It’s that time of the season again, where players across the board who ain’t getting playing time at their various clubs get to utilize the opportunity and seal that move to another club in a quest to get back the playing time they crave, which would also boost their chances of playing for their various national team.
As such, clubs have been on the hunt for a bargain or big-money signing since the January transfer window opens, in other to pursue their title ambition and also to clinch a European spot or trying to avoid relegation.
So in this piece, we will be looking at five Nigerian players in January transfer deals.
Name: Henry Onyekuru
Age: 22-years
Monaco – Galatasaray
Life at the Stade Louis II, Monaco wasn’t a good experience for Onyekuru when he joined from his parent club Everton haven’t failed to secure a work permit in the UK.
Onyekuru joined AS Monaco on a permanent transfer in August 2019 on an undisclosed fee but rumored to be between £12-£15 million signing a five-year deal with the Ligue 1 club.
Since Onyekuru joined Monaco, he could only boast of four match appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit under the former manager Leonardo Jardim who was sacked in December, and he also couldn’t get into the first team with the new sheriff in town Robert Moreno which led to his move to Galatasaray for the second time, first in 2018 where he scored 16 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions and now 2020.
The Turkish winter transfer window opens in January 4 and closes for business at the end of next month, as such Onyekuru agreed on personal terms with Galatasaray, paving the way for him to join the Turkish champions haven’t found it difficult to nick a starting shirt at the principality for over three months, prior to him joining the Turkish outfit.
The 22-year-old Nigeria forward will now spend the rest of the season on loan with the ‘Yellow-Reds‘ as the Ligue 1 outfit.
Name: Oghenekaro Etebo
Age: 24-years
Club: Stoke City – Getafe
The move to Getafe, Spain was definitely a new chapter for the Super Eagles midfielder in his career, who also hasn’t found a lot of joy and match playing time under the new manager with the ‘Potters’.
After an impressive debut campaign in the Championship with Stoke City, the 24-year-old found playing time-limited, starting just eight out of the 11 league games he featured in, as such the former Las Palmas midfielder decided to leave on loan for the Azulón Getafe until the end of the season from Stoke City.
Nigeria international is not new to Spanish football, he previously played for Las Palmas in the 2017-18 season where he played 14 La Liga games.
Getafe also holds the option to make the deal permanent, should Etebo impress the La Liga outfit in the next six months.
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Name: Ogenyi Onazi
Age: 27-years
Club: Trabzonspor – Denizlispor
It’s was another opportunity for the Nigerian midfielder to get his career back on track again, as Ogenyi Onazi left his championship chasing club side Trabzonspor to join another Turkish club Denizlispor.
The Nigeria international ruptured his Achilles tendon against Rizespor in a Turkish Super Lig game in 2018, which sidelined him from action until he returned back against Basel.
The Nigeria international made his first appearance of the season in Europe League against Basel at St. Jacob Park in a match they lost 2-0, since then he hasn’t been playing which led to his move to Denizlispor.
It was a free transfer for the Super Eagles player who was on the last year of his contract at Trabzonspor, which made him grab the opportunity to move down to Denizlispor who is 11th on the league table until the end of the season.
Name: Jesse Sekidika
Age: 23-years
Club: Eskisehirspor – Galatasaray
A career turning point it is for the unknown Nigerian who joined the Yellow-Reds following the announcement of his fellow countryman Onyekuru on a six-month loan deal from Monaco.
Galatasaray completed the signing of Jesse, who performed brilliantly with the ‘Red Lightnings’ playing a total of 76 matches and scoring 27 goals.
The 23year-old Port-Harcourt born had trials with former Premier League side Stoke City, but couldn’t seal a deal with the Potters due to work permit.
Sekidika also played for the Benfica youth team before joining Serbian side Napredak in 2016, where he made 47 appearances for Napredak, scoring seven goals, a mouthwatering performance that attracted the Turkish based outfit Eskisehirspor in 2018 to sign him.
Sekidika will now begin a new life with the ‘Yellow-Reds until the 2023-2024 Turkish league season.
Name: Stephen Eze
Age: 25-years
Club: Lokomotiv Plovdiv – Tobol
As much as some of the fans will want to question his move from Bulgaria to Kazakhstan, due to the fact the Bulgarian league is relatively bigger compared to the Kazakhstan league, yet the norms in the round leather game which is buying and selling when it comes to signing player can’t be pushed aside.
However, after three years in Bulgaria, the Super Eagles center-back decided to switch club for the Kazakhstan outfit Tobol for a new challenge in his career.
Ahead of the commencement of the 2020 Bulgarian league in March, Tobol brought in Eze to strengthen their defense, after Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv failed to renew his contract, which led to his move as a free agent to Tobol.
His stint with Plovdiv wasn’t a bad one since he moved from Kano Pillars in 2018, signing a two-year contract and he made 57 league appearances across two and a half seasons with three goals.
Eze also won a cup title and had a runners-up medal in the Super Cup to his name while with Plovdiv before he left for Tobol.
