26 year old Nigerian midfielder Obiora Nwankwo recently moved to Portuguese side Boavista on a free transfer after putting pen to paper on a two year deal following the expiration of his contract with Greek side Levadiakos.
The move will be his second stint in Portugal after defending the colours of Academica Coimbra for two seasons before his move to Greece two years ago on a free transfer.
Nwankwo was once upon a time viewed as the next big thing to happen to Nigerian football when he made his debut for Inter-Milan in the UEFA Champions League after his rapid progress through the ranks.
He was named captain of the Nigeria U23 team for their ill fated campaign to qualify for the London 2012 Olympic but that didn’t put a halt to his international career as a year later he made his senior team debut and subsequently won the Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles in 2013.
Many expected his career to gather pace after the Nations Cup triumph but the fair skinned Kaduna born whose attitude has always divided opinion failed to leverage on it as he was shipped out on loan to Serie B side Padova.
A year later Inter-Milan traded him off in a permanent deal to Romanian side CFR Cluj and after two season with a combined appearance in just 18 games, he was yet again on the move this time around to Spanish second division side Cordoba.
Cordoba were promoted to the top division in Spain in his first season at the club but they terminated his deal as he only made six appearances during the course of the season. He moved to Portuguese side Academica on a free transfer.
Two years at Academica was followed with a move to Greek side Levadiakos on a free transfer but injuries reduced him to just a handful of games in two years at the club.
His journey man life took a fresh turn last week when he returned back to Portugal to team up with Boavista, same club where three Nigerians Rueben Gabriel, Uche Nwofor and Michael Uchebo left in controversial circumstances.
Ade Emmanuel
