Former Under-23 captain Azubuike Okechukwu is nearing a return to the Turkish Super Lig, www.aclsports.com can confirm.
The midfielder was contracted to Turkish Super Lig side Yeni Malatyaspor until last summer when he made a shock move to ambitious Egyptian club Pyramids FC. The former Bayelsa United star is now on the verge of a return to Turkey with a loan deal to Çaykur Rizespor almost completed.
Azubuike has arrived the Turkish city of Rizespor on Wednesday for a medical ahead of the proposed six-month loan deal which will run till the end of the season. A successful medical is the only thing standing between his return to Tayyip Erdogan’s land.
www.aclsports.com understands that the midfielder is moving in order to boost his chances of an invite to Nigeria’s senior national team ahead of next summer’s Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Egypt, home of Azubuike’s parent club Pyramids.
The 21-year old’s immediate past club Yeni Malatyaspor who are having an amazing run in the Super Lig this season – currently placed third – were also interested in bringing back their dependable midfielder but were unwilling to pay the loan fee requested by Pyramids.
If Okechukwu completes his move, he will be the third Nigerian at the club for the rest of the season after they completed the signing of Super Eagles defender Chidozie Awaziem on Tuesday morning. The other Nigerian at the club is Azubuike’s Rio Olympics teammate Aminu Umar.
