Zaidi Sanusi losing his pride With the Dragons

Zaidu Sanusi was praised for his incredible tackles and interceptions in 25 league appearances for Porto last season. He was regarded for his speed and ability in the final third, as well as his defensive abilities. Porto’s coach had to fend off threats from West Ham United and Fenerbahçe, a Turkish giant, to sell their prized possession. All of that could change after some basic errors by the Super Eagle, the most recent of which occurred in the Champions League on Tuesday against Liverpool when an error by him resulted in his team scoring the game’s first goal.

Porto fans have slammed Super Eagles star Zaidu Sanusi for his performance in Tuesday night’s 5-1 loss to Liverpool. Sanusi made his second start of the season as Porto welcomed the mighty Reds to the Estádio do Drago for their second Champions League group stage match of the campaign.

Read Also:  Onyema inspires confidence in Super Eagles by promising N20 million if they beat Cape Verde

Sanusi made his first appearance of the season in the Champions League, keeping a clean sheet as Porto drew 0-0 with Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano.
On Tuesday, however, he had a difficult night as he struggled to keep up with Salah’s pace, and he was also partially to blame for the Egyptian’s first goal.

After Diogo Costa parried a shot into his path, the Nigerian international was unable to clear the ball. Sanusi could have done little about it on replay because Costa should’ve dealt with it properly, but his failure to notice allowed Salah to slot into an open net.
Apart from the goal, Sanusi also failed to deal with Salah’s threat before being replaced by Wendell in the 56th minute.

Porto fans took to Twitter after the game to express their displeasure with the team’s performance and some of the players, including the former Santa Clara player.

Sanusi was surprisingly rated as Porto’s joint-second best player on the night by Sky Sports.
Manager Sérgio Conceicao’s decision to start Sanusi was the biggest surprise in his starting lineup.
Despite starting Porto’s opening day match against Atlético Madrid and helping the Portuguese keep a clean sheet in 45 minutes of action, the Super Eagles’ left-back has not appeared in the Portuguese giants’ last five Liga Portugal Bwin matches.

Read Also:  Super Eagles’ flight to Qatar 2022 kicks off with Lone Star in Lagos

Sanusi was rated as Porto’s joint-second best player by Sky Sports, who gave him a six out of ten along with Marcano, Vieira, and Vitinha, one less than winger Luis Diaz, who received a seven.
Conceicao made a tactical substitution 10 minutes into the second half, replacing the Nigerian with Wendell.
West Ham’s deadline-day bid for Sanusi fell through after the Hammers were unable to meet Porto’s asking price for the Nigerian international.

According to Record, the 24-year-contract old’s includes a £43 million release clause.
Last season, the 24-year-old averaged 1.9 tackles, 1.3 interceptions, and one clearance per game in 25 league appearances for Porto.
The Nigerian is incredibly athletic, has a lot of speed, and can play in both the attacking and defensive thirds.

If he has a good few months between now and January, West Ham will be interested in signing him again.
The powerful and pacy left-back has named David Alaba, a Real Madrid fullback of Nigerian descent, as his idol, as well as admitting that Super Eagles legend Taye Taiwo has influenced his style of play.

Read Also:  Alex Iwobi ruled out of Eagles clash with CAR

“The left-back I most admire in the world is Bayern Munich’s David Alaba; many people have said that I play like him, but I prefer to be myself because I admire him so much.

I’m like Alaba in that I can defend and attack. Attacking and defending are difficult tasks for a left-back, but Alaba excels at both.

“I used to watch Taye Taiwo a long time ago, and now and then I took him up on YouTube to see how he plays,” Sanusi added.
After national team manager Gernot Rohr was alerted about Sanusi, who had set the Portuguese league on fire with his quick pace and scintillating darting runs on the flanks, Sanusi was invited to the Super Eagles for friendlies against Ivory Coast and Tunisia last year.
Rohr kept a close eye on Zaidu’s situation and was convinced he’d found his man at left back when Porto paid a record fee for the exciting left back.

Read also:  Paul Merson predicts games between Liverpool and Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd, and Arsenal in the English Premier League

The player’s rise from unknown to the competitive club and national team player was lightning fast, and he was quickly drafted into the Eagles lineup to challenge Jamilu Collins’ position.
Collins was immediately demoted to the bench, and he was only brought back in the double Cameroon friendlies in Austria when Sanusi was unavailable due to injury.
Sanusi grabbed his shirt with consummate ability and quickly won over the hearts of Eagles fans who had been dissatisfied with Eagles left back since the likes of Babayaro and Lawal hung their boots. Collins knew he had his hands full.

The Porto defender wasted no time in bringing his attacking-minded defensive skills to the Eagles’ left back position.
Rohr was overjoyed when he saw his dream man play against Algeria in a friendly in Austria on October 9, 2020.
Even though the Eagles were defeated by the odd goal in a tense game between the two arch-rivals, Zaidu did an excellent job on Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez.

Collins was confined to the substitutes’ bench for four more caps after his Algerian debut as the new bride took hold, and Collins would only return against Cameroon when his direct rival was ruled out due to injury.
Zaidu has been reduced to a fringe player due to a wicked combination of bad luck and a dip in form at Porto, which has also resulted in Porto fans calling for his head.

His transgressions were two errors that resulted in Porto conceding goals, and his punishment was the signing of Brazilian left-back Wendell from Bayer Leverkusen, relegating the exciting left-back to fourth place in the pecking order.
Collins’ ghosts were exhumed due to a lack of regular first-team club football, and the latter got back into the groove, meaning business and impressing Rohr and company.

Read Also:  FG Bans Over 2,000 Nigerians From Traveling in Connection With The COVID-19 Test

While Sanusi was in the Porto wilderness, Collins had carved out a name for himself as Paderborn’s left-back, leading the charge, assisting, and even finding a rare chance to score as the relegated German side fought their way back up Germany’s football pyramid.

To make matters worse for Zaidu, his future at Porto is uncertain, as clubs are interested in luring him away from the club.
The most notable of his suitors was West Ham, who looked into the possibility of a loan move on the final day of the summer transfer window, delaying his arrival in Lagos for the Liberia game.

Collins proved Sanusi hasn’t completely shut him out by arriving a day before the game without spotting the West London side’s colors and ultimately refusing to dress for the Liberia game.
Collins could continue to do a good job in Sanusi’s absence if he misses out on a transfer that would end his Porto misery.

Sanusi will have to double down on his efforts to reclaim his first-team shirt at Porto or in any on-loan side going forward, as Collins does not appear to want to lose it again.
Sanusi was also on the verge of joining Turkish giants Fenerbache on loan, but the FC Porto coach thwarted the move.

Read Also:  Yahaya Bello’s Security Template Recommend by Kwara Leaders

Conceicao stated that Zaidu will continue to play an important role for his team, so he vetoed a transfer for the Nigerian defender.
Porto fans have also chastised the Kebbi-born ace for some recent underwhelming performances.