Daily Trust

Arsenal loan out Nwakali to MVV Maastricht

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Dutch club MVV Maastricht have confirmed the loan signing of Nigeria U-20 internatio­nal Kelechi Nwakali from Arsenal.

Nwakali had to be recalled from a loan spell at VVV Venlo due to his lack of first-team opportunit­ies, and has penned a deal that will keep him at MVV for the rest of the 20172018 campaign.

“Last season we have already seen that Kelechi is a multifunct­ional attacking midfielder, who has a nose for the ‘final pass’,” coach Ron Elsen told MVV’s official website.

“He returns in an attacking and dominant way of playing, as MVV wants to use it. He can get away at ‘10’, but also as a winger.

“At VVV Venlo he has also shown at Eredivisie that he can be of value for the team in which he plays. At MVV Maastricht, however, he can collect even more minutes of play. Several football enthusiast­s have hailed the home-based Super Eagles for their victory over Equatorial Guinea, pointing out that the Eagles were gaining confidence with each game.

The home-based Eagles came from a goal down to beat Equatorial Guinea 3-1 on Tuesday at Agadir.

It was in a 2018 African Nations Championsh­ip (CHAN) Group C clash in Morocco.

Victory for Nigeria sealed their place in the knockout stages as group winners, with goals from Anthony Okpotu, Ekundayo Ojo and Rabiu Ali condemning Nzalang Nacional to a third straight defeat.

A cross-section of football enthusiast­s said in Abuja that the Eagles were more impressive against the Guineans.

Some of the respondent­s added that the team have been growing in confidence right

“We know what we can and should expect from him. That has absolutely weighed in our decision to bring him back to Maastricht.”

Nwakali played 34 official matches for MVV Maastricht during the past season, in which he managed to find the net 3 times. from their very first match.

Musa Talle, Chairman of FCT Football Associatio­n, said the players gave a good account of themselves against an Equatorial Guinea side which deployed so many tactics to frustrate the Eagles.

“We thank God for this victory. Indeed it wasn’t an easy game as the Equatorial Guineans had nothing at stake but pride to play for.

“So, they deployed all manner of tactics just to frustrate and destabilis­e the Eagles, especially after they scored the opener against the run of play. Overall, I will say it’s a much more improved performanc­e compared to the Eagles’ first and second games and I hope they can continue to improve and gain momentum as they progress in the tournament,” he said. LeBron James has surpassed Kobe Bryant to become the youngest NBA player to reach 30,000 regular-season points.

The Cleveland Cavaliers player needed eight points but managed 28 as his side lost 114102 to the San Antonio Spurs.

James reached 30,000 aged 33 years and 24 days, beating exLos Angeles Lakers star Bryant at 34 years and 104 days.

Only five other men have reached the tally Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlai­n and Dirk Nowitzki.

“Congrats #KingJames. Welcome to the club!” said Dallas Mavericks’ Nowitzki, who has 30,808 regular season points. Reacting to his feat, James said: “The moment was unbelievab­le.

“The journey is something that I’ve been on for quite a while now and I will never take it for granted. It’s unbelievab­le to be able to share something like that with my crazy team-mates. Let’s keep this thing going and strive for greatness.”

The former Miami Heat player now has more landmarks in his sights, including Kareem’s career points total of 38,387.

 ?? Photo: REUTERS ?? Neymar contest for the ball with with St Etienne’s Bryan Dabo during their Ligue 1 match on August 25, 2017
Photo: REUTERS Neymar contest for the ball with with St Etienne’s Bryan Dabo during their Ligue 1 match on August 25, 2017
 ??  ?? Ekundayo Ojo
Ekundayo Ojo
 ??  ?? LeBron James
LeBron James

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