Tammy Abraham has today left Chelsea Football Club to join AS Roma in a permanent transfer, ending his long association with the Blues after coming through the ranks in our Academy to represent our men’s first team.

In total, Abraham scored 30 goals in 82 appearances for the club at senior level, primarily over the last two seasons, and was part of the squad which triumphed in the Champions League and UEFA Super Cup this year.

Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia said: ‘Tammy will always be welcomed back at Stamford Bridge as one of our own. We have all enjoyed watching his progress through our Academy and into the first-team squad, and are grateful for his contribution to our successes at senior and youth level.

‘His many goals in a Chelsea shirt and, of course, his part in our Champions League triumph last season will never be forgotten. I’m sure all Chelsea supporters will join me in wishing Tammy a long and successful career.’

After arriving at Cobham at the age of seven, Abraham showed his potential by scoring plenty of goals for Chelsea at youth level while helping us to win back-to-back FA Youth Cups and UEFA Youth Leagues.

The English Premier League is the most-watched football league in Nigeria and they follow their teams with fevered passion. The big four-Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, and Chelsea do not have any Nigerian in their ranks presently but there are some players-both old and young, seeking to lay down markers; quieten the naysayers, while the others just need consistency.

Here are 11 Nigerians to watch out for as the season kicks off on Friday, August 13 with Frank Onyeka’s Brentford testing the EPL waters with a clash against Arsenal, with Folarin Balogun, who are seeking to get back at the top table.

Arsenal – Folarin BALOGUN (20)

This Anglo-Nigerian is another prospect for the Super Eagle and was in demand in Europe when he was holding out to signing a new Arsenal contract. Now signed up for ??? years, Balogun showed glimpses of his talent in the Europa League where he was featured five times and he scored once and provided two assists.

Transfer market values him at Euros 4 million.

Brentford – Frank ONYEKA (23)

Onyeka has started strongly with Brentford as he scored in a 2-1 win over Valencia in a friendly. The powerful box-to-box midfielder showcased his talent in last season’s Champions League and helped FC Midtjylland to the group stages.

He played 10 matches in the UEFA Champions League and scored once whilst also providing one assist. Onyeka has been capped once by Nigeria, but he will seek to add more caps with his performances for the Bees.

Transfer Market values him at Euros $5 million.

Crystal Palace – Eberechi EZE (23)

Amaju Pinnick, the Nigeria Football Federation boss, has not given up on Eze which is why he is included in this list. It was a productive season for the midfield dazzler, as he provided some memorable moments of skill.

He played 34 games for the Eagles and scored four goals, providing six assists. He got injured in May and there is no timeline for his resumption of training or playing under the new manager, Patrick Vieira.

Everton – Alex IWOBI (25)

If there is an important season-a make or break moment, then this is it for Iwobi. The Arsenal fledgling is now a mature man-having played in the EPL for the last seven seasons.

Last season, Iwobi struggled to make any significant contribution under the management of Carlo Ancelotti and at a point, their relationship descended into innuendos and rebuttals. He has another chance to start afresh under Rafa Benitez but he will be assured that as soon as he falls in rating, he will be a constant bench-warmer.

In the 2020/21 season, Iwobi made 30 league appearances, scoring just once and providing two assists. His shot accuracy was a dismal 20%, meaning he will have to work really hard on the training ground to improve his conversion rate.

Transfer market values him at $26 million.

Leicester City – Wilfred NDIDI (24)

Ndidi is so good and humble in his game, it is daunting. Many EPL followers have touted the defensive midfielder to one of the big four for the past three transfer windows but the leggy player starts his sixth season at Leicester, hoping to continue to prove once again that he is good enough for any top-four side in Europe’s top five leagues.

Last season, Ndidi was at the heart of the Foxes defence and midfield and contributed in no small measure to a first-ever FA Cup triumph. In the season opener against Manchester City last Saturday, he took top marks as Leicester added the Community Shield to their array of accomplishments in the last five seasons.

Ndidi made the fourth-most tackles in the EPL with 96 from 26 appearances. He also provided four assists and scored one goal to come in fifth at the end of the season.

Leicester City – Kelechi IHEANACHO (24)

Senior man Kels was the cynosure of all eyes last Saturday as he rose off the bench to win the penalty and score to help Leicester City to their second-ever Community Shield triumph.

Iheanacho finished last season as his team’s top scorer. From February to May, the U-17 World Cup winner was on fire and justified his inclusion. This season, he not only has Jamie Vardy to fight for a place against but also with the arrival of the speedy Patson Daka.

Can he continue to score despite limited minutes or will he finally have the full confidence of Brendan Rodgers to become the Foxes’ first-choice striker?

Transfer Market values him at $24 million.

Southampton – Nathan TELLA (22)

Another of the bright prospects being eyed by Pinnick and his NFF, the 22-year-old all-rounder had more playing time towards the end of last season.

He played as a winger, deep midfielder, striker in 18 games in which he scored once and provided one assist.

Transfer Market values at $2.3 million him.

Watford – William Troost-Ekong (27)

One stalwart of the Watford side who won promotion from the Championship and a dream come true for the defender, born in the Netherlands.

If the Hornets will stay in the EPL, the former Udinese defender will have a lot to do. Last season, he played 32 games and scored one goal.

Transfer Market values at $4.7 million him.

Watford – Oghenekaro ETEBO (25)

Etebo’s game has tailed off, but he finds himself afforded a significant chance to get back in the reckoning of many who swooned over his performances for the Nigeria U-23 team to the Rio Olympics.

He lost his way from Stoke City to Getafe and then to Galatasaray, who opted against signing him at the end of last season.

Transfer Market values him at $3.7 million.

Watford – Isaac SUCCESS (25)

How long will Isaac go without success? The robust, agile, and powerful forward played only 10 games in the Championship and scored one goal.

This could be a season of serious consequence for the U-17 World Cup winner. At 25, he may not get too many more chances as his value continues to plummet.

In December 2018, he was worth about $7 million, but he is worth about $2 million by Transfer Market.

Watford – Emmanuel DENNIS (23)

Will Dennis finally find a home at Watford? Will he showcase the immense talent that showed up against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2019?

Last season, first at Club Brugge and on loan at FC Koln, he registered no goal in 18 league appearances.

Transfer market values him at about $6 million.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Nigerian Football Fedetation has announced a two-year ban on one of the coaches in the country’s lower leagues.

The affected football coach is Remi Amadi of Cofine FC, Akwa Ibom, who was found guilty of attempting to manipulate the outcome of a match five months ago.

According to the statement issued by the NFF, Coach Amadi admitted to having attempted to manipulate the outcome or result of the match between Cofine FC and Bussdor FC as recorded in an audio conversation tendered as evidence.

It was also revealed that coach Amadi admitted he will have benefitted if the attempted manipulation had pulled through.

Based on its numerous findings, the NFF’s Disciplinary Committee slammed a two-year ban on the erring coach and an N500,000 fine on Cofine FC.

The decisions contained in the statement issued read: “A Fine of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500, 000.00) against Cofine FC for being responsible for the action and inaction of its employee (Coach Remi Amadi) in the said match manipulation.

“The result of the match between Cofine FC v. Bussdor FC played on 15th March 2021 at University of Calabar Stadium, Cross Rivers State is hereby cancelled.

“Coach Remi Amadi is found guilty of master-minding the attempted match manipulation between Cofine FC v. Bussdor FC in a match played on 15th March, 2021 at University of Calabar Stadium, Cross Rivers State and is hereby banned for a period of two (2) years from taking part in any football-related activities from the 15th March, 2021 until the 14th March, 2023.

A tearful Naomi Osaka briefly left a press conference in Cincinnati on Monday (Aug 16) after her relationship with the journalists was put under the spotlight by a reporter who accused her of using the media when it suits her.

Osaka has lately had a strained relationship with sections of the media, saying her mental health is adversely impacted by certain lines of questioning.

Hence on Monday when a local Cincinnati reporter at the Western and Southern Open suggested that Osaka benefits from her huge media profile but does not like speaking to reporters, the world number two teared up as she tried to formulate an answer.

“When you say I’m not crazy about dealing with you guys, what does that refer to?” asked Osaka, who is of Japanese-Haitian heritage.

“Ever since I was younger, I have had a lot of media interest on me, and I think it’s because of my background as well.

“I can’t really help that there are some things that I tweet or some things that I say that kind of create a lot of news articles or things like that… but I would also say I’m not really sure how to balance the two. Like I’m figuring it out at the same time as you are, I would say.” During the exchange, she wiped away tears and pulled her visor over her eyes to hide her face before the moderator called for a pause to proceedings.

Osaka left the room briefly but returned to complete the news conference after regaining her composure.

The exchange highlighted the challenges Osaka faces as one of the world’s most famous athletes.

In the lead up to this year’s French Open in May, Osaka said she would be boycotting the obligatory post-match news conferences  at the claycourt major to protect her mental health. The decision led to a backlash from Grand Slam tournament organisers, who fined her and threatened to ban her from the majors if she refused to speak to the media.

The standoff not only led to Osaka revealing that she has struggled to cope with depression for a number of years but it also prompted her to pull out from Roland Garros and Wimbledon for the sake of her mental well-being.

After losing early at the Tokyo Games, where she was given the honour of lighting the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony, she admitted she struggled to cope with the huge pressure and expectation placed on her.

Osaka’s agent Stuart Duguid condemned the reporter’s line of questioning on Monday in a written statement provided to Reuters.

“The bully at the Cincinnati Enquirer is the epitome of why player/media relations are so fraught right now,” said Duguid.

“Everyone on that Zoom will agree that his tone was all wrong and his sole purpose was to intimidate. Really appalling behavior,” he said.

“And this insinuation that Naomi owes her off court success to the media is a myth – don’t be so self-indulgent.” The reporter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 23-year-old Japanese player has used her platform to call attention to mental health issues and said she has felt supported by her fellow athletes.

“The biggest eye opener was going to the Olympics and having other athletes come up to me and say they were really glad that I did what I did,” she said.

“I’m proud of what I did and I think that it was something that needed to be done.”