Posted by Port Harcourt Telegraph on
Nigerian superstar, Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha's move to Qatar is just one week away, according to reports in the Arab media, who claimed he was close to finalizing terms with Qatar SC.
Nigerian superstar, Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha's move to Qatar is just one week away, according to reports in the Arab media, who claimed he was close to finalizing terms with Qatar SC.
"Everything is being set for the upcoming signing of Okocha for Qatar SC, hopefully next week," the newspaper quoted a club source as saying.
Okocha's four-year contract at English Premiership side, Bolton Wanderers comes to an end with the English club confirming their willingness to release him.
Qatar SC have sent a representative to meet with Okocha at the weekend.
The Nigerian midfielder was also last week linked with a possible move to Saudi Arabia and other reports have said he was likely to return to Turkey, where he previously played at Fenerbahce.
Meanwhile, Maccabi Petach Tikva have snatched up Super Eagles' fringe player, Blessing Kaku from fellow Israeli club, Club Sport Ashdod for $190,000 (about N26.9 million).
Telesports learnt that Ashdod, who only recently sacked two other Nigerian players, Emmanuel Ebiede and Uche Sheriff from their fold, could not match Petach's $19,000 (about N2.6 million) monthly salary offer to him even though they wanted to renew his contract.
Added to the lure to switch over to Petach is the fact that the club qualified for Intertoto Cup next season, whereas Ashdod finished a distant 8th position and thus had no continental incentive.
And whereas Petach signed Emmanuel Ebiede for two years, he did not get as much as Blessing who was engaged for just a season.
"Ashdod wanted to retain him because he helped them to escape relegation when he joined the team, but he wanted a lot of money and the club couldn't afford that and so had to let him go.
"Blessing has improved so much since he joined the team. He is a good player and the club remain grateful to him for rescuing them from a dangerous situation," the source said from Israel.
Meanwhile, former Enyimba player, Uche Sheriff is still marooned in a no-man's Island since his release from the club. Sheriff spent only a season in Ashdod before he was let off the hook.
But Nice FC of France defender, Onyekachi Apam has prepared his mind for any eventuality as a nagging thigh injury worsens his one-year probation in the French.
The defender is on a year probation with the club and the agreement is that his performance within this period will determine the elongation of his stay or otherwise in the club.
But the injury, which he copped at the U-20 World Youth Championship (WYC) in Holland, got aggravated when he joined the club and kept him out of action for over six months.
"The injury is really affecting me because by now I should have been playing for them and changed my contract. To stay for six months without kicking ball, it is unbelievable. But all things work out for good in the end. It doesn't matter much because a good player is a good player.
"The coach and the President of the club believe in me and know what I can do if it is not the injury that has slowed me down. They saw me play in the WYC. I don't have any fear because even if Nice do not renew my contract, I already have several other clubs making overtures to me," he opined.
Apam made the U-23 team to South Africa last Sunday even though he limped out of a friendly game against Nigerian Air Force team a day to their departure. It was not certain if he aggravated the injury or copped a fresh one.
The former Enugu Rangers' defender said that he hoped to re-launch his career with the U-23 team and thanked Coach Daniel Amokachi for believing in him despite his inactiveness.
"My call up to the U-23 team, despite not playing for that long, means that my country still believes in me. It means so much to me and I won't disappoint them because I am okay now. They must have seen me in the friendly match my club played against Ghana few weeks ago," he added.
He regrets the injury that kept him out of action and almost scuttled his new contract with the French club for six months.