Nigeria midfielder Raphael Onyedika has missed out on the Ebony Boot award, given to the best African player in Belgium\u2019s Pro League, as Morocco\u2019s Zakaria El Ouahdi of KRC Genk claimed the honor. The decision ended Onyedika\u2019s hopes of securing the prestigious prize, which last year went to fellow Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Onyedika\u2019s disappointment comes at a time when his future at Club Brugge is under scrutiny. After five years in Belgium, the midfielder is attracting interest from clubs abroad, including Galatasaray in Turkey and VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, raising speculation about a possible summer move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The award loss has sparked debate among Nigerian fans, many of whom felt Onyedika\u2019s consistency deserved recognition. Supporters expressed frustration on social media, while others acknowledged El Ouahdi\u2019s strong season and praised the competitiveness of African talent in Europe\u2019s smaller leagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile in England, Taiwo Awoniyi delivered a standout performance for Nottingham Forest in their 3-1 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Nigerian striker marked his 100th appearance for the club with two goals and won the penalty converted by Igor Jesus, earning widespread praise from manager Vitor Pereira.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe brings everything. Taiwo Awoniyi is a danger player,\u201d Pereira said after the match, highlighting the forward\u2019s ability to unsettle defenses. Awoniyi\u2019s brace lifted Forest\u2019s morale ahead of their Europa League semi-final second leg against Aston Villa, where his presence is expected to be crucial despite not being registered for the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awoniyi\u2019s display drew admiration from fans and pundits alike, with many celebrating his resilience after injuries earlier in the season. His tally now stands at four goals and one assist in 14 league matches, a return that supporters believe could grow as Forest fight for survival and European glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Public reaction in Nigeria was swift, with fans contrasting Onyedika\u2019s setback in Belgium with Awoniyi\u2019s triumph in England. Some argued that while Onyedika\u2019s omission from the Ebony Boot spotlighted the challenges of recognition in smaller leagues, Awoniyi\u2019s heroics against Chelsea showcased Nigerian talent on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Together, the contrasting fortunes of Onyedika and Awoniyi underline the diverse paths Nigerian footballers are carving across Europe. For Onyedika, the summer may bring a new chapter, while for Awoniyi, his brace against Chelsea has reinforced his reputation as one of Forest\u2019s most influential players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigeria midfielder Raphael Onyedika has missed out on the Ebony Boot award, given to the best African player in Belgium\u2019s Pro League, as Morocco\u2019s Zakaria El Ouahdi of KRC Genk claimed the honor. The decision ended Onyedika\u2019s hopes of securing the prestigious prize, which last year went to fellow Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare. Onyedika\u2019s disappointment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":30274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3699,25,4,20,8,458,18,3,7],"tags":[14665,14663,14659,14670,14669,14667,14666,14662,14668,14661,14671,14657,14660,14658],"class_list":["post-30250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-entertainment","category-featured","category-health-fitness","category-jobs","category-legal","category-lifestyle","category-naija-news","category-sports","tag-african-football-talent-europe","tag-belgian-pro-league-african-players","tag-club-brugge-transfer-speculation","tag-europa-league-nottingham-forest","tag-football-fans-reactions","tag-football-transfer-rumors-summer-window","tag-nigeria-football-news-international","tag-nigerian-footballers-in-europe","tag-nigerian-players-england-belgium","tag-nottingham-forest-striker","tag-premier-league-nigerian-stars","tag-raphael-onyedika-ebony-boot","tag-taiwo-awoniyi-chelsea-brace","tag-zakaria-el-ouahdi-award"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/imago1058282634-1-750x500-1-1.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30261,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30250\/revisions\/30261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}