Super Eagles coach Éric Chelle could be without a key defender and striker when Nigeria begins its 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign later in the month report has suggested.

​The Super Eagles finished third at the 2025 AFCON, but they will be looking to do even better when the next edition takes place in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda next year. However, they have to qualify for the competition first, and that process kicks off this September.

​The three-time African champions have been drawn alongside Madagascar, Tanzania, and Guinea-Bissau in Group C.

​With the qualifying series set to kick off , coach Chelle will likely have started compiling his squad list for the first two games against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau. However, he might have to exclude Zaidu Sanusi and Sadiq Umar

​This comes after the 29-year-old Sanusi suffered an injury in Porto’s Portuguese league match against Académico de Viseu on Saturday evening, ditto for Umar who sustained injury in a Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna match

​Sanusi started the game as usual for the reigning Portuguese champions, but he had to be helped off the pitch in the 18th minute following a serious injury. At the time he was substituted, Porto were leading 1-0, with the match eventually ending 3-0 in their favour.

​As of now, the nature of the injuries have not been confirmed, but they could be forced to spend a few weeks on the sidelines.

​The Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are just over three weeks away, and the possibility of them returning before then and being match-ready is slim.

According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano, Grealish has rejoined Everton on loan.

Romano reported that Grealish will undergo a medical on Tuesday morning to complete his move to Everton.

Everton has reached an agreement with Manchester City regarding Grealish’s loan, and the player has agreed to join on Monday night .

Everton pushed hard for this deal over the past few days and has now secured Grealish’s return.

David Ornstein of The Athletic previously reported exclusively that Everton had agreed terms with Manchester City to re-sign Grealish. The 28-year-old winger will join Everton on a one-season loan.

The reported desire of Liverpool’s winger, Cody Gakpo has failed to materialise following his decision to stay back at Liverpool if they were unable to seal a deal for Yankuba Minteh – for whom Brighton have rebuffed their latest bid – or Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace as replacements.

The Dutch winger, who started both of Liverpool’s first two Premier League games, was closing in on a switch to Manchester City ahead of deadline day, with clubs in talks over a deal worth around £85million.

But the transfer has now collapsed after Liverpool were unable to find a suitable replacement, despite signing 23-year-old winger Bradley Barcola from Paris Saint-Germain for £123m on Monday.

Liverpool made a breakthrough with PSG last week after several weeks of negotiations to try to bring down the European champions’ stubborn valuation, which started at £145m.

Despite luring the Frenchman on a five-year contract, Liverpool are not willing to let Gakpo join Manchester City until they sign another attacker.

The transfer twist comes just a day after Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk urged his Reds team-mate to stay at Anfield.

When asked how he felt about the prospective move after Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest, Van Dijk said: ‘What do you think? He’s a quality player. I think we should keep quality players.

‘Let’s see what the next few days bring. I want him to stay not only because he’s a quality player but also because he’s a friend of mine. He’s very important to us.’

On Barcola’s arrival at Anfield, Van Dijk added: ‘He’s a good player, that’s the only thing I can say. I don’t think there’s any doubt that a club like Liverpool is very attractive to very good players.

‘This is one of the biggest clubs in the world. We all know that we’re going through a little bit of a transition. You either want to be a part of it or you don’t.

‘He’s a player with pace. I remember a goal he scored against Chelsea. If he comes here then he will be welcomed with open arms.’