The necessity of sorting out their future at club level means a good number of players of the Super Eagles, invited for this weekend’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Rwanda’s Amavubi, may not arrive in Uyo until Tuesday evening.
Sources close to the team informed SR that those players still looking to move to new stations, and who have until midnight of Monday, September 1, are not expected to arrive in the Akwa Ibom State capital until later on Tuesday, and may only start training with the rest of the squad on Wednesday.
Top of the list is reigning Africa Player of the Year, Ademola Lookman, whose relationship with Italian side Atalanta BC has cooled considerably following his publicly-expressed desire to move to another Serie A, Inter Milan – the San Siro giants who reached the final of last season’s UEFA Champions League competition.
German top side Bayern Munich are said to have tabled a loan deal for the Nigerian winger, but Atalanta rejected the first move. It is being said that English Premiership side Tottenham Hotspur are expressing interest, while Bayern have also not backed out entirely from trying to entice Lookman from Serie A.
Another wing impressario, Samuel Chukwueze arrived in London on Saturday to conclude terms with another English Premiership side, Fulham, as he seeks a move from Italian giants AC Milan. The former La Liga man will joining Super Eagles’ team mates Alexi Iwobi and Calvin Bassey at Craven Cottage.
Forward Tolu Arokodare, who scored Nigeria’s goal against Russia in an international friendly in Moscow in June, has also been in the United Kingdom, as a deal with Wolverhampton Wanderers appeared to have been concluded. He moves away from Belgian club, KRC Genk.
Midfield engine room Raphael Onyedika is also moving from Belgium, away from Club Brugge to German side Eintracht Frankfurt, and the deal could be concluded on deadline-day.
Glasgow Rangers’ ace Cyriel Dessers, who was masterly during the Unity Cup tournament that Nigeria won in London in the summer, is also said to be close to a deal with Greek top side, Panathinaikos.
The sum total of these is that the Rwandan delegation, scheduled to arrive in Uyo by 4pm on Tuesday, September 2, may land before a number of Super Eagles’ players coming for the same crucial game.
