Soccer
Ex-Scotland and Liverpool right-back, Stephen Nicol, has urged Super Eagles and Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker, Victor Okoh Boniface, to join Saudi-based side, Al-Nassr, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 24-year-old joined Die Werkself from Union Saint-Gilloise, and immediately got the Bay Arena running, winning three consecutive Rookie of the Month Awards.
Boniface ended the 2023/2024 season with the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal titles, scoring 21 goals and providing 10 assists. His stellar displays have now drawn interest from Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Al-Nassr.
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Nicol, who donned Liverpool’s colours between 1981 and 1994, urged Boniface to take the bold step of ditching Europe for more money in Saudi Arabia, as he’s been offered a yearly salary of around €15m.
“It is definitely an individual decision, but when the amount of money is put in front of you, it is very difficult to turn it down. I will suggest that Boniface has had his share of injuries already and he’s only 24, and apart from the money maybe he’s thinking, I maybe cannot turn this down because I might never get the opportunity again or get anywhere close it to,” the 63-year-old said in an interview with ESPN UK.
Bundesliga commentator, Derek Rae, also urged Leverkusen to cash in on the former Union Saint-Gilloise striker, in a bid to find a younger and cheaper replacement.
“It does look like the deal will happen and you can’t really blame Bayer Leverkusen. I’m hearing the fees could be more than 60 million euros. He’s been injured and with this offer comes the chance to re-invest that money and find a younger replacement because they need to patch things up on other sides of the pitch as well,” the 57-year-old chimed in.
The Super Eagles forward last played a football match in November having suffered a thigh injury. He recently returned to first tream training with Leverkusen, but he’s yet to make an appearance on the pitch this year.
Adefolahan Guerreiro
Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.
With a track record of involvement in College sports, Adefolahan is focused on crafting engaging football content and utilising his language skills and extensive sports knowledge to enhance content accessibility for a global audience.
He has interviewed Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.
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