Victor Bonifas wants to leave Bayer Leverkusen in January. Bulinews said on Thursday that the striker’s representatives announced this request. He has been left out of Leverkusen’s Europa League league stage and it is not known whether specific talks have been held with another club.
This week is the only Nigerian transfer story that got it right. The rest? Follow-ups and opinion pieces are still more than two months away from the window.
| The story | The situation on October 23 |
|---|---|
| Victor Boniface, Leverkusen exit | Rumor: player pushing to leave, no club name |
| Maduka Okoye, Udinese or Inter | Rumor: Inter monitoring, no offer |
| Henry Onyekuru, “Bursaspor” free agent | Advanced: negotiations reported, not signed |
| Tochukwu Nnadi, Marseille | Rumor: possible sale or loan |
| Victor Osimhen, Galatasaray | Rumor: no approach reported |
| Bassey, Ndidi, Sanusi, Aribo | Off: no news for six weeks |
Boniface: a cameo, then a Europa League snub
The numbers explain the frustration. Pulse Sports counted one appearance after returning from loan at Werder Bremen. Five minutes off the bench in the opening day 3-2 loss to SV Elversberg. Pulse also reported that he entered the dressing room after spending the entire Mainz game on the bench. Head coach Carles Martinez tried to play it down in a press conference. “We still have Patrick (Schick) and Boni (Victor Bonifas) up front,” he said. Injuries to Martin Terrier and Christian Cofane looked set to open, but Boniface was again among the substitutes on 18 October as Leverkusen beat Freiburg 2-1.
Bulinews was careful about the next step. No club has been named and a transfer is not believed to be at an advanced stage, so we’re keeping the story at medium credibility until a suitor or offer is reported by someone else.
Hannover 96 was associated with him in August.
Nothing came out of it.
Okoye, Nnadi and the stories that don’t move
Inter’s interest in Maduka Okoye was the biggest story in Nigeria last weekend. It didn’t go any further. ThisDay repeated a report by Messaggero Veneto on October 18: Inter are tracking the Udinese goalkeeper, no bids have been made and Udinese value him at around €20m, a price the Italian paper has suggested as a barrier.
New name: Tochukwu Nnadi. Afrik-Foot wrote on October 19 that Marseille could sell or loan the midfielder in January. The reason is money: the club has until June 2027 to balance its books for DNCG, the French financial watchdog. No plaintiffs have been named.
Henry Onyekuru remains the closest man to the deal. He is still unsigned. Fanatik and Fotomach reported on October 9 that “Bursaspor” has advanced negotiations with the free agent regarding a half-season contract. He cannot register before January and has not been reported since.
As for Victor Osimhen, Afrik-Foot on October 19 identified Juventus as the most likely home for him in Serie A in 2027. He referred only to unnamed reports. No approach reported.
Four stories have gone quiet for more than six weeks, so we’ve highlighted them: Calvin Bassey at Fulham, Wilfred Ndidi at Besiktas, Zaidu Sanusi at Porto and Joe Aribo, who is still a free agent after leaving Southampton in the summer.
Every status and every report is in our Nigeria transfer tracker. How the players have fared on the field this season is in the stats tracker of Nigerians abroad.
This article was last revised and updated 26 seconds ago