Fulham poised to submit €10m bid for Super Eagles defender Chibuike Nwaiwu

ENGLISH Premier League club Fulham are preparing to offer Turkish side Trabzonspor €10m for the services of Super Eagles defender Chibuike Nwaiwu in a development that could see him team up with compatriot Calvin Bassey.

Nwaiwu, 22, has made a great impact this season for Trabzonspor following his move from Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger in January. He has since earned two caps for the Nigerian national team, as his aerial dominance with three headed goals in the Süper Lig has made him a standout performer.

According to Turkish newspaper Milliyet, Fulham are preparing to submit a formal bid soon having identified Nwaiwu as a potential addition to their squad. Nwaiwu played a key role in Trabzonspor's defence last season, helping the club with his performances at the back while also making an impact in attack.

Offensively, he was a huge asset as he scored three headed goals in 16 Turkish Super Lig appearances for Trabzonspor. This is despite the fact that he only joined the club in January from Austrian side Wolfsberger during the mid-season transfer window, with Trabzonspor paying a reported €5.5m transfer fee for his services.

However, Trabzonspor have reportedly valued Nwaiwu at more than €35m, so Fulham may have to up their offer significantly, especially as the defender is under contract until June 30, 2030.  On the international stage, Nwaiwu impressed during this summer's Unity Cup, helping Nigeria keep two clean sheets in back-to-back wins against Zimbabwe and Jamaica.

If Nwaiwu joins Fulham, he could team up with compatriot Calvin Bassey in the heart of the Cottagers defence, providing them with an all-Nigerian centreback pairing. There is talk of Bassey being sold, however, as he has proven himself to be one of the best centrebacks in the English Premier League and it could be that Fulham are planning to but Nwaiwu as a replacement.

Nwaiwu's standout displays recently earned him recognition from the CIES Football Observatory, which ranked him as the best centre-back in Turkey aged 23 or under and the second-best U23 player in the league. He joins a growing list of promising young Nigerian centrebacks who have emerge of late including Emmanuel Fernandez of Glasgow Rangers, Benjamin Fredrick of Brentford and Igor Ogbu of Slavia Prague.