French Ligue 1 side Nantes are now the clear favorite to sign Nigeria international defender Chidozie Awaziem, Owngoalnigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
Awaziem has impressed on loan at Leganes from Portuguese giants FC Porto leading to talks of a permanent deal at the club if they are able to retain their status as a top flight team at the end of the current campaign.
However, that move appears to have suffered a set back as Leganes have informed his representatives that they won’t be pursuing their interest in signing him permanently as they can’t afford Porto’s current asking price of €10 million for a permanent transfer.
Leganes made it known that their decision to pull out of signing him permanently is hinged on the fact that their finances have taken a big hit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Meaning Awaziem will return to Porto where he has one more year to go on his deal.
The plan will likely be to trade him off to the Ligue 1 where Nantes are said to be keen on having him again after his impressive time on loan with them in the 2017/2018 season but that move could also be in jeopardy unless the Ligue 1 side are able to raise some significant cash from players sale.
Before the season was halted in Spain, the 23 year old who was rumoured to be on the radar of Sevilla at some point has made 18 League appearances and three more in the Copa Del Rey bringing his appearance in all competitions to 21.
Daniel Martins
