The 2020/2021 season just finished a month ago while both the Euros and Copa America is still on, but some clubs have already started preparations for next season
The holiday period is over for some Super Eagles stars as their clubs have begun pre-season training just a month after last season came to an end.
Among the Nigerian players who have returned to club duty include Joe Aribo and Leon Balogun, who play for Rangers.
The two players both played a key role to help Rangers win their first league title since 2011. The Gers finished the season as unbeaten champions.
Aribo and Balogun will now hope to help Steven Gerrard’s men defend their title. At the same time, there’s also the addition of Champions League games next season, which is their reward for finishing as Scottish Champions.
Meanwhile, in England, William Troost-Ekong, Isaac Success, Tom Dele Bashiru and Emmanuel Dennis have all resumed training with Watford.
Dennis joined the Hornets from Club Brugge last week, while Ekong, Success and Bashiru all played a part in the club’s promotion to the Premier League.
Watford got relegated from the Premier League in the 2019/2020 campaign but sealed an immediate return in the just-concluded season, finishing second behind Norwich in the Skybet Championship.
Ekong, particularly, played an important role in the defence. The Super Eagles vice-captain played 32 times in the league and was part of a defence that conceded the least number of goals in the Championship.
Of all the four Nigerians at Watford, only Success has experience of Premier League football. The other three will be making their debut when the new season kicks off.
In the Netherlands, Maduka Okoye will be hoping to build on his impressive debut season in the top-flight when the new campaign kicks off in August.
Okoye played top-flight football for the first time last season with Sparta Rotterdam, a club he joined from Fortuna Dusseldorf last summer.
The Super Eagles goalkeeper overcame a slow start to establish himself as Sparta’s number one choice. His performance was rewarded with a place in the Eredivisie team of the year.
He is now preparing for his second season at the club and has linked up with the rest of his teammates for the pre-season training.
