Newcastle United’s coach Rafa Benitez has recalled Sammy Ameobi from his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers.
The 24-year-old, whose contract at the St James’ Park expires at the end of this season, last featured for the Magpies in 2015 and his future had seemed away from the EFL Championship high flyers, with the Trotters hoping to make his deal permanent.
But a combination of his impressive showings – four goals in 24 appearances for Phil Parkinson’s side – and loss of influential players such as Mohamed Diame and Christian Atsu to African Cup of Nations duty, leaves the Spaniard no option but to hand the former Nigeria U-20 international another chance.
“He has done well with Bolton. He is a player that can play in the wide areas,” Benitez told Chronicle Live.
“We’ll bring him back and see if he is fine and can give us something. We have players going to the African Cup of Nations.We have to be sure we have some players. If he’d doing well why not?
“It depends on him if he can stay here or not. It depends how much he can give to us,” he said.
Tag: Ameobi
-
Benitez hands Ameobi Newcastle United lifeline
-
Ameobi plays last game for Bolton Saturday -Official
Nigeria striker Shola Ameobi will play his last game for English Championship side Bolton Wanderers on Saturday when his deal will expire.
This is due to the financial difficulty in the team, a situation the assistant manager Steve Walford described as shameful.
“Shola is fine, he’s fit,” Walford told The Bolton News. “But he’s obviously on a short-term contract which runs out on Saturday and we’re not in a position to renew anyone’s contract, so this will be his last week at the football club.
“You’d like to keep someone of his experience around the football club but we’re not in a position to do that. It’s a shame but I’m sure he’ll get fixed up somewhere else.”
He played in Bolton’s 3-2 win over Eastleigh on Tuesday in an FA Cup game.
-
Ameobi promises to do more for Cardiff City
Sammy Ameobi has said he can do more for Cardiff City while on loan from Newcastle United.
“I’m really enjoying it,” said the 23-year-old. “We’ve had a great start to the season and we’ve got a very good team too.
“It’s a really great city to live in, while it’s also good to see the national team doing so well. You can feel the buzz as you walk around the city, as it’s obviously a big thing here, so it’s nice to embrace it.
“But the Cardiff fans have not seen the best of me because I am only coming off the bench. I wanted to come and excite fans. I am a very direct player. I can feel the buzz when I am playing. It’s pressure but I am really confident.”
“Everyone is really together and pushing in the same direction here at Cardiff too. There’s no-one thinking ‘it’s all about me’ – everything is done for the benefit of the team. It’s a good spirit to have and hopefully we can take it forward into the next spell of games.
“I’ve had to bide my time as I was a few weeks behind the others fitness-wise when I arrived. Obviously the guys are doing so well at the moment, but I’m glad I’m getting to play my part in it as well.”
-
Ameobi to play No 10 for Cardiff City
Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has said he will maximise the potentials of Nigeria forward Sammy Ameobi as he is considering him for a central midfield role.
According to walesonline, Slade has contacted former Middlesbrough manager Tony Mowbray who used Ameobi as a number 10 while on loan at ‘Boro in 2013.
“We know he can play number 10 too. I have spoken to others who played him there. Tony Mowbray did it at Middlesbrough, he is more than efficient at number 10. That is a real asset that he can slot into a couple of forward areas. The pace he moves quickly deceptively with the ball,” Slade said.
“We know his capacities, we know we can use his pace outside if we desire, we can use that pace, we used him on the right too recently, though he is left-footed, he’s clever at coming inside onto that left foot,” he said.
-
Keshi hints at Sammy Ameobi call-up
Newcastle United forward Sammy Ameobi is set for a Super Eagles call-up ahead of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has confirmed.
Keshi, returning to the helm substantively after 282 days of uncertainty, has also said he will work towards capping several other overseas-born Nigerians.
“I was in touch with Sammy Ameobi, and it sort of died down after I left, but we will rekindle that now. I will talk to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) General Secretary and President to see if we can bring him in for the qualifiers but he’s not the only one.
“We have several other overseas-born players we want to give a chance. We brought in Steven Ukoh from Switzerland and we still have several others. If they are qualified to play for Nigeria and we think they can give us what we want, surely we’ll bring them in,” said Keshi.
Over the last few years, the NFF have attempted to lure several players born abroad with Nigerian roots or those that have represented other countries at age-group competitions to come play for the Super Eagles.
And they have succeeded in luring the likes of Victor Moses, Leon Balogun, Steven Ukoh, Shola Ameobi, and – most recently – Alex Iwobi, but have also failed with Sydney Sam and also look set to lose Chuba Akpom to England.
Nigeria begins the quest to make the 2017 AFCON in Gabon when qualifiers begin in June. They must go past Egypt, Tanzania and Chad to qualify automatically, and Keshi already reckons he has a lot to do with very little time.
He signed a new two-year contract with the NFF on Tuesday.
-
West Brom join chase for free agent Ameobi
West Brom have joined Everton and Real Sociedad in the chase to sign Newcastle United forward Sammy Ameobi, a free agent in the summer.
West Brom manager Tony Pulis is eyeing a deal to sign Ameobi in the summer if they stay in the Premier League.
‘The Baggies’ boss has expressed his desire to sign the 22- year – old Nigerian, who will be out of contract at St James’ Park and looks set to leave on a free transfer.
West Brom will now battle Everton and Real Sociedad for the winger’s signature in the summer.
The manager is keen to add more pace on the wings after only managing to land one winger in Callum McManaman in January.
-
Ameobi joins Crystal Palace
Shola Ameobi has joined Crystal Palace on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
As previously reported on SL10.ng, the former Newcastle man looked close to signing for West Brom a few days ago, but opted to join his former manager Alan Pardew at Palace instead.
Ameobi played almost 400 games for Newcastle, scoring 79 goals.
The 33-year-old Nigeria international departed England in May 2014 to join Turkish side Gaziantep, but he left Turkey in December.
“I’m very excited to be here, I wanted to get back in the Premier League and having worked with the manager before it’s been great to come back and hopefully help us avoid the relegation battle,” Ameobi told the Palace website.
“I had a couple of other clubs interested but I think my relationship with Alan [Pardew] and how much I enjoyed working with him was one of the big factors in my decision.
“He instils confidence in players and he always seems to get the best out of them, certainly he did that at Newcastle and hopefully he can do that for me and the rest of the lads here.”
-
Ameobi set for sensational Newcastle return
Nigeria striker Shola Ameobi is looking forward to a sensational return to Newcastle United after he ended his sojourn at Turkish second division team Gaziantep BB prematurely. The 33-year-old was released by ‘The Magpies’ in the summer and joined the Turkish team despite interest from MLS and Australian clubs. The big striker who featured at Brazil 2014 FIFA World cup for Nigeria had a good start in Turkey scoring 4 goals in 11 games, but cited family issue as reason behind his decision to call it quit. Speculation is now mounting that Ameobi could be in line for a move back to Newcastle United, with the striker available for nothing and likely to be open to the prospect of signing a short-term deal, according to sportingpreview.com. ‘The Magpies’ remain short on numbers this term following a raft of injury setbacks, while strikers like Emmanuel Riviere and Facundo Ferreyra have both so far failed to impress those behind the scenes at St James’ Park. Alan Pardew’s departure to Crystal Palace could also be of benefit to Ameobi, with the ex-Toon boss previously at the helm of the club when it was decided that the 33-year-old’s contract would not be renewed.
-
Ameobi can be a EPL great
Former Real Madrid and Liverpool striker, Michael Owen, believes Newcastle United winger Sammy Ameobi can become one of the Premier League’s most exciting players.
Owen said the 22-year-old can go on and emulate some of the greatest talents of the English game.
“I have watched Sammy quite a bit over the years and there are times I’ve thought ‘wow” after he’s done something that few other players can.,” said the former Manchester United striker.
“He can run with the ball at his feet as fast as without, he has skill good for a goal as he showed on Sunday.
There is something there.?
“Right now, he’s a tidy player, however, Sammy has it in him to go onto the next level. Who knows what will happen but he’s a real talent.?
“What he needs is belief in himself, maybe for the fans to sing about him. It’s amazing what that can do for your confidence and what confidence can do for any player.
The former England forward, who played alongside Sammy’s brother Shola at Newcastle United, believes Sammy has got more class than Shola.
“I’m told Sammy is a good guy and Shola was a lovely bloke as well. He’s got more in his locker than Shola.
“Sammy is definitely classy. As I said, he does produce moments that not many others can.”
Out of contract in the summer, Ameobi made an impact at Swansea City, scored a goal at Tottenham Hotspur and on Wednesday he played his part in the Capital One Cup victory at Manchester City.
-
Ameobi impresses for Newcastle
Former Nigeria Under-20 Invitee, Sammy Ameobi, won a second half penalty to help 10-man Newcastle United secure a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace in the Capital One Cup.
Ameobi presumably on his last chance with the Magpies, with his current deal set to run out at the end of this season, made a strong case for a contract extension as he was at the helm of most of Newcastle’s flowing moves for the 67 minutes he was on the pitch.
After they went a goal down, Ameobi’s interchange of passes with Adam Armstrong almost set up Emmanuel Riviere for the equaliser and minutes later his cross from the left was missed by a whisker by the new signing.
Less than two minutes after the half time break Ameobi took on Armstrong’s pass and surged into the area but was squeezed between two defenders, McCarthy tripped the wide man and referee Matt Madley awarded a penalty.
Riviere stepped up and confidently dispatched the ball high into roof of the net for his second of the night. Ameobi was replaced in the 67th minute by Moussa Sissoko as Newcastle aimed to seal the game at 2-1.
However, a late equaliser for Crystal Palace by Kakai in time added on ensured a nervy finish that saw Newcastle reduced to 10 men after Mehdi Abeid picked up his second yellow of the game. Paul Dummet scored the winner for Newscatle in the 112th minute during extra time.
The game was Ameobi’s first start of the season but his second game in a space of four days after coming on as a substitute in their weekend Premier league game.
Still eligible for Nigeria despite playing for England at Youth level, Ameobi has long voiced his desire to follow in the footstep of his elder brother Shola who played for Nigeria at the World Cup in June.