Super Eagles forward Moses Simon won’t be leaving Gent for anything less than 20m euros according to the technical director of the team Michel Louwagie.
Simon has been heavily linked with a move away from the Belgian side with West Brom and Monaco particularly interested in the former As Trencin man.
However as reported by this portal French side Monaco opened discussions with Gent over his possible transfer in the summer, but the demands of the Belgian side differs from what they are offering.
Louwagie while responding to rumours about Simon confirmed they have received offers for the forward but none has met the club valuation of their prized asset.
He insists that the forward will be sold for nothing less than 20 million euros. He cited the transfer of Simon’s international teammate and close friend Wilfred Ndidi to Leicester City from Genk for £16m as a sign of how wise Belgium clubs have become in transfer dealings.
“Why could they sell in the Netherlands to amounts to over thirty million euros?”
“Where is Memphis Depay now? With PSV sold to Manchester United with a lot of drumstick. Vincent Janssen, AZ’s top scorer, came to Tottenham for lot of money, but he is yet to get enough minutes on the field.”
“In terms of efficiency, is he better than Simon?”
“The trend is reversed: Wilfred Ndidi in December, later some Anderlecht boys.”
“Anyone who wants our players will have to pay”, he told Voetballmagazine.
High flying French Ligue 1 side Monaco are presently locked in talks with Gent of Belgium over a possible deal in the summer for dashing winger Moses Simon, according to Belgium publication Voetbalkrants.com.
Monaco have resigned to losing some of their top stars after a stellar season in France and Europe, with the team currently leading the Ligue 1 table and also through to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League.
The club views Simon as a player who can replace some of their stars who are expected to leave in the summer, and suggestions are that the deal is almost near completion as both parties are eager for the move to go through.
Presently what is holding the deal is a compromise on what will be the sell on clause due to Gent, if the 23-year-old leaves Monaco in a few years time, and the duration which the clause will last.
Reports gathered by Owngoalnigeria.com sources have it that Monaco are willing to pay £12m for his services, plus the promise of first team football which will sway him their way ahead of English Premier League side West Brom who are also interested in his services.
Simon wants to represent Nigeria at next summer World Cup in Russia if Nigeria qaualifies and will only accept a move to a team that will assure him of their plans for him as regards playing time.
.Kayode, Ndidi, Simon, Lawal, Balogun on parade .Echiejile missing
Olympiacos striker, Brown Ideye has expressed gratitude to the club fans after the team secured a place in the next round of the Europa League despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Young Boys.
The Super Eagles forward who has scored seven goals for the Greek side was in action for 90 minutes at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskáki.
Olympiacos are 2nd in Group B with 8 points and will move to the next round with leaders APOEL on 9 points.
“Thank you everyone for all the support? #nextround #olympiacos #wekeepondreaming #believe,” he said via @Ideyebrown.
Nigerian forward Olanrewaju Kayode however failed to hit target as Austria Wien lost 1-2 at home to AFC Astra in their Europa League clash on Thursday night.
Kayode who is expected to be called up by Super Eagles Manager, Gernot Rohr for January’s international friendly against Egypt in Dubai, could not replicate his Austrian Bundesliga form where he has so far scored five goals this term against the Romanian side, leaving Austria Wien on third position with just five points in Group E, two points behind the Romanian side and six point adrift leaders, Roma.
Super Eagles left-back, Elderson Echiejile was missing as Standard de Liège record a 1-1 away draw to Celta de Vigo in their Europa League clash at the Estadio de Balaídos. The Nigeria defender has made just three appearances for the Belgian side since joining on loan from Monaco.
Wilfred Ndidi (top) celebrating the goal with his teammates
Midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi tasted 90 minute of action as he helped Genk secure a place in the next round following a 1-0 victory over Rapid Wien at the Luminus Arena. Ndidi’s superb form this season has seen him become a £16m transfer target for Premier League side, Leicester City.
Moses Simon in action against Sporting Braga
Defender, Leon Balogun was in action as Mainz 05 held Saint-Étienne to a goalless draw at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. The 28 year old was however booked in the 16th minute of encounter.
Anderson Esiti taking on a Sporting Braga player
Moses Simon and Anderson Esiti helped Genk through to the next round after recording a 2-2 draw with Sporting Braga to top Group F with nine points. While Simon was substituted in the 70 minutes for Brecht Dejaegere, Esiti was replaced in the 85th minute by Jérémy Perbet.
Raheem Lawal featured for Osmanlıspor against Steaua Bucureşti on Thursday night
Raheem Lawal featured for 29 minutes as his Turkish side, Osmanlıspor lost 2-1 at Steaua Bucureşti. The Nigeria international replaced Adam Maher in the 61 minute as a precaution after the Netherland star was yellow carded. Despite the loss, Osmanlıspor sit on top Group L with seven points.
“Thank God and my fans for their prayers ?I’m back fully but unfortunately we lost the game last night and we’re still on the top of the table….We promise to get 3points next Europa League game to proceed to the knockout stage INSHA ALLAH ??⚽️… Jumat Mubarak,” Lawal posted on his Instagram page @raheem_lawal on Friday.
Nigeria international, Moses Simon scored his second goal in as many games to help his Belgian side Gent overcome Lokeren 3-0 in a league game.
Last season, Moses Simon had a tough time in front of goal, scoring just three goals in 32 appearances. A far cry from his first six months at the club, when he scored seven goals from 17 games after his transfer in the winter transfer window of 2015.
Simon scored his second goal of the season in the 70th minute to extend Gent’s lead to 3-0, in a game that saw three Nigerians playing for the winners of the tie.
In the same game, Anderson Esiti, who has one cap for Nigeria started on his debut for the team he joined on transfer deadline day and put in a strong shift in the middle for the 2015 champions of Belgium.
New signing Rabiu Ibrahim was introduced for his debut in the 78th minute and the player was his usual self with flicks and tricks that drew applause from the home fans.
Super Eagles forwards, Moses Simon and Brown Ideye scored for their respective clubs in Friday’s pre-season friendly in Europe.
Gent and Olympiacos played out a 2-2 draw in the match played on Friday night.
Simon opened the scoring in the 32nd minute to give Belgian club Gent a 1-0 lead, before Ideye equalised for the Greek champions six minutes later, africanFootball.com reports.
In another pre-season game, Nigeria-born Karim Onisiwo hit target for German Bundesliga side, Mainz 05, in the club 7-0 thrashing of FV Biebrich 02.
Onisiwo scored Mainz’ seventh goal in the 64th minute.
English Premier League side, Tottenham Hotspur, is keeping close tabs on Nigerian youngsters – Kingsley Madu, Moses Simon and Wilfred Ndidi ahead of next season.
The club scouts watched the trio in action during Nigeria’s 3-1 win over Luxembourg on Tuesday night, although they were second half substitutes for the Super Eagles at the Josy Barthel Stadium, Goal reports.
Ndidi features for KRC Genk in the Belgian Jupiler League and has a contract until 2020, while Simon who boasts of six international caps for Nigeria, remains a player of KAA Gent till 2019.
Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon, is poised to make his fourth Champions League appearance this season when Belgian champions KAA Gent welcome Wolfsburg to the Ghelamco Arena in Wednesday night’s round of 16 tie.
Simon practiced without any limitation on Monday and was involved in the team’s final training session on Tuesday morning, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.
The ex- AC Trencin star was injured in the 28th minute of the Pro League game with Royal Mouscron-Péruwelz and had to be replaced in order not to aggravate the injury.
Furthers tests revealed that the exciting winger only suffered a slight knock.
Super Eagles chief coach, Sunday Oliseh must be growing grey hairs in his base in Belgium, following revelation on Saturday that Nigeria international, Moses Simon was forced out of a Belgian Jupiler League match for champions Genk due to injury.
However, the severity of the injury has yet to be ascertained as Nigeria prepare to face Egypt in an all-important AFCON 2017 qualifier next month. But it simply means that Oliseh must dig deep into his bag of tricks to replace Simon Moses, if it turns out that he won’t be available for the March 26 cracker against Egypt at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.
The former Trencin of Slovakia hitman was forced to leave the pitch limping in the 27th minute in Friday’s game when his side beat Mouscron-Peruwelz 2-0. He was replaced with Mbark Boussoufa, who later scored .
The 20-year-old dashing winger, who has scored two goals in the league this season, only recently signed a new contract with the Belgian club, who are top of the league and on course to successfully defending the league crown they won last season.
Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon, has been included on Gent UEFA Champions League squad despite missing his Belgian club’s league game at the weekend due to flu.
Belgian champions Gent plays away to Valencia in Tuesday night’s Champions League, africanFootball.com reports.
The club lost its opening Champions League game 2-1 at Russia’s Zenit St.Petersburg, while Valencia edged French side Lyon 1-0 two weeks ago.
Simon, who impressed in Eagles 3-0 win over Cameroon in a recent friendly, was not listed by Gent for a league game at Mouscron-Peruwelz on Friday.
Gent won 2-1 on the road to move to the top of the Belgian league.
KAA Gent winger, Moses Simon, has spoken of his joy at scoring his first international goal and said he wants to score more for Nigeria whenever he is invited.
Simon, who came on in the second half, scored Nigeria’s second goal against Niger Republic as the Super Eagles ran out 2-0 winners on the day.
The friendly at the Adokiye Amasiemaka was Simon’s fourth cap for Nigeria and said he is delighted after scoring against the Nigeriens, supersport.com reports.
Simon hit home 17 goals in 38 games for Slovakian side AS Trecin which alerted several European teams who queued up to sign the 20-year-old.
“It’s a fantastic thing to score for Nigeria. Every striker who is a Nigerian dreams of playing and scoring for the Eagles and I’m no different,” he told supersport.com.
“I’ve waited for that moment all my life and I’m glad it happened. I was happy and over the moon that I didn’t even know how to celebrate the goal.
“I want to thank my teammates and Nigerian fans for their support so far. There is still more to come. I give God the glory,” he added.
Simon also spoke about his goal drought at his club side, insisting that his goal against Niger will signal the beginning of positives things to come this season.
“I want to keep scoring for club and country, that is my target this season,” Simon said.
