Etebo stops to play

The Nigeria midfielder was forced off with an injury in Saturday’s league draw against Eibar

Oghenekaro Etebo will not be travelling with Getafe for Tuesday’s La Liga fixture against Real Valladolid, the club has confirmed.

The Stoke City loanee suffered a muscle injury after breaking his duck in the Spanish top-flight during Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Eibar.

Etebo limped off after 69 minutes of action over the weekend, and he is yet to regain fitness ahead of Tuesday’s visit to Valladolid.

Etebo Expects to be fit for Super Eagles Vs Benin, Lesotho

Oghenekaro Etebo is expected to be fit for Nigeria’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double header against Benin and Lesotho after picking up an injury in Stoke City’s 1-0 away defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday, reports have it.

Etebo was replaced by Mark Duffy in the 21st minute at Hillsborough after he sustained an injury and

There are fears the 23-year-old who missed Nigeria’s friendly encounter against five-time world champions, Brazil this month due to personal reasons would not be available for the Super Eagles in the AFCON 2021 qualifiers.

 

Super Eagles players fighting relegation with European clubs

Most clubs in top European leagues recently tidied up their transfer deals of this season’s campaign. Completesportsnigeria.com  highlights NINE Nigerian players whose clubs could be relegated as their  transactions seem to have failed to produce positive results hence  their downward slide towards demotion.

OGHENEKARO ETEBO (Las Palmas)

Since his loan move from Portuguese top flight club Feirense to  Las Palmas, Oghenekaro Etebo has been one of the outstanding players for the struggling LaLiga side.

Etebo has not missed any game since joining Las Palmas in January, appearing in five straight league games.

His latest impressive performance for the side was against league leaders, Barcelona who were held to a 1-1 draw with Etebo playing an influential role.

But it remains to be seen if his performances will be enough to keep Las Palmas in the league as they are currently in the relegation zone, the 18th position.

IMOH EZEKIEL (Las Palmas)

Just like Etebo, Imoh Ezekiel joined Las Palmas during the January transfer window from Konyaspor of Turkey.

Unfortunately, Ezekiel has made just two league appearances which ended in a draw and a loss.

Las Palmas will hope Ezekiel steps up and gets some of the goals in order to help secure their Laliga status for next season.

EMMANUEL EMENIKE (Las Palmas)

Emmanuel Emenike is the third Nigerian at the struggling Las Palmas following his switch from Olympiakos.

The 2013 Africa Cup of Nations winner is yet to make his debut for Las Palmas.

With 12 games remaining in the Laliga this season, hopefully Emenike will be called upon to help rescue  relegation-haunted Las Palmas.

BROWN IDEYE (Malaga)

For Malaga to beat the drop from LaLiga, Brown Ideye would have to start chipping in the goals that win games.

Since his loan move from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Teda in January, Ideye has scored one goal in five league appearances.

Malaga who sit at the bottom od the league table will hope their Nigerian import adds match winners to his lone strike, to stand a chance of retaining their Laliga status.

ISAAC SUCCESS (Malaga)

After making his debut for Malaga in their 1-0 away loss to Las Palmas early February, Success’ next game was in the 2-1 home loss to Sevilla on Monday.

Despite making the starting eleven, Success was replaced in the 34th minute of the game.

The former Granada boy is one of the players Malaga coach Jose Gonzalez is banking on to avoid going into the Secunda division but things seems not to be going as planned yet for the young forward.

LEON BALOGUN (Mainz)

Leon Balogun has played in 10 of Mainz 24 Bundesliga games as they fight to maintain their status.

With 18 clubs competing in Germany’s elite division, Mainz are 16th, occupying the relegation play-off spot.

Featuring in Mainz’s last two league games which saw them claim four points out of six, Balogun would hope to continue making first team appearance to help steer the club away from the drop zone.

ANTHONY UJAH (Mainz)

Following his return to Mainz from Chinese Super League club, Liaoning Hongyun, Anthony Ujah is yet to make a meaningful impact that will help Mainz beat the drop.

He has made four league appearances for Mainz, but is yet to find the back of the net.

With Mainz’s present situation, Ujah and teammates must play out of their skin to ensure the club does not go down.

AMINU UMAR (Osmanlispor)

With four goals in 22 league appearances, Aminu Umar still needs to do more to make sure Osmanlispor don’t go down to the Turkish second division.

Osmanlispor are currently 17th on 20 points in the 18-club league table.

They have not won their last six top flight league games, losing three and drawing three.

Umar and his teammates will face Kenneth Omeruo and Emem Eduok’s Kasimpasa on Saturday and will hope to return to winning ways.

RAHEEM LAWAL (Osmanlispor)

Also expected to make sure Osmanlispor stay in the Turkish  first division is Raheem Lawal.

Lawal has played in 17 league games for Osmanlispor but is yet to score for the struggling side.

He has the chance to open his goal account against Kasimpasa and help retain Osmanlispor’s first division status.

Football: Etebo Joins FC Porto In January

Super Eagles midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo will join Portuguese giants FC Porto when the January transfer window opens, according to reports in Portugal.

Portuguese daily A Bola claimed on Sunday that the 22-year-old has already agreed in principle a four-year deal with the former Portuguese champions.

“Etebo will move to the Dragao Stadium in January after an agreement was reached,” the statement on A Bola claimed.

His deal with Feirense runs out in 2019 and he has scored four goals in 14 league games this season.

He joined Feirense in 2016 from Nigeria Professional Football League club Warri Wolves and was in the Nigeria squad that won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Fenerbahce join Arsenal to sign Super Eagles Star, Etebo

Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce have  jumped to the front of the queue to sign  Leicester City  and Arsenal target  Oghenekaro Etebo from Portuguese side Feirense.

The combative  midfielder, who is expected to start for the Super Eagles against Senegal’s Teranga Lions in their friendly affair in London on Thursday, has been in sensational form for Feirense, becoming a cult hero at the 5,401-capacity  Estádio Marcolino de Castro since his arrival from Warri Wolves in 2015.

Etebo, who  has been likened to Manchester United  midfielder Paul Pogba  for his creativity  and combativeness, has been linked with Premier League holders Leicester  and  struggling Arsenal for a summer transfer.

But  reports in the Turkish media  claimed that Fenerbahce met with the player and his agent  in the Eagles’ Crowne Plaza Hotel camp in London on Wednesday and that the result was positive.

Some sections of the media in the European country had reported that Fenerbahce’s  representatives would  meet with  Etebo this month.

According to  Fotospor, the Yellow Canaries’ representative  Hasan Cetinkaya told Etebo the  plans they had for him and urged  the 21-year-old to join up with his compatriot Emmanuel Emenike, who has resurrected his career since he returned to the Istanbul giants after   a bad loan spell at West Ham.

Turkish Football said Etebo’s agent met with Fenerbahce and agreed a deal in principle, adding that the Fenerbahce only needed  to strike a deal with Feirense before a contract can be agreed.

Etebo became one of the hottest properties  in Europe  after helping Nigeria win bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The player, who was instrumental in the Eagles  Russia 2018  World Cup qualifying victories over Zambia (2-1 in Ndola) and Algeria (3-1 in Uyo)  last year,  has provided one assist and scored one goal in 15 league appearances this season for Feirense.

Football: Leicester City, Arsenal, Monaco eye Etebo

It has been speculated that English Premier League champions Leicester City and Arsenal are reportedly in the hunt for Nigerian midfielder Oghenekaro Etebo.

The former Warri Wolves player made a name for himself after scoring four goals for Nigeria’s U-23 side against Honduras in their opening fixture at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

According to British tabloid, the Sun, the Premier League duo sent scouts to watch Etebo in action for Portuguese club CD Feirense in their 1-1 draw against  Porto on Thursday.

French club Monaco and Italian outfit Atalanta are also said to be monitoring Etebo’s progress.

The 21-year-old has been one of Nigeria’s most promising talents in recent years.

Last year he won Africa’s most promising talent award at the Glo/CAF awards after emerging top scorer at the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations in Senegal.

 

See Super Eagles list vs Algeria today

Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has released names of the players to play against Algeria today .

The Chippa United goalkeeper Daniel Akpeyi and Oghenekaro Etebo will start roles in today’s World Cup qualifier against Algeria.

 According to Rohr’s final training session yesterday, the German tactician adopted a 4-3-3 formation which will see Etebo playing at the tip of the midfield along with the duo of John Obi Mikel and Ogenyi Onazi.

In form Chelsea winger, Victor Moses, returns to the starting lineup in a trident attack.

Moses and Alex Iwobi will flank Kelechi Iheanacho who will play as a false nine for the encounter.

In defence, Rohr will deploy Kenneth Omeruo and Elderson Echiejile as full-backs while FSV Mainz defender, Leon Balogun and William Troost Ekong will partner in the Super Eagles’ heart of defence.