Super Eagles star Zaidu Sanusi faces a difficult season at Porto

The 24-year-old was one of Nigeria’s best players in Europe last season, but he now faces a spell on the bench this campaign

Super Eagles star Zaidu Sanusi faces a difficult season after FC Porto completed the signing of Brazilian defender Wendell from Bayer Leverkusen.

According to transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, the Brazilian left-back has signed a deal with the Portuguese giants, with an official announcement expected soon.

Sanusi enjoyed a decent campaign with Porto last season after joining from fellow Portuguese side Santa Clara last summer.

The 24-year-old left-back was one of Porto’s consistent players last season, making 41 appearances in all competitions.

He featured in all of their Champions League games, scoring in the 2-0 win over Olympique Marseille and making the team of the week on one occasion.

However, despite his excellent performance last season, Sanusi is set to lose his left-back spot to new signing Wendell following a poor start to the season.

The Super Eagles star has featured in Porto’s two league games this season, starting in the 2-0 win over Belenenses SAD before coming on as a sub in the 2-1 win at Famalicão.

But his performances in both games were criticised, especially in the clash against Famalicão. The former Santa Clara man gave the ball away needlessly to allow the home side to equalise, although it was later ruled out by VAR.

However, his performance annoyed Porto coach Sérgio Conceição, who has now signed Wendell from Bayer Leverkusen.

Wendell is expected to slot in straight into The Dragons starting lineup, which leaves the Nigerian’s future up in the air.

It remains to be seen if he would stay and fight for his place or seek a loan deal at another club. But the former looks more likely, and that could see his game time reduce drastically.