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Osimhen: Onyekuru lured me to Galatasaray

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago03 mins

African footballer of the Year Victor Osimhen has revealed that Henry Onyekuru furnished him with necessary information before agreeing to Galatasaray move. The Nigeria striker has joined in a straight loan from Napoli with a break clause for January. He said upon signing his contract: “When I heard about Galatasaray’s interest, it was an easy decision for me. I knew how big Galatasaray was and how much of a family club it was. They have an incredible fan base. “Henry Onyekuru is my friend and he played for Galatasaray, he told me how big the club, the fans and the people here are. “So it was an easy decision for me. When I landed at the airport, the fans welcomed me with so much emotion that I felt very happy. “These things are important for a player. I want to do everything I can for them. “I can’t wait to start this project. I’m very excited.” On a reunion with former Napoli teammate Dries Mertens, he continued: “Dries Mertens was always with me when I played in Italy. He became a big brother to me. He is a person I respect a lot, I am excited to be teammates with him again. “I can’t wait to meet my teammates as soon as possible. I was already watching Galatasaray games. “I follow Mertens to see how he plays since he came here. I was following his development as a person and as a footballer. “The interactions of the players with the fans when they score goals and win games are also exciting. Now I hope our fans will support me after every goal. I can’t wait. “I say hello to the Galatasaray fans, Osimhen is here. Thank you very much for welcoming me at the airport. It was a great welcome.”

Eguavoen: Eagles set to make great start in 2025 AFCON race

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago05 mins

Interim manager Augustine Eguavoen has declared that Nigeria’s Super Eagles are raring to go for all six points available in this month’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against their counterparts from Benin Republic and Rwanda. The reigning African vice champions clash with the Cheetahs of Benin Republic in Uyo on Saturday, 7th September and then keep a date with Rwanda’s Amavubi in Kigali three days later. “Our objective is clear: to pick the six points in both matches. The players know this, and are committed to accomplishing this. The matches will not be easy; no qualifying game can be taken for granted because all the teams want to play in the finals. However, we have spoken to the players and all of us are on the same page. “Starting with the match against Benin Republic on Saturday, nobody is mentioning anything about revenge. Our goal is three points, and then we aim for another three points in Kigali on Tuesday that will put us in good stead for qualification.” Eguavoen has a number of stalwarts who are truly determined to appease fans and enthusiasts for missing the two FIFA World Cup qualifying matches in June, from which poor results threaten the Eagles’ chances of reaching the 2026 finals. AFCON’s Man-of-the-Competition William Ekong, also team captain, was overlooked for the ties against South Africa and Benin Republic as he was recovering from injury, but is back at the heart of the rearguard to lead the three-time African champions to hunt for points for another showpiece. Ekong scored three goals at the AFCON finals early in the year. Reigning African Player of the Year Victor Osimhen missed the two games in June, as defender Ola Aina and star forward Moses Simon due to injury. Osimhen just signed for Turkish giants Galatasaray and will be keen to impress his new employers, while banishing talks of his rustiness. Rapid-raider Simon, who on his good day can single-handedly decimate the opposition, is also eager to again dorn the green-white-green, just as Aina. Eguavoen is most likely to start goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, with Aina, Semi Ajayi, Ekong and Bassey at the rear, and any three of Frank Onyeka, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, Alhassan Yusuf and Raphael Onyedika in midfield. Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze, Simon, Taiwo Awoniyi, Victor Boniface and Ademola Lookman are gunning for shirts at the fore. Lookman, in the list of 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or, will walk with a greater spring in his steps, and justifiably so. He scored three crucial goals for Nigeria at the AFCON, and his 17 goals and 11 assists steered Atalanta FC to the Europa Cup final, where his hat-trick did the damage on German club, Bayer Leverkusen. Saturday’s match will kick off at 5pm inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.

Colombia 2024: Germany thrashes Falconets in Bogota

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago03 mins

Two goals in the final half-hour steered three-time champions Germany to a 3-1 victory over Nigeria in their FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Group D clash at the Estadio Metropolitano de Techo in Bogota on Wednesday night. Nigeria could have gone ahead in the second minute after they snatched the ball from an onslaught by the Germans, but Chiamaka Okwuchukwu failed to beat goalkeeper Rebecca Adamczyk, after shunning the option of passing to team- mates running on goal. After Germany came close in the 10th minute, Rofiat Imuran raced down the left but her cross failed to find Okwuchukwu. Schitler then put the Germans in front in the 17th minute, when she nodded home an inch-perfect cross from the right with goalkeeper Shukura Bakare in no man’s land. There were opportunities at both ends as the game wore on, but Nigeria wasted another great chance to pull level in added time of the first half, when Rofiat Imuran again raced down the left, only to see goalkeeper Adamczyk stop her weak effort with a right-handed smack. Five minutes into the second half, Nigeria were level when Jalla Veit and Adamczyk blundered at the rear to allow Okwuchukwu to race towards an open goal and notch her first strike of the tournament. Germany restored their lead in the 61st minute, with Zoebell poking the ball past Bakare from a teasing cross, in-between two Falconets’ defenders. Okwuchukwu thought she had secured the leveller two minutes later, when she lashed the ball past Adamczyk after cutting in from the right, only to be ruled off-side. The Germans would make it 3-1 in added time, through Ernst’s flying header off a cross from the right that left Bakare rooted to the spot. In the event, the Germans secured their slot in the Round of 16, having earlier defeated Venezuela 5-2 on Matchday 1. Next for the Falconets is a clash with Venezuela in Cali on Saturday evening.

Osimhen pens Galatasaray loan deal

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago01 mins

Super Eagles forward Victor Osimhen has officially signed with Turkish giants Galatasaray. The deal, finalized today, sees Osimhen joining the club on a loan from Napoli. Osimhen’s transfer to Galatasaray comes after a challenging summer, during which negotiations with other clubs, including Al-Ahli and Chelsea, fell through. The 25-year-old forward will wear the number 45 jersey for Galatasaray and is set to play in the Turkish Süper Lig until June 2025. The Turkish club has agreed to cover his annual salary of €11 million for the duration of the loan. This move reunites Osimhen with former Napoli teammate Dries Mertens, who played a role in encouraging the transfer. Upon his arrival in Istanbul, Osimhen was warmly welcomed by Galatasaray fans, expressing his excitement about joining the club and his eagerness to contribute on the field.

Osimhen opts for Gala’s number 45 shirt

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago01 mins

Reigning African footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen has reportedly opted to wear No. 45 shirt at Galatasaray for the 2024-25 campaign. Italy-based transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed this on his social media handle on Wednesday. Osimhen was not short of traditional options when it came to squad numbers that he could have chosen. Most notably, the number seven shirt is currently vacant. During the 2018-19 season, Osimhen wore that number with Belgian side Charleroi, where he netted 20 goals from 36 appearances in all competitions. Osimhen has spent the last day or so in Turkey with Galatasaray officially showcasing his arrival and time in the country on their social media pages.

Fans to pay N1,000 and N3,000 to watch Eagles, Cheetahs

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago01 mins

Tickets for Saturday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match between the Super Eagles and the Cheetahs of Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo will go on sale on Friday. While the VIP tickets will go for N3,000 each, fans who opt for the regular stands will pay N1,000 each. Match ticket sale-points, according to the NFF Marketing and Sponsorship department, include Uyo Township Stadium; Government Primary School, Obio Etoi; Memories FM (Ernest Bassey Street); Comfort FM (Ikot Akpanabia); Inspiration FM (Udo Udoma) and De-Choice Shopping Plaza. Other sale-points will be designated by Thursday. Saturday’s cracker, which is a Matchday 1 encounter in the race for the finals, will kick off at 5pm.

Osimhen sacks Agent after transfer saga

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago04 mins

eports out of Italy state that Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen has fired his agent, Roberto Calenda, after a nightmare transfer saga saw the striker end up on loan at Turkish club Galatasaray. Osimhen, 25, rose to fame when he scored 26 goals in 32 Serie A matches in 2022-23 to lead them to an historic league title. That led to him signing a massive new contract with the club that included a €130M release clause. However, the contract and clause have since proved to be troublesome. Osimhen expressed his desire to leave the club last season. But Napoli would not let him do so without a significant transfer fee. The troubles only grew larger when the club hired manager Antonio Conte, who claimed he didn’t want Osimhen in his squad. This summer, multiple clubs expressed interest in signing the Nigerian striker. European giants Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea entered the fray, as did uber-rich Saudi club Al-Ahli. PSG ultimately opted to go in a different direction, pulling out the bidding. Al-Ahli agreed to a deal with Napoli, but could not come to terms with Osimhen, who hoped to remain in Europe. Similarly, Chelsea appeared to agree to a deal with Napoli, but wanted to significantly cut Osimhen’s weekly wages from €350K per week to around half of that. Osimhen also stated he did not want to accept a loan deal to any club, and ultimately the Chelsea negotiations broke down, leaving him stuck in Napoli. Conte doubled down on his stance and did not include the star in the team’s official league roster. With his career at a standstill, Osimhen then negotiated a loan deal (which he previously declined) to Turkish club Galatasaray, but with several conditions. Galatasary paid half of his weekly wages, while Napoli paid the other half. The loan deal also included a change in his release clause from €130M to a reported €70M. And he can cut the loan short in January if another club is interested in purchasing him. Reports out of Italy suggest Osimhen negotiated each of these terms with the help of intermediary, rather than with Calenda. “The negotiation, reports the Neapolitan newspaper, was conducted by the African striker in the first person, without the support of the historic agent Roberto Calenda. Osimhen has given up returning to Nigeria, no longer trusts anyone, he understood that staying in Naples would have been impossible and accepted the proposal,” the report claimed. It’s quite possible Osimhen finds a new club in January. But for the time being, it appears he fumbled the bag in a massive way at the most important stage of his career. And it seems he blames Calenda for the blunder.

NFF appoints Aliyu Zubairu as Head Coach, Flying Eagles

Our Reporters8 months ago8 months ago01 mins

The Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee for the appointment of Mr. Aliyu Zubairu as Head Coach of the National U20 Boys, Flying Eagles. The appointment of Zubairu, who led El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri to win the President Federation Cup at the expense of Abia Warriors FC in Lagos in June, takes immediate effect. Zubairu’s immediate task is to put together and prepare a team for the WAFU B U20 Championship, scheduled for October/November in Togo, where the zone’s representative will emerge for next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations.