Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Greg Etafia has revealed that Stanley Nwabali will join a new club this summer, reports Completesports.com.
Nwabali parted ways with South African club Chippa United in February after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract.
The 29-year-old has yet to secure a move to a new club.
Etafia On Nwabali
“When I spoke to him, he told me he had a lot of offers when AFCON was on, he needed to go, but there is no agreement within the club,” Etafia told Brila.
“He came, felt like he needed to play or go. Don’t forget, Dumisani Msibi was doing well in his absence. At the same time, he decided what he wanted, the club and him came to an agreement, and he moved on. Right now, he has a lot of offers and is waiting for the season to end.”
Super Eagles Omission
Nwabali was left out of Super Eagles’ recent friendlies against Iran and Jordan due to his inactivity at club level.
“He is doing fine. He wanted to keep fit, thinking about the camp because he isn’t among the invitees. The three goalkeepers that were invited are playing at their clubs. But Nwabali has really contributed for Nigeria, I feel he could have been with them in camp,” Etafia said.
“Sometime ago, they did that too with Ademola Lookman, even when he was having issues with Atalanta.”
By Adeboye Amosu
1 Comment
The people who contributed to this lad’s predicament are the ones who gave him the impression he’s so good European clubs will sign him…….LMAOoo.
Its seeming club managements, sporting directors, and directors of football across the world are blind.
This is what you get when sentiments cloud judgment.
Hello……no disrespect, but Daniel Akpeyi got signed by one of the biggest clubs in the same South African league, from the same Chippa United, after just 1 AFCON. Kaizer Chiefs signed him whilst having the then South African national team’s 1st and 2nd choice goalkeepers on their roster. He went on to bench the 2 Gks.
2 AFCONs later, ‘European clubs will sign him,’ is clubless despite being a free agent.
Transfer deadline for free agents ends on the 31st of March (or thereabout). If Nwabali didn’t get a club as at midnight yesterday, despite being a free agent, then the media and Etafia should stop lying to people that “…he has a lot of offers and is waiting for the season to end…”.
How can a club see a free agent now and want to wait till the end of the season to sign him? We are talking about a national team goalkeeper who has just returned from a major (CAF has made this debatable now) tournament.
They should stop this gaslighting and image laundering of an arrogant fellow who saw himself as larger than life and bigger than his club and chose to terminate a contract with 6 months left without having any alternatives. He probably thought he was that good…….LMAOooo.
The last time I checked, players are allowed to negotiate with other clubs once they are in the last 6 months of their contracts…..so once again, the media and Etafia should stop lying to us that “…he has a lot of offers and is waiting for the season to end…”. Not everyone is that ignorant.
Background jist has it that as Chippa’s 1st choice, he left the club in 16th position (last position on the league table) with some really comical displays this season and headed to AFCON. 2nd choice stepped in in his absence and started keeping clean sheet after clean sheet, leading the club to 12th place (2 places above the relegation zone).
Our low-budget Austin Ejide came back from AFCON and wanted to bully his way back to the first team, but the minders of the club flatly rejected. You don’t change a winning team (goalkeeper) they must have insisted.
He threatened to quit (thinking he was indispensable and would be begged), and to his surprise, the management agreed. Guess they were fed up with him and his antics. Who quits his contract with 6 months to go….???
We are going to lose him for free by June anyways, the club must have said, so it’s better we cut him loose now and save 6 months’ salaries as he’s the club’s highest paid player. Afterall his replacement has dug us out of relegation waters.
Before our man could say jack, he was out in the streets, clubless.
I am good enough to be signed by European clubs, he must have thought. Otherwise, who cancels his contract with 6 months left when he does not yet have a solid agreement elsewhere…..??
Now he sends emissaries to plead his case for national team invites so he can market himself to clubs all over again…..back to square 1
Did someone just say “The pride goes before the fall” or “look before you leap”……???
Stanley Nwabali will be very very very lucky to get a CAF CL grade club to sign him by the summer. He might end up trialing before any club of that stature signs him. At 29 heading to 30 and with 6 months of inactivity, no sporting director will take that risk without first watching him at close quarters.
From being a club captain to being a trialist in the space of 6 months…….how would the mighty have fallen.
I blame him not…..I blame his praise singers who are not there beside him now to share his pains with him. A major life lesson for those who care to learn.