The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Azubuike Egwuekwe

  • We won’t repeat Congo mistakes – Egwuekwe

    We won’t repeat Congo mistakes – Egwuekwe

    Super Eagles defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe, said next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Le Sao of Chad will not be taken for granted.

    Egwuekwe, as expected, is one of the 26 home-based players invited for the June 13 game and said the players will be looking to avoid a repeat of the qualifiers for the last Africa Cup of Nations where the team suffered a shock opening day defeat to Congo.

    “One thing that I know for sure is that we will not take them for granted,” he told sl10.ng.

    “Whether they are good or not, to us we will take it very seriously because we have to win. We want to start the qualifiers on a good note and avoid what happened the last time.

    “We lost our first game at home and that really affected us and we don’t want that to happen again. This time, every game we play in the qualifiers will be like a cup final for us and we will put everything in it to ensure we qualify for the next Africa Cup of Nations,” he said.

    When asked how easy or difficult he expects the Chadians to be, the 25-year old admitted he’s yet to see them play.

    “Well I can’t really say because I haven’t seen them play before so I don’t know how good they are,” he added.

  • Egwuekwe joins Hapoel Tel Aviv

    Egwuekwe joins Hapoel Tel Aviv

    Nigeria international defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe, has joined Israeli club, Hapoel Tel Aviv.

    The lanky defender signed with the Israeli club on Friday after having completed his medical tests, supersport.com reports.

    Egwuekwe only arrived in Israel on Friday to join the Red Demons for an undisclosed fee.

    “Nigerian Egwuekwe Azubuike landed in Israel in the morning and signed after passing medical tests earlier this week,” supersport.com quoted the club as saying in its the official website.

    Earlier this week, reports had suggested that the Warri Wolves captain and defender was set to join English club, West Ham United having made a trip to London.

    He was also linked to English Championship side, Watford.

  • Panathinaikos join race for Egwuekwe

    Panathinaikos join race for Egwuekwe

    Greek club Panathinaikos have joined the queue of European clubs rumoured to be interested in signing Azubuike Egwuekwe from Warri Wolves.

    A transfer in the January transfer window is being mooted, with the likes of Penafiel, Watford and Udinese reportedly keen on the Nigeria international.

    Tuttomercatoweb.com says Panathinaikos have opened talks with Azubuike Egwuekwe’s camp over a move for the center back this month.

    Though England has been touted as a possible destination, in reality it appears the proposed switch might not materialise due to red-tape.

    Over the last two years, the 25-year-old has not played 75 percent of national team matches.

    The  most concrete interest has come from Portuguese setup Penafiel, who had wanted to sign the Super Eagle on loan for five months, but Warri Wolves opted not to sanction the move after insisting on an outright sale.

    The towering central defender had played for Nasarawa United before he ended up on the books of Warri Wolves.

  • West Ham tables bid for Egwuekwe

    West Ham tables bid for Egwuekwe

    Warri Wolves skipper, Azubike Egwuekwe, has moved closer to nailing a deal with interested English Premier League club West Ham United.

    The African Nations Cup 2013 winner was recently in London for trials with the Hammers and made a favourable impression, africanFootball.com reports.
    West Ham, according to reports has made an offer of £500,000 for a contract of three and a half years.

    However, the amount falls short of the player’s agent asking price of £1.2m.

    West Ham, africanFootball.com, is also offering a £15,000-a-week wage for the big central defender, while his Nigeria clubside wants €300,000.

    Egwuekwe, who is currently with the Super Eagles ‘B’ team ahead of a friendly against Sudan on Saturday, hinted last week he has received an offer from an EPL club.

    “Offers are coming from overseas, I have an offer from an EPL club, the (English) Championship and from Russia,” he disclosed.

    “I am still a Warri Wolves, but at the end of this month, I hope to say bye bye to Warri Wolves.”

     

  • Udinese joins race for Egwuekwe

    Udinese joins race for Egwuekwe

    Udinese Calcio has reportedly enquired about the services of Warri Wolves central defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe.

    The Serie A side, according to sl10.ng, faces competition for the 25-year-old as English Championship side, Watford, is also interested in signing the big defender.

    The report says his Nigerian club is willing to do business with serious clubs that want the services of the Super Eagles defender.

    The defender will cost between £100,000 and €200,000, sl10.ng says.

    Egwuekwe came through the Yerima Strikers football system and also played for Nasarawa United in the past.

     

  • Wolves battle Sharks with depleted side

    Wolves battle Sharks with depleted side

    Warri Wolves are going  to be without the services of key four players when they take on table toppers Sharks of Porthacourt in Warri.

    Ikechukwu Ibenegbu popularly called “Mosquito” will miss the vital clash after picking up an ankle compliant on his return from a two-month injury lay-off against Crown on Sunday.

    Also Goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi, and central defender Azubuike Egwuekwe will be absent from the Sharks game as they are expected to fly out with the Super Eagles technical crew to London for the friendly game against Scotland.

    Another sure absentee will be Azubuike Egwuekwe’s defensive partner Ikechukwu Thankgod who is out due to the suspension.

    Sharks will be hoping to capitalise on the above mention absentees in goal, defence and midfield to consolidate their grip on the top spot in the league.

    Today’s game against Warri Wolves will go a long way in determining if Sharks Fc who have topped the league for eight weeks now are genuine title contender or pretenders.

    Warri Wolves on their part will be hoping star striker Gbolahan Salami continues in his good form as he faces his former manager at Sunshine Stars Gbenga Ogunbote after their infamous fight that lead to his leaving Sunshine Stars four season’s ago.

  • CAF CONFEDEDERATIONS CUP: EGWUEKWE, MADUABUCHI LAND IN TUNISIA

    CAF CONFEDEDERATIONS CUP: EGWUEKWE, MADUABUCHI LAND IN TUNISIA

    SUPER EAGLES defender and the skipper of Warri Wolves, Azubuike Egwuekwe has arrived in Bizerte, Tunisia for the second leg of their CAF Confederations Cup tie with C.A.Bizertin.

    His arrival was well celebrated by the players and Officials of Wolves, who are in Tunisia with the sole aim of making it to the second round in spite of the fact that the first leg in Warri ended goalless.

    He arrived with another key player, Josiah Maduabuchi. According to the Media Manager of Wolves Moses Etu, Azubuike who got married last weekend could not travel with the rest of the team.

    Maduabuchi was left behind due to paper works but both players have been training in Lagos under a Coach and arrived Bizerte on Friday morning.

    Azubuike expressed happiness that he has made it at last and vowed to use his experience to guide the team to victory.

  • Egwuekwe’s South African move crashes

    Egwuekwe’s South African move crashes

    Super Eagles defender, Azubuike Egwuekwe, will no longer join South African club Bidvest Wits as he was not impressed with the cash offered by the club.

    A top source familiar with this deal informed MTNFootball.com that the big central defender who featured for Nigeria at the recent CHAN in South Africa has since returned to Nigeria.

    “Azubuike was very close to joining Wits, but in the end he did not because he was not satisfied with the money the club offered him,” the source told MTNFootball.com.

    Wits coach Gavin Hunt is in the market for a big central defender after he released Musa Bilankulu and the experienced Bafana star Matthew Booth is not getting younger.

    Egwuekwe had therefore stayed back in South Africa after CHAN and along with Warri Wolves marketing consultant, Emma Ibru, discussed with Wits with a view to signing for the club.

    Before the Wits deal, the Wolves skipper had revealed he will be moving to Italy.

    He is now most likely to rejoin the Warri club, who had registered him for this year’s CAF Confederation Cup.

     

  • Egwuekwe passes Wits FC medical

    Egwuekwe passes Wits FC medical

    THERE are strong indications that Warri Wolves FC of Warri’s defender Azubuike Egwuekwe has passed the medicals conducted by Wits FC of South Africa’s doctors and looks poised to sign for the South African side.

    Timi Ebikagboro, former media officer of Warri Wolves, has revealed that Egwuekwe has already undergone a medical in South Africa.

    Ebikagboro wrote on his Facebook page: “Super Eagles and Warri Wolves defender Azubuike Egwuekwe having done his medical and with Emmanuel Ibru on the ground in South Africa to finalise the deal will hopefully sign for Wits FC of South Africa, while Ejike Uzoenyi will likely sign for Orlando Pirates of South Africa.”

    Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt is believed to be an admirer of Warri Wolves skipper Egwuekwe, with the towering centre-back representing a perfect addition to the Wits backline after they released Musa Bilankulu to Bloemfontein Celtic.

    KickOff.com has learnt that Nigerian stars Ejike Uzoenyi, Azubuike Egwuekwe and Solomon Kwambe are close to sealing moves to South African clubs.

    Uzoenyi was named Chan MVP at the conclusion of the tournament held in South Africa, and is believed to be a transfer target for Orlando Pirates.

    The trio did not return with the rest of the Super Eagles squad on Sunday night when the team arrived in Lagos, adding weight to speculation that they are locked in negotiations with PSL clubs.