Four Talking Points From Nigeria Players Performances In Europe

The football season in Europe is well and truly on and Nigerian players have started to make good impressions.

Victor Osimhen scored a brace in the first game week in the French Ligue 1 to kick start a promising campaign for the Nigerian legion.

Izuchukwu Okosi looks back at the takeaways from the last weekend action involving Super Eagles stars.

1. Debuts For The New Boys

There were a slew of debuts for Nigerian players over the weekend for their new clubs.

Henry Onyekuru (AS Monaco), Taiwo Awoniyi (Mainz 04) and Anthony Ujah (Union Berlin) were in action for their new employers but fans will have to wait a bit more to see Chidozie Awaziem on loan at Leganes where Kenneth Omeruo is now on a permanent deal.


2. New Jersey Numbers For The Naija Boys

One interesting observation in the new football season is the new jersey numbers taken up by the Nigerian players.

Samuel Chukwueze changed from number 30 last to number 11 for the 2019/2020 season underlying his importance and personality in the first team set up.

Kenneth Omeruo has always donned the jersey number 22 for club and country but the Leganes centre back who has permanently signed from Chelsea taken up the jersey number 4 at the club.

Taiwo Awoniyi seemed to be in love with number 18 but for Mainz 04 where he's on loan from Liverpool, the Nigerian striker will be wearing the number 22 on his back.

Henry Onyekuru has abandoned the number 21 for 7 at his new club AS Monaco.

Over at Leicester, Kelechi Iheanacho has since vacated his number 8 jersey for the number 14 which he wears representing Nigeria.


3. Moses, Chukwueze. Aribo On Target

The trio of Samuel Chukwueze, Victor Moses and Joe Aribo were on target for their clubs, Fenerbahce, Villarreal and Rangers against Gazisehir Gaziantep, East Fife and Granada respectively.

Moses, now retired from international football scored one and assisted another in the 5-0 romp  while Chukwueze scored The Submarines' third goal in an eight goal thriller, a 4-4 draw with Nigerian midfielder Ramon Azeez losing possession of the ball which led to Chukwueze's goal.

Joe Aribo who has been invited for the Super Eagles' international friendly against Ukraine  was  also on target for Scottish giants, Rangers in the 3-0 win over East Fife in the Scottish League Cup at the Bayview stadium.


4. Ndidi Redeems Self, Set To Play Huge Role For Leicester

Wilfred Ndidi in a similar situation like Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard some seasons ago against Chelsea (which Demba Ba profited from) lost his footing and let Mason Mount score Chelsea's goal on Sunday in the 1-1 draw with Leicester City.

The Nigerian midfielder however redeemed himself with a thumping header to equalise for The Foxes which elicited praises from teammates, coach and pundits for his resilience.

Ndidi was one of the best defensive midfielders across Europe last season and will be another massive influence for his team in this campaign.

Izuchukwu Okosi