In the recent European midseason transfer window, which ran between January 1 and 31, a few Nigerian players moved with striker Odion Ighalo leaving Saudi Arabian side, Al Shabab for Al Hilal. He explained that he took the decision after the management of Al Shabab stopped him from taking part in the Cameroon 2021 AFCON. There were other moves like former Nigeria U-23 Skipper, Azubuike Okechukwu, moving on a season-long loan from Turkish topflight outfit, Istanbul BaSakSehir, to Yeni Malatyaspor just as Mikel Agu moved from Portuguese club, Vitória de Guimarães to Fuenlabrada in Spain. Out-of-club Eagles midfielder, John Ogu, also teamed up with Israeli side, Hapoel Nof Hafalil, on a short-term deal while Ogenyi Onazi, formerly of Lazio, joined Saudi Arabia top flight league giants, Aladalah Club.

We monitored a number of other moves which saw Samuel Kalu and Josh Maja switching from Bordeaux, France to England-based sides, Watford and Stoke City respectively; while Simy Nwankwo moved from Serlanitana to Parma in Italy just as innocent Bonke moved from Malmo in Sweden to Lorient in France. Unfortunately no Nigerian players were involved in big money moves and were also not involved in moves to top teams. This is a sad commentary.

Moses Simon is the best player in Nantes of France just as Paul Onuachu is the main man for Genk, Belgium, yet their agents have not been able to make things happen for them to move to bigger clubs. Wilfred Ndidi is also doing great with Leicester City in the English Premier League but he is yet to secure a move to a bigger club in Europe. Incidentally, it was expected that following their exploits last season, Ndidi, Onuachu and Simon would have moved last summer but it never happened. It appears that Nigerian players are not doing enough in terms of having the right people to manage their affairs on and off the pitch. It is disturbing that even at their peak, Eagles stars are not getting big money moves or moving to top big teams in Europe. We believe our Super Eagles stars need enhanced enlightenment in order to be able to change the narrative for the better as soon as possible.

For example, the impact of Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane for Egypt and Senegal was evident at the AFCON in Cameroon. We insist that it is heart-breaking that while players are moving to Juventus, Barcelona and Liverpool, top Eagles stars are going to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Israel. This simply has to stop. We are aware that football transfer season is always interesting in all parts of the world for many reasons. It is a period of stock taking for the clubs to evaluate the players they have and look at areas of weaknesses in the team with a view of addressing the problem areas during the window.

It is a time for the managers of the players to look for better fortunes for them and ensure any movement will be a step up in terms of earnings or a huge career boost depending on the age of the player in question. The teams also have aspirations during the period as scouts will bring their work to bear with the aim of blocking the loopholes identified in the team. The transfer window could be a period of getting to the market to stabilize the team in the middle of the pack or an attempt to avoid the drop.

Some teams also struggle to compete or win the title. In other cases, some aspire to win a ticket to compete in various continental competitions like the UEFA Champions League or the Europa League. No doubt, the summer period, which is the break of a full European season, is the annual major transfer season but the mid-season transfer window is also essential depending on the situation of the player or team. There are also loan move situations which are aimed at ensuring a player is kept in active competitive state pending the future assessment to re-evaluate and determine if such player could return to his original club.

The move of Dusan Vlahovic from Fiorentina to Juventus topped the bill in January transfers. It is not usual to have a £63 million transfer in midseason for a striker who is currently hot in Serie A with 17 goals. The Serbian is expected to be a big boost to Juventus, the Italian giants currently struggling to maintain their challenge for a top four finish.

Ferran Torres moved from Manchester City to Barcelona with a fee of £46 million hoping to boost the fortunes of the La Liga outfit. The Spanish side also scooped two players from the EPL – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Arsenal and Adama Traore from Wolves. Brazilian midfielder, Bruno Guimarães, moved from Lyon to Newcastle for £33 million. He is expected to boost the Magpies’ quest to stay in the lucrative English Premier League (EPL).

He is a good passer and dribbler and will no doubt boost the profile of the EPL. The move of Luis Díaz from Porto to Liverpool with a fee of £33 million is also huge for the Reds as Jurgen Klopp plans to make the team stronger with the highly-rated midfielder. For Nigerian stars, they need to be more ambitious in order to put themselves in the shop window which will ultimately enable them to make more money by embellishing their career profiles during the transfer windows.

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