed close chances to
score for the side in the game.
Ellla Edin Musa scored the decisive goal for Sudan late in the first half.
Imama Amapakabo’s charges will face the Sudanese in the return fixture
at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba on Tuesday.
Ahead of the second leg, Odey is upbeat that the team can overturn the
disappointing first leg result and secure qualification for the AFCON
tournament.
“It’s really disappointing that we lost the first leg despite the kind
of effort we put into the game. We deserved to get something positive
from that game, but that’s what football is all about. Sometimes, you
lose when you don’t deserve to,” Odey said.
“The first important thing now is to make sure we get a good win that
will earn us qualification for the AFCON.
“That is our target and I believe we have what it takes to achieve
that objective. It is an important game for the country and we cannot
afford to let the fans down.”
The winner over two legs game will feature at the U-23 AFCON
competition in November.