Iheanacho leads Leicester City to FA Cup 5th round

MIKE ADEYEMI x-rayed the performances of these players as well as other Nigerian players in their various clubs.

ENGLAND FA CUP
Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City): He was substituted in the FA Cup victory over Brentford with Brendan Rodgers keen to keep the striker fresh amid Jamie Vardy’s injury trouble.
Iheanacho bagged his seventh of the season early into the tie at Griffin Park but was withdrawn with 22 minutes remaining, homegrown midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall coming on for his City debut.
Iheanacho may have to lead the line again in the huge Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Aston Villa on Tuesday, with Vardy battling for fitness.

…why I was nervous in win against Brentford
The talismanic striker was left behind on Saturday to work with physios on the gluteal muscle injury he suffered against West Ham in midweek.
After the victory, Rodgers admitted Vardy’s fitness was on his mind when he took Iheanacho off.
“Kels, he’s getting better and better,” said Rodgers. “He’s so efficient now in his game, working so hard, he creates goals and scores goals. I’m delighted for him.
“Tuesday] was something that we had to think about in the game. We had to think about Kels and the possibility of him playing on Tuesday.

Sylvester Jasper (Fulham):  Promising winger Sylvester Jasper made his professional debut for Fulham as they were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
The 18-year-old stepped out onto the Etihad Stadium turf with the number 58 at the back of his jersey in the 83rd minute as a replacement for Terence Kongolo.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were already home and dry prior to Jasper’s introduction, with Ilkay Guendogan, Bernardo Silva and Gabriel Jesus (2) getting on the scoresheet to give them a 4-0 lead.
Born in London to a Nigerian father and Bulgarian mother, he is eligible to represent the national teams of Nigeria, England and Bulgaria.
A tricky winger who can operate on both flanks, Jasper first made the matchday squad of the Cottagers against Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup.
He has been on the periphery of Fulham’s first-team following his brilliant displays for the U18 and U23 teams, having contributed to a remarkable 15 goals in 17 matches in the U18 Premier League, EFL Trophy, Premier League 2 and FA Youth Cup.
Jasper has played international football for England’s U15 national team.

Chukwuemeka scores in debut win against Arsenal U-18s
In an U18 Premier League game featuring five players of Nigerian descent, Aston Villa beat Arsenal 2-1 at Shenley Training Centre in Hertfordshire on Saturday afternoon.
Mazeed Ogungbo and Daniel Oyegoke were part of a four-man defence for the Gunners and they were joined in the starting line-up by right winger Ryan Alebiosu, while Carney Chukwuemeka made his 11th start of the season for Aston Villa.
After a total of fifteen appearances in the U18 Premier League since debuting in March 2019, Chukwuemeka ended his search for his first goal for Aston Villa U18s when he broke the deadlock in the 17th minute.
The midfielder has already been identified as one of the promising teenagers by the English Football Association as he was handed his maiden international call-up in October 2019 and went on to feature in two non-binding games against Germany that same month.
Arsenal equalised five minutes before halftime through Matthew Dennis, assisted by Alebiosu, before the visitors went ahead again courtesy of Philogene-Bidace’s 64th minute effort.
Gunners mercurial midfielder Miguel Azeez is on the road to recovery and yesterday’s game against Aston Villa came too soon for him.

Kelechi Chibueze, Derrick Abu and Dubem Eze (Chelsea): All started for Chelsea while Tolu Ladapo and Deji Elerewe were named in Charlton’s starting line-up.
While Chibueze went the distance for the home team, Eze was replaced and entered the pitch again as a substitute in the second half.
Blessed with good feet, Charlton’s Ladapo is one of the exciting young talents at the academy and has been described as a fast striker who knows his way to goal while his teammate Elewere is a domineering central defender with good passing ability.
With the U18 team traveling to Newcastle United for the quarterfinal of the Premier League Cup, Chelsea arranged a friendly to keep the U16-U18 players in shape ahead of their next matches.

Daniel Udoh (Shrewsbury Town): He was in action for third tier League One side, Shrewsbury Town, who came from two-goal down to draw 2-2 against Liverpool and force a replay, in the Fourth Round of the Emirates FA Cup at New Meadow on Sunday, Completesports.com reports.
Udoh, 23, was introduced with five minutes left in the game to try and find the winner.
The game was Udoh’s fourth appearance with one assist in the FA Cup for Shrewsbury this season. He has made 22 appearances and has two goals in all competitions in the current campaign.
Liverpool paraded players like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Joel Matip, Dejan Lovren, Divock Origi and new signing Takumi Minamino.
Curtis Jones gave Liverpool the lead in the 15th minute before an own goal by Shrewsbury’s Donald Love doubled their lead on 46 minutes.
Substitute Jason Cummings reduced the deficit when he converted a 65th minute penalty to make it 2-1.
And 10 minutes later Cummings completed the brace to ensure the Sam Ricketts’ battlers got a replay at Anfield.

CHAMPIONSHIP
Osayi-Samuel (QPR): Premier League club Burnley are keeping an eye on the progress of QPR Nigerian winger Bright Osayi-Samuel.
The Sun reporter Alan Nixon revealed the Osayi-Samuel’s next possible switch in his Tweet.
“Burnley. Looking closely at Bright Osayi-Samuel. No wonder. Poss signing for this window or next. Obvious poss of Wells swap. Bristol City Forest Wigan also in Wells race. Highest bidder gets him,” Nixon wrote on his Twitter handle.
Osayi-Samuel, 22, has made an impressive start to the season for QPR under Mark Warburton and the club will face a battle to hold on to his services in the future.
He has scored five goals and provided five assists in 22 appearances in all competitions for the London side this term.
Burnley could potentially use Nakhi Wells as part of a deal to lure Osayi-Samuel to Turf Moor, with the striker having impressed on loan at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium over the past couple of campaigns.
Osayi-Samuel was born in Nigeria but moved to England at the age of 10. He started his career at Blackpool and rose through their youth ranks before making his professional debut in a Championship fixture against Sheffield Wednesday in March 2015.
He went on to play 79 games for the Tangerines as a youngster and played a key part in their promotion to League One in 2017.

SPAIN
Keneth Omeruo, Chidozie Awaziem (Leganes): Both shine in goalless draw with Atletico in their latest league meeting on Sunday afternoon.
According to stats gathered from renowned statistical website, who scored, the duo came away with match ratings of 7.22 and 7.11 respectively from the clash.
Awaziem who was booked in the 11th minute won four aerial duels, made three tackles and had a pass success rate of 86.5 percent in the game while Omeruo had two tackles, won three aerial duels and had a success rate of 79 percent for passing.
The former Chelsea defender, who was making his 14th start in La Liga this term, made nine clearances, more than any other player on the pitch.
Leganes are currently battling the drop in the Spanish La Liga, and the latest point will come as a big boost for Los Pepineros.
Samuel Chukwu (Villareal): He featured for 90 minutes as his team recorded a 2-1 away win at Deportivo Alaves and has now failed to score in seven consecutive league games for Villarreal.
Ramon Azeez (Granada): He was on benched for 90 minutes in Granada’s 2-0 away defeat to Sevilla. Azeez has scored twice in 14 league appearances for Granada this season.

BELGIUM
Paul Onauchu and Stephen Odey (Genk): He played for the entire duration of the game as Genk suffered a 4-1 away defeat to KAA Gent. His compatriot, Odey was an unused substitute for Genk in the game.

ISREAL
Micheal Olaha (Tel Aviv): He played a key role in Hapoel Tel Aviv’s 2-1 away win at Hapoel Kfar Saba. He was in action for 73 minutes in the game.

GERMANY
Jamiu Collins (SC Paderbon): He was sent off in the 59th minutes of SC Paderbon’s 2-0 away win against SC Freiburg, he has featured in 17 Bundesliga games for his club and scored once.

DUTCH
Chidera Ejuke (Heerenveen): He was on target as Heerenveen suffered a 2-1 home defeat against Az Alkmaar in their Dutch league clash on Saturday. Ejuke’s goal came in the 69th minute of the encounter. The 22-year-old has scored seven goals in 18 league appearances for his club this season.
Cyriel Dressers (Heracles): He was in action for 62 minutes in Heracles’ 3-2 home defeat to Feyenoord. It was Dessers’ 20th league game of the campaign albeit he has scored 12 goals.

SAUDI ARABIA
John Ogu (Al Adalah): He has expressed his satisfaction with his performance in their 0-0 away draw at Al Ittihad on Saturday in the Saudi Arabian Professional League.
H made his league debut for Al Adalah in the goalless draw as they continue their fight against relegation.
His first game for the club was in the Saudi King Cup where they lost 1-0 to Ahmed Musa’s Al Nassr.
Reacting after the game, Ogu stated that they have to do better in their next game.
“Proud of the team effort. We gat to keep working to be better in the next game,” Ogu wrote on his verified Twitter handle.
Al Adalah remain in the relegation zone – in 15th, on 10 points, in the 16-team Saudi Arabian Professional League table.