The Barclays English Premier League (EPL) will kick off in earnest tomorrow with fallen giants, Manchester United facing Swansea City in new manager, Louis van Gaal’s first competitive match, at Old Trafford in the 12:45 kickoff.
The transfer window has been a very busy one with the arrival and departure of players and coaching staff. The offseason has seen some Nigerian internationals join and leave the EPL; most notably West Bromwich Albion coach Alan Irvine splashed a club record of 10million pounds to get his man, Brown Ideye from Ukranian team, Dynamo Kiev whilst Shola Ameobi parted company with Newcastle after more than a decade with the North-Eastern club.
Ideye, who is ecstatic about the move, will be hoping to repay Irvine’s faith in him with plenty of goals and propelling his team towards a respectable position come the end of the season. He will be hoping to forge an enviable force with fellow Nigerian, Victor Anichebe who moved to the Hawthorns last summer from Everton. Both players are similar in style of play and it will be interesting to see if they can play together on Saturday when West Brom host Sunderland.
Sunderland, who miraculously evaded relegation and reached the final of the Capital One Cup last season, are also on the heels of another Nigerian, Michael Babatunde. Sunderland coach, Gus Poyet has enquired about the availability of the Nigerian international who featured at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The FC Volyn Lutsk striker just returned to training after recovering from a gruesome arm injury he picked up against Argentina at the World Cup. Poyet may switch his focus to Babatunde if Fabio Borini’s proposed move from Liverpool falls through and/or young striker, Conor Wickham leaves this summer.
Swansea City are also interested in Nigerian midfielder, Ramon Azeez. Swansea City coach, Gary Monk is desperate to replace his Spanish contingent of Michu, Jose Canas and Pablo Hernandez who all left the club this summer, and has marked Azeez, who currently stars for Almeria in the Spanish La Liga, as the man to lead the Swans forward.
Chelsea have sent Nigerian defender, Kenneth Omeruo out on loan again to Middlesborough to continue his development with Jose Mourinho’s former assistant, Aitor Karanka in the Championship. Chelsea are also willing to listen to offers for winger, Victor Moses who has failed to nail down a place in the Chelsea team since his move from Wigan Athletic two years ago. Moses spent last season on loan at Liverpool who almost won the league but was a bit-part player hence Liverpool declined the chance to make the move permanent. Despite rumours linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge, Mikel Obi is set to feature in his ninth season with the London side after Mourinho decided to let go of fellow midfielders, Oriol Romeu and club legend, Frank Lampard.
Liverpool’s Jordon Ibe, who is eligible to feature for the Super Eagles, came to the fore with an eye-catching performance against Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in the final game of the 2013/2014 season. He fell down the pecking order last season behind Philippe Coutinho, Victor Moses and Raheem Sterling and was farmed out on loan to Birmingham City. His chances appear to be further suspended by the arrivals of Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic, however, Liverpool will be playing in the Champions League for the first time in five years and this may see the boy-wonder given a chance to shine. It can be said that a loan move to a Premier League or Championship side is his best bet at regular football this season.
Sammy Ameobi is another player who may have limited playing time this season. The Newcastle young winger cum striker recently switched his allegiance to Nigeria and may have to seek a temporary move away from St. James Park following the arrival of seven new faces and the emergence of Rolando Aarons. His brother, Shola who featured for Nigeria at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, has left the club after 14 years and signed a one-year contract with Turkish second-division side, Gaziantep Buyuksehir Belediyespor.
Super Eagles’ returnee, Osaze Odemwingie seems to be back to his best after settling in at Stoke City. The striker unsuccessfully tried to force a move to QPR from West Brom in January 2013 and was later farmed out to Cardiff City that summer. However, he spent just 6 months in South Wales before switching to the Britannia Stadium. He will be hoping to form a good partnership with fellow strikers, Mame Biram Diouf and Bojan Krkic who just arrived at the club from Hannover and Barcelona. Odemwingie’s best goal tally in the EPL came in his first season with West Brom (2010/2011) in which he finished with 15 goals, a Premier League record for the club.
Sone Aluko returns to full fitness for Hull City after missing much of last season through injury. The Nigerian international saw his World Cup hopes dashed after he tore his Achilles in November 2013 but returned in time to make a substitute appearance in the FA Cup’s final defeat to Arsenal in May. Aluko is set to be named in the Hull City team to take on QPR on Saturday; he may be deployed as a striker following the transfer of Shane Long to Southampton yesterday.
British-Nigerian defender, Reece Wabara was released by reigning champions, Manchester City at the conclusion of last season and has since pitched tents with Doncaster Rovers in the Championship.
Nigerian wonder-kid, Kelechi Iheanacho, who won the Golden Ball as part of the victorious Nigeria team at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, has caught the eye of manager, Manuel Pellegrini following some scintillating performances in the club’s pre-season. The 17-year-old scored two goals in the club’s first two games in the United States. Manchester City are working to secure a work permit for the youngster but their application may be denied because the player is under 18, hence City may look to loan him out to a club in the lower leagues or allow him spend one more year with the development
squad.
How do you think the Nigerians will do in the EPL this season?
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This article was first published on 16th August 2014 and updated on August 18th, 2014 at 9:08 am
arinzeude
Arinze Ude is a PhD Student at the University of the West of England Bristol, UK, where he's exploring on the mechanisms of donor cell leukaemia. He shares his deep thoughts on his blog and the Naked Convos. He is keen to promote personal development of the Nigerian youth via thought-provoking articles.
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The Barclays English Premier League (EPL) will kick off in earnest tomorrow with fallen giants, Manchester United facing Swansea City in new manager, Louis van Gaal’s first competitive match, at Old Trafford in the 12:45 kickoff.
The transfer window has been a very busy one with the arrival and departure of players and coaching staff. The offseason has seen some Nigerian internationals join and leave the EPL; most notably West Bromwich Albion coach Alan Irvine splashed a club record of 10million pounds to get his man, Brown Ideye from Ukranian team, Dynamo Kiev whilst Shola Ameobi parted company with Newcastle after more than a decade with the North-Eastern club.
Ideye, who is ecstatic about the move, will be hoping to repay Irvine’s faith in him with plenty of goals and propelling his team towards a respectable position come the end of the season. He will be hoping to forge an enviable force with fellow Nigerian, Victor Anichebe who moved to the Hawthorns last summer from Everton. Both players are similar in style of play and it will be interesting to see if they can play together on Saturday when West Brom host Sunderland.
Sunderland, who miraculously evaded relegation and reached the final of the Capital One Cup last season, are also on the heels of another Nigerian, Michael Babatunde. Sunderland coach, Gus Poyet has enquired about the availability of the Nigerian international who featured at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The FC Volyn Lutsk striker just returned to training after recovering from a gruesome arm injury he picked up against Argentina at the World Cup. Poyet may switch his focus to Babatunde if Fabio Borini’s proposed move from Liverpool falls through and/or young striker, Conor Wickham leaves this summer.
Swansea City are also interested in Nigerian midfielder, Ramon Azeez. Swansea City coach, Gary Monk is desperate to replace his Spanish contingent of Michu, Jose Canas and Pablo Hernandez who all left the club this summer, and has marked Azeez, who currently stars for Almeria in the Spanish La Liga, as the man to lead the Swans forward.
Chelsea have sent Nigerian defender, Kenneth Omeruo out on loan again to Middlesborough to continue his development with Jose Mourinho’s former assistant, Aitor Karanka in the Championship. Chelsea are also willing to listen to offers for winger, Victor Moses who has failed to nail down a place in the Chelsea team since his move from Wigan Athletic two years ago. Moses spent last season on loan at Liverpool who almost won the league but was a bit-part player hence Liverpool declined the chance to make the move permanent. Despite rumours linking him with a move away from Stamford Bridge, Mikel Obi is set to feature in his ninth season with the London side after Mourinho decided to let go of fellow midfielders, Oriol Romeu and club legend, Frank Lampard.
Liverpool’s Jordon Ibe, who is eligible to feature for the Super Eagles, came to the fore with an eye-catching performance against Queens Park Rangers (QPR) in the final game of the 2013/2014 season. He fell down the pecking order last season behind Philippe Coutinho, Victor Moses and Raheem Sterling and was farmed out on loan to Birmingham City. His chances appear to be further suspended by the arrivals of Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic, however, Liverpool will be playing in the Champions League for the first time in five years and this may see the boy-wonder given a chance to shine. It can be said that a loan move to a Premier League or Championship side is his best bet at regular football this season.
Sammy Ameobi is another player who may have limited playing time this season. The Newcastle young winger cum striker recently switched his allegiance to Nigeria and may have to seek a temporary move away from St. James Park following the arrival of seven new faces and the emergence of Rolando Aarons. His brother, Shola who featured for Nigeria at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, has left the club after 14 years and signed a one-year contract with Turkish second-division side, Gaziantep Buyuksehir Belediyespor.
Super Eagles’ returnee, Osaze Odemwingie seems to be back to his best after settling in at Stoke City. The striker unsuccessfully tried to force a move to QPR from West Brom in January 2013 and was later farmed out to Cardiff City that summer. However, he spent just 6 months in South Wales before switching to the Britannia Stadium. He will be hoping to form a good partnership with fellow strikers, Mame Biram Diouf and Bojan Krkic who just arrived at the club from Hannover and Barcelona. Odemwingie’s best goal tally in the EPL came in his first season with West Brom (2010/2011) in which he finished with 15 goals, a Premier League record for the club.
Sone Aluko returns to full fitness for Hull City after missing much of last season through injury. The Nigerian international saw his World Cup hopes dashed after he tore his Achilles in November 2013 but returned in time to make a substitute appearance in the FA Cup’s final defeat to Arsenal in May. Aluko is set to be named in the Hull City team to take on QPR on Saturday; he may be deployed as a striker following the transfer of Shane Long to Southampton yesterday.
British-Nigerian defender, Reece Wabara was released by reigning champions, Manchester City at the conclusion of last season and has since pitched tents with Doncaster Rovers in the Championship.
Nigerian wonder-kid, Kelechi Iheanacho, who won the Golden Ball as part of the victorious Nigeria team at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, has caught the eye of manager, Manuel Pellegrini following some scintillating performances in the club’s pre-season. The 17-year-old scored two goals in the club’s first two games in the United States. Manchester City are working to secure a work permit for the youngster but their application may be denied because the player is under 18, hence City may look to loan him out to a club in the lower leagues or allow him spend one more year with the development squad.
How do you think the Nigerians will do in the EPL this season?
