We continue to follow the progress of Super Eagles players in their respective clubs in Europe, and this weekend was another opportunity, though most of them are still in the festive mood, as their leagues remain on break.
However, a few of them were in action at the weekend, and here’s how they fared;
In England, it was a week for Cup games, as clubs took a break from the rigours of league football. Wilfred Ndidi was an unused substitute as Leicester City were forced to a replay in the FA Cup by Fleetwood Town.
Of his compatriots at club, only Kelechi Iheanacho, who could be on his way to Turkish side, Besiktas, was considered good enough, but he played for ten minutes after coming on for Islam Slimani in the 80th minute.
For Ahmed Musa, he must surely be thinking of how to move clubs this winter, as he was left out of the Foxes’ team entirely, for the umpteenth time.
Another player who missed his side’s game is wingback, Victor Moses, who wasn’t named by manager, Antonio Conte, in Chelsea’s disappointing draw at championship outfit, Norwich City.
Moses appears to have been rested by his Italian manager, with the Blues back in action on Tuesday, when they take on city rivals, Arsenal in the semifinal of the Carabao Cup.
At the City Ground, it was a tale of woes for Alex Iwobi and Arsenal, after they were comprehensively knocked out of the FA Cup.
Iwobi was on from start to finish, but was really poor as the Gunners suffered a 4-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest, bringing to an end their title defence.
Meanwhile, it was happy ending for Ola Aina and Hull City, they are through to the next round of the FA Cup thanks to Aina’s man of the match performance against Blackburn Rovers.
Aina scored his first senior goal to inspire the Tigers to a 1-0 win over Blackburn.
It was also a weekend of cup games in France, where young defender, Chidozie Awaziem was not involved as Nantes routed lower division USM Senlis 4-0 in the Coupe de France.
Elsewhere in the continent, Shehu Abdullahi’s Anorthosis were too hot for AEK Larnaca, in the Cypriot League.
Abdullahi lasted the 90, helping the champions to a comfortable 3-1 win at home over their biggest challengers this season. Larnaca.
Finally, it’s a new year, but there’s nothing new about the situation of Manchester City’s on loan striker at Spanish side, Girona, Olarewanju Kayode.
He was left out of Girona’s unsuccessful trip to Valencia, where they lost 2-1 to Marcelino Garcia’s superbly drilled side. Kayode has only seen 383 minutes of action since his loan move to promoted side, and is yet to score a goal.
