The Citizens have handed a trial to the Huddersfield Town starlet with a view to a transfer as from the January transfer window, and U18s boss Gareth Taylor ran the rule over the 2001-born player during Friday’s 4-1 rout of Stoke City in the U18 Premier League.
Ijiwole played the last 12 minutes against the Potters, coming on as replacement for Alex Robertson.
Manchester City are taking another look at him again after he impressed in a friendly against the club whilst playing for Huddersfield Town U17s in 2018.
In August 2019, Huddersfield Town loaned the 18-year-old to BetVictor Northern Premier League Division One North West team Ossett United on work experience.
Ijiwole arrived Huddersfield in the summer of 2018 after spells with the youth teams of Southampton and Queens Park Rangers.
Samuel Edozie provided two assists as City secured their seventh league win this term against Stoke City.
Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was coy on the extent of his side’s injury problems, ahead of the visit of Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday.
David de Gea looks likely to miss the game through the groin injury he sustained playing for Spain against Sweden during the international break, though others like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof should return.
United are massive underdogs going into the game, but Solskjaer spoke pre-match at his
Friday morning press conference about the support he’s received from executive vice chairman Ed Woodward and how he intends to turn around this United slump.
On the transfer front, United have been linked with Juventus (and former Liverpool) midfielder Emre Can. It’s been reported that United are considering a January move for the German, who is currently out of favour in Turin.
Countries have finalized their rosters for the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup, including Nigeria, which will hold in Brazil 26 October – 17 November. U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team head coach Raphael Wicky has chosen Nigerian-born defender George Bello and Leicester City goalkeeper Chituru Odunze on his final 21-man list. The United States will do battle with Senegal (Oct 27), Japan (Oct 30) and Netherlands (Nov 2) in Group D of the competition. Toulouse defender Temitope Akinjogunla is in line to play for France when they take on South Korea, Haiti and Chile in Group C. He became provisionally cap-tied to France when he featured for the country in their U17 EURO qualifier against Serbia back in March. Hellas Verona’s Destiny Udogie is among the eight defenders Italy have named on their roster. Manager Carmine Nunziata’s side open group play against Solomon Islands at Estádio Bezerrão, Brasília on October 28 before games against Mexico (Oct 31) and Paraguay (Nov 3).
I am tired of the endless lamentation.
I would not have touched the subject again had Osasu Obayiuwana not called me up from his holiday in California, two days ago, to rant and rave about the state of Nigerian football and, indeed, sports.
His final words are what made me decide to write this. He had said in an apparent mixture of frustration and anger, after our lengthy 45-minutes conversation: ‘I am tired of that your country. You can quote me. I do not care’.
Unfortunately, I can’t quote him verbatim, as I was not recording our phone conversation. However, it is so important that I decided to attempt to recall his words ‘flung’ across the Atlantic like an arrow, with a twitch, a twang and a twitter, an elastic shudder in flight, honing in to its target and striking the mark with precision and deadliness.
I have Osasu Obayiuwana’s permission to ‘quote him’.
Two evenings ago, I am sitting outdoors as usual in the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy with my friend, Lee Evans, soaking in the fresh fragrance of the unpolluted air over Wasimi Orile, surrounded by lush green lawns, with beautiful shrubs and flowers, and some dense vegetation in the distance, when Osasu’s call comes through.
I put him on the ‘blower’ so that Lee can be a part of the conversation.
Lee is listening intently, to every word. He knows Osasu. He liked him the last time they met in my house and Osasu interviewed him.
I have not heard Osasu sound to frustrated and so angry.
Most of the time Lee and I are nodding in agreement to his venting. Osasu had told me before he traveled out to Europe that he would be away from the country for a long time because he was tired of the shenanigans in Nigerian sports.
Between Lee and I, we interject only a few times as Osasu delivers his sermon from California.
Somehow, his words bring me some relief.
For the first time in a long time, I am in the company of a passionate Nigerian who knows his onions and is genuinely pained by the state of affairs.
So, as I write this, let me state that the words are my rough recollection of the conversation. Putting them in quotes is only to separate them from other thoughts and opinion.
‘The Nigerian football Industry is dead’ , his wicked laughter reminding me that this is Osasu at his mischievous best.
‘There is no football industry in Nigeria. There is no work for those of us in the industry any more. The national professional league cannot even start. There is no date, there is no sponsor for it.
‘The football field is the cathedral of football. If you do not respect it, you don’t know anything about the game!’
All my ears and sensors are in full alert.
I have spent the last 30 years singing like a caged bird about football pitches without a single strand of understanding from administrators who should know better and do something about it.
I must be from another planet with my simplistic diagnosis of the single greatest hindrance to the growth of football, of the industry and of exceptionally gifted players from our domestic football in the country – the football ground. Fix the grounds and watch football grow so fast we can start to compete for space with the EPL on the television and the global information superhighway!
Excellent football grass fields hold the key to the business and development of the game in Nigeria. South Africans watch the EPL and still watch their own domestic matches because their matches are also exciting to watch. Here in Nigeria, the poor grounds, mostly astro-turf, destroy the game. That’s why foreign teams refuse to come to Nigeria to play friendlies. That’s why our great professional players in Europe complain every time they return home to play on poor pitches.
That’s what Osasu is saying. How come administrators don’t see what we see?
Hear Osasu some more.
‘We are not learning. We are regressing.
All the players are complaining about the pitches in the country. That’s what Gernot Rohr told me. Do you know there is a not a single good pitch in the whole country?
Every time, the players struggle to play in Asaba, Port Harcourt, even in Uyo.
We want to host the FIFA Under-20 Women’s championship when we do not have one pitch good enough to host a proper Super Eagles match in the entire country. Are we serious at all?
That’s why there is no football industry in the country. All of us are hungry. There is no work, so I am leaving you people and relocating to where I will find work and survive’.
‘The federation is in disarray, in real shambles. Do you know that Gernot Rohr has not been paid for almost three months? Do you know that Thomas Dennerby was not on the bench when the Falcons failed in their last match and will not be at the Olympics again for the third time in a row? Why did he leave Nigeria unceremoniously?
‘Do you know that a whole Nigeria does not have a football house? Even when a FIFA delegation came visiting, they were hosted in a hotel. Can you believe it? Where does such a thing happen? Is that not when and where you showcase your country and football?
‘The football house building inside the National Stadium in Abuja, commissioned by President Jonathan, has been unoccupied since it was built. It is now home to rats and cockroaches. It has become the shame of our nation’ .
Osasu is now on a roll.
‘Who are the football technicians in CAF?
Who can talk football in CAF?
There used to be only Kalusha and Tenger, former internationals for their countries. They have both been swept aside with the waves of politics. African football does not want intelligent, knowledgeable people’ .
I add my own thoughts.
I recall visiting the University of Manchester some years ago to watch the Umbro International Annual Soccer Tournament with late Dr. Adeleke Olaiya of the Nigeria School Sports Federation.
The university, one university, had 35 football fields on its campus. The worst of the fields is better than the best in the entire country of Nigeria.
Back to Osasu. He rants on.
‘Who are the technicians in African football administration?
Do you know you can’t have a 5-minutes decent technical conversation with anybody in the leadership’?
‘Take Lee. Thank God he is there with you in Wasimi. I know he will do great things and produce world class athletes.
Since 1983 that the World Athletics Championship started in Finland, do you know that Nigeria has not produced a single World Champion?
Yet, here we are in 2019 celebrating a single Bronze medal from a championship that other smaller African countries are excelling in. Something is wrong with us’.
‘There is no plan to win.
There is no program for development. It does not take much to train an athlete. We can start producing athletes that can compete for a medal within 2 years with the abundance of natural talent Nigeria has’.
Osasu takes over.
‘What happened at the World Championship in Doha is what will happen at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Mark my words.
Nigeria does not care about sport.
We have gone through 3 past Olympics without a single medal.
All Nigeria has is sorrow, tears and blood for the athletes and the people. I am tired of you people’.
Lee joins in again.
‘The money Nigeria spends on one Senator is enough to produce a world champion.
I don’t understand how and why Nigerians stand it, and just go on. I tell you, one senator’s salary for one year will produce 5 Gold medalists for Nigeria in 2 years!’
Osasu resumes.
‘In 36 years, how is it possible that Nigeria has not won a single medal when it can do so easily with the right leadership and guidance? It is annoying. There is no sense of responsibility towards the country. Things must change.
You can quote me. I am not afraid to say the truth. I don’t care’.
Not long to go, Chelsea fans, it’s almost over. Frank Lampard’s team went into this international break with four wins on the bounce and will be looking to continue building that momentum ahead of a busy spell that starts with Saturday’s game at home to Newcastle United and is followed by visits to Ajax and Burnley.
Yet the head coach has a number of injury concerns going into the visit of Steve Bruce’s side – especially in midfield. How will Chelsea line up?
Goalkeeper Kepa did not have the easiest of international breaks with Spain, conceding a last-minute penalty to Norway and then losing his place to David de Gea for the game against Sweden only to come on when the Manchester United goalkeeper injured a groin. Is this the weekend he can record a second clean sheet of the season? Willy Caballero may have an eye on the Manchester United Carabao Cup tie on Wednesday week. Defence Cesar Azpilicueta should be well-rested after the break and the Chelsea captain will be looking to maintain his fine form having shaken off a sluggish start last month. The skipper has been used at right back and as a right-sided centre back but expect him to carry out the former role against Newcastle depending on injuries to the first-choice centre backs. Antonio Rudiger is nearing fitness but is unlikely to be ready for Saturday, while Andreas Christensen is a major doubt because of a hamstring issue. Fikayo Tomori will remain at the heart of defence, most likely alongside Kurt Zouma. Reece James is fit having withdrawn from the England under-21s but will only start if Azpilicueta is pushed inside. At left back Lampard has a dilemma. Emerson Palmieri had impressed early in the campaign before being injured playing for Italy last month. Marcos Alonso stepped in and acquitted himself well in his place. But now Emerson is back in training and it will be interesting to see if he becomes automatic first-choice again or if Alonso has done enough to retain his spot. Midfield N’Golo Kante’s injury woes continue. The France midfielder is now troubled by a groin tweak following ankle and knee issues. Lampard has been reluctant to push his star player through the pain barrier so he seems almost certain to sit out Saturday’s game. He does have an outside chance of being ready for Ajax on Wednesday. Mateo Kovacic is fighting to shake off a knock sustained when playing for Croatia against Wales, while Jorginho will be fresh having sat out Italy’s second match away to Liechtenstein.
The England pair of Mason Mount and Ross Barkley started a game each for Gareth Southgate’s team, appearing off the bench in the other. However Barkley was seen with an ice pack strapped to his leg after Monday’s 6-0 win away to Bulgaria. Mount is fully fit and a certain starter.
Forward
The front three may be unchanged from the Southampton win. Callum Hudson-Odoi continues to sharpen up, impressing for England Under-21s, while Tammy Abraham only featured for a couple of minutes for the seniors against Czech Republic last Friday.
Willian has impressed Lampard in recent weeks and was not part of the Brazil squad that faced Senegal and Nigeria so will also start.
In reserve there are a couple of frustrated minds. Christian Pulisic suffered the indignity of being taken off an hour into the US’s embarrassing defeat to Canada and the best he can hope for right now is an appearance off the bench.
Olivier Giroud said he is committed to the cause but needs playing time, while Michy Batshuayi appears second in command and found the net for Belgium. Pedro remains on the fringes.
The England pair of Mason Mount and Ross Barkley started a game each for Gareth Southgate’s team, appearing off the bench in the other. However Barkley was seen with an ice pack strapped to his leg after Monday’s 6-0 win away to Bulgaria. Mount is fully fit and a certain starter.
Forward
The front three may be unchanged from the Southampton win. Callum Hudson-Odoi continues to sharpen up, impressing for England Under-21s, while Tammy Abraham only featured for a couple of minutes for the seniors against Czech Republic last Friday.
Willian has impressed Lampard in recent weeks and was not part of the Brazil squad that faced Senegal and Nigeria so will also start.
In reserve there are a couple of frustrated minds. Christian Pulisic suffered the indignity of being taken off an hour into the US’s embarrassing defeat to Canada and the best he can hope for right now is an appearance off the bench.
Olivier Giroud said he is committed to the cause but needs playing time, while Michy Batshuayi appears second in command and found the net for Belgium. Pedro remains on the fringes.
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Sergio Aguero escaped injury after being involved in a car crash this morning.
The Manchester City striker needed no medical attention, and his Range Rover suffered only minor damage.
The prang is not expected to affect Aguero ’s availability for Sunday’s game at Crystal Palace, although he did miss Argentina’s two games during the international break because of an ongoing niggle.
Reports suggested Aguero was on his way to the City Football Academy, but he was not due in training – the first team squad had the day off after being signed off international duty yesterday.
He later posted a picture of the damage on his Instagram account with the message “What a great morning”.
It is the second time Aguero has been involved in a car accident since signing for the Blues in 2011.
In September 2017, he suffered a fractured rib after the taxi in which he was travelling crashed into a lamp-post in Amsterdam.
That injury kept him out for a fortnight, which meant he missed two games.
This week Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said that Aguero had not been in the national squad due to an ongoing issue which has prevented him from training full-time with City.
But Scaloni added that the 31-year-old is expected to play in next month’s international break.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that both Paul Pogba and David de Gea have been ruled out of contention to feature against Liverpool in the
Premier League on Sunday.
Pogba has been recovering in Dubai during the international break and posted various pictures of his sessions on Instagram but Solskjaer confirmed he isn’t available for selection against Jurgen Klopp’s men.
“Paul had an injury, he came back, he worked really hard,” he told Sky Sports .
“He came back and played a couple of games, maybe played through the pain barrier.
“He had a scan after the Arsenal game and maybe needed a few weeks’ rest in a boot so hopefully he won’t be too long, but he won’t make this game, no.”
De Gea added to Solskjaer’s injury woes after being substituted for Spain against Sweden on Tuesday night.
The goalkeeper was forced off with a suspected groin problem after kicking the ball and the United manager confirmed the Spaniard won’t be fit to play with Sergio Romero taking his place between the sticks.
Solskjaer added: “David needs a scan.
“I think he’ll be out. It certainly looked like it anyway judging on last night so it’s just one of those things.”
The United boss did have some positive news for United fans, revealing he is optimistic on the fitness of Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka for the Old Trafford clash.
“I can’t tell you 100 per cent [who] is going to be fit as something might happen,” he said.
“But hopefully Aaron and Anthony will last the training this week and be available for selection. If it’s for half a game or 30 minutes I don’t know but let’s see where they’re at.”
The academy system remains the traditional route for football’s brightest stars, with talent spotters often identifying precocious talent at ever-increasingly younger age groups.
That said, there have been instances of several Premier League stars who have taken unorthodox routes to the summit of English football. We’ve decided to take a look back at some of the division’s best success stories, those who have emerged from the most unheralded of footballing backgrounds.
Here are five of the best ‘rags to riches’ Premier League footballers…
Rickie Lambert
Having been dropped by boyhood club
Liverpool and then released by Blackpool as a youngster, Lambert spent the majority of his career in the lower divisions turning out for clubs such as Macclesfield Town, Stockport County and Rochdale.
He would spend the summer of 2001 working in a beetroot factory, before Macclesfield took a gamble by offering him £50-a-week in travel expenses.
He would slowly develop his game at Moss Rose and later Stockport, before a fine goalscoring record at Rochdale earned him a switch to Bristol Rovers where his career really began to take off.
Lambert scored 51 league goals in 128 appearances for the League One side, prompting Southampton to sign the then 27-year-old forward for an eyebrow raising £1m after their own slip into the third tier.
Lambert would prove the catalyst behind back-to-back promotions for the South Coast club, hitting 117 goals in 235 appearances during his five-year spell at the club. That form saw his career come full circle, rejoining boyhood club Liverpool in 2014.
Whilst the move may not have worked out, it was a dream come true for the Liverpool local who also earned senior international recognition, memorably scoring with his first touch for England against Scotland in 2013.
Charlie Austin
Another born goalscorer, Austin scored prolifically in non-league football for Kintbury Rangers, Hungerford Town and Poole Town, his form at the latter persuading Swindon to gamble on the predatory forward.
Prior to his 2009 move, Austin worked as a bricklayer for his father’s building firm, the forward believing his chance in football had gone after being rejected by Reading aged 14.
Austin would handle the step-up to Swindon and League One admirably, scoring 31 goals in 54 league games for the club to earn a move up another division to Burnley. Another prolific spell would earn him a switch to divisional rivals QPR, who he would fire to promotion to the Premier League.
He would score 18 goals as the club were relegated the following season, proving he belonged at Premier League level. A move to Southampton would follow, where he would spend four seasons before joining West Brom in 2019.
Steve Finnan
The only player in football history to have played in the World Cup, Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup, all four divisions of English football and the Conference, former Ireland full-back Finnan’s career saw him perform reliably across a host of competitions.
Beginning his career at non-league Welling Town, Finnan would represent the likes of Notts County, Birmingham and Fulham before a successful five-year spell at Liverpool.
At Anfield he would win the Champions League and FA Cup, whilst he also earned 53 caps for the Republic of Ireland in a successful international career.
Les Ferdinand
Spotted by QPR whilst playing for non-league side Hayes pre-Premier League, Ferdinand would go on to become one of the division’s most prolific goal-getters during a distinguished career.
Ferdinand began his career at non-league AEL before moving to Southall and then Hayes, before QPR gambled on his ability and signed him for £30,000 in 1987.
‘Sir’ Les would go on to score 149 Premier League goals and earn 17 England caps, his finest season coming with Newcastle in 1995/96, scoring 25 goals to be named as the PFA Player’s Player of the Year.
Jamie Vardy
Perhaps the best story on this list.
Vardy’s meteoric rise has been well documented, having risen from part-time football to Premier League title-winner and record breaker at Leicester City.
Released by boyhood club Sheffield Wednesday, Vardy would turn out for Stocksbridge Park Steels and F.C. Halifax Town before earning a move to ambitious Fleetwood Town.
Just one prolific season with the seaside club attracted Leicester’s interest, who signed the forward to boost their hopes of promotion from the Championship.
Vardy would help the Foxes secure a return to the top flight, before playing a crucial role in arguably the greatest sporting story of all-time. Having narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, rank outsiders Leicester would shock world football by winning the Premier League, with Vardy scoring 24 goals.
That total included a Premier League record of scoring in 11 consecutive games, the forward being named as the FWA Footballer of the Year and Premier League Player of the Season.
At 32 he continues to be the club’s focal point, recently moving ahead of Gary Lineker into sixth place in the club’s all-time scoring charts.
Many football fans hate the international break when their players pick up injuries, and Chelsea fans are no different.
Blues supporters have had to endure another tortuous week looking at some of their players once again drop down with injuries.
It has been a tricky start for Frank Lampard as he looks to mould his new side, and he has had to deal with some big injury problems to some key players.
N’Golo Kante, Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek are just a few big players who Lampard has been able to use to the full extent, while the Chelsea boss has had to change his formation several times because of it.
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