The 25-year-old completed the move on transfer deadline day after Brighton and Millwall submitted a deal sheet to extend the deadline for the transfer.

The deal sheet gave both clubs until 1 am on Wednesday to complete the remaining paperwork.

Brighton have not disclosed the financial details of the transfer, although reports indicate that the initial fee is worth £12.5 million.

Performance-related add-ons could take the overall package beyond £15 million, which would make Azeez a club-record sale for Millwall.

Azeez enjoyed an impressive 2025/26 season with Millwall, helping the club reach the Championship promotion play-offs.

He made 77 appearances across the campaign, scoring 15 goals and providing 13 assists.

His performances earned him places in both the PFA Championship Team of the Season and the EFL Championship Team of the Season.

He contributed 11 goals and eight assists in the league as Millwall secured a place in the promotion play-offs.

Brighton sporting director Mike Cave welcomed Azeez to the club in a post on the club’s official X account.

“We are delighted to add Femi to the squad. He arrives off the back of an excellent season with Millwall, having played a key role for them as they finished in the playoffs,” Cave said.

Azeez will join fellow Nigerian international Zadok Yohanna at Brighton after the club signed the defender earlier in the summer transfer window.

Azeez began his career in Watford‘s academy before being released at the age of 14.

He subsequently played for non-league Northwood, Wealdstone and Hanwell Town before earning a move to Reading in 2019.

He joined Millwall in 2024 and established himself as one of the Championship’s leading attacking players.

Azeez has also made an impressive start to his international career with Nigeria during the 2026 Unity Cup held in May.

He scored twice on his Super Eagles debut in a 2-0 victory over Zimbabwe in June before assisting in Nigeria’s 3-0 win over Jamaica four days later.

The move to Brighton gives Azeez his first opportunity to play in the Premier League as he begins a new chapter of his career.

The post Brighton confirm signing of Super Eagles’ Unity Cup hero Femi Azeez appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

A breakthrough season for Femi Azeez

The 2025/26 Championship campaign proved to be a career-defining period for the forward. Femi Azeez concluded the league season with an impressive record of 11 goals and seven assists across 37 appearances.

These statistics established him as one of Millwall’s most consistent and productive attacking threats throughout the term. His consistent excellence was further validated when he was officially named the Championship Player of the Month for February, marking the peak of his club form and highlighting his ability to influence matches during the most demanding phases of the season.

The winger’s trajectory took a rapid turn as his domestic success transitioned into an international breakthrough with the Super Eagles. Azeez made his senior Nigeria debut during the 2026 Unity Cup semi-final held in London. He left an immediate impression on the international stage by scoring twice in a 2-0 victory.

This feat made him the first Nigerian player in the new millennium to net a brace on his national team debut. For the attacker, the match represented the culmination of years of hard work, offering him a platform to perform in front of his national supporters.

Reflecting on his rapid international rise

Following his remarkable debut for the Super Eagles, Femi Azeez expressed the deep personal significance of wearing the national colours. He described representing the country as a major honour, stating that he simply wants to perform at his highest level for the fans.

This dual success, characterized by both domestic league recognition and a historic international start, underscores the rapid momentum he has built over the past year. He has effectively navigated the pressures of the Championship while simultaneously adjusting to the intensity of international football.

For Nigerian football, the emergence of the winger provides significant tactical value. His ability to operate in wide areas offers head coach Éric Chelle another reliable option in the final third. As he integrates further into the national squad, his contribution will be vital for upcoming competitive fixtures.

His journey serves as a compelling narrative for young players, showing how patience and development can lead to rapid elevation when the opportunity eventually arrives. His presence adds a fresh, dynamic dimension to the Super Eagles’ current attacking roster as they look toward future tournaments.

From the non-league system to the big stage

The path taken by the forward remains a testament to resilience within the professional game. Born in England to a Nigerian father and a Spanish mother, his early career involved significant hurdles after being released by Watford as a teenager.

He initially honed his craft in the competitive environment of English non-league football, representing Wealdstone before gaining a breakthrough opportunity at Reading. His eventual move to Millwall in 2024 provided the structure needed to elevate his performance, ultimately leading to his inclusion in the PFA Team of the Year.

Azeez has now transitioned into a new phase of his professional life. His primary challenge moving forward is to maintain his current form for Millwall while fighting to secure a permanent role within the Nigeria squad. His rise from the lower tiers of the English football pyramid to international acclaim acts as a reminder that career trajectories can evolve from unexpected beginnings.

The upcoming season will determine if he can sustain this elite performance level consistently. For both club and country, his potential appears vast, setting the stage for what many expect will be the beginning of a sustained period of success.

The post Femi Azeez earns PFA Championship Team of the Year recognition appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

Watford confirmed the midfielder’s departure on the club’s official website, bringing an end to a spell that began when he joined from Manchester City in 2019.

The 26-year-old has signed a three-year contract with Aris, keeping him at the Greek Super League club until June 2029.

Dele-Bashiru enjoyed his most productive campaign during the 2024-25 season, scoring eight goals in all competitions.

He made an immediate impact by scoring just 33 seconds into Watford’s opening Championship fixture against Queens Park Rangers before adding several important goals during the campaign, including one in a 2-0 victory over local rivals Luton Town in February 2025.

During his time at Vicarage Road, the midfielder also spent periods on loan at Reading and Turkish club Gençlerbirliği, making a combined 69 appearances while contributing goals and assists.

The elder brother of Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru represented England at under-16 level before switching his international allegiance to Nigeria.

He featured for Nigeria at the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, scoring once during the tournament, and was also part of the Olympic Eagles squad that competed at the 2019 Africa U23 Cup of Nations.

Dele-Bashiru will now begin the next chapter of his career in Greece as Aris prepare for the new Super League season.

The post Former Man City star Dele-Bashiru joins Aris Thessaloniki in Greece after nine years in England appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

In two group matches the 19-year-old has provided the decisive moments that have taken the Atlas Cubs from dark horses to group winners, first shredding Spain down the right and then stunning Brazil with a scissor-kick of rare audacity. If this is a tournament that forges futures, Maamma looks forged already.

The Watford forward (signed from Montpellier in July) has been Morocco’s spearhead and safety valve in Chile: a direct runner on the shoulder, happy to carry 30 metres in transition, and ruthless when the window opens.

Against Spain he turned defence into incision, burning his full-back to square for Gessime Yassine’s clincher in a 2-0 win.

Four days later, with Brazil squeezing, he improvised the goal of the night — opening his body to acrobatically volley in Gessime’s deep cross — and tilted a heavyweight contest Morocco’s way in a 2-1 victory that sealed qualification.

Maamma’s impact has been as much about tone as numbers. Morocco have been compact and pragmatic without the ball, then startlingly vertical when it’s won. That suits a winger who relishes space and duels.

“I like to sit on the shoulders of the defenders and exploit space. I like one-on-ones, when I can use my acceleration to gain that extra space,” he explained earlier in the week in an interview with FIFA.com.

It’s exactly what head coach Mohamed Ouahbi has asked for: narrow lines to deny passing lanes, then release the wide players quickly and with purpose.

Just as striking has been the teenager’s calm. “Football is football. It doesn’t matter where or who you’re up against,” Maamma said after the Spain game. “You just need to keep a cool head and your emotions in check.”

The message never changed ahead of Brazil either. “I speak of Brazil just as I spoke of Spain. It’s going to be another big game. We’ll do absolutely everything we can to win.” The delivery matched the rhetoric.

Technically, Maamma mixes old-school winger values with modern versatility. He can start wide right and drive outside to cross, drift infield to combine off the nine, or attack the back post from the far side — the movement that produced his bicycle-style strike against Brazil.

At 1.82m, he carries aerial threat and protects the ball better than many pure sprinters; his first touch is typically forward, his second decisive.

This tournament has also underlined how carefully Morocco have built a pathway. Maamma debuted for Montpellier in May 2024, collecting 14 Ligue 1 appearances (two goals, one assist) before Watford moved in the summer, seeing a profile to develop rather than a finished article.

In Chile he has been deployed with clarity. The system demands defensive shifts, then trusts him to decide the transition: carry or combine. His assist versus Spain and finish versus Brazil are two sides of the same coin.

Around him, a coherent team is growing. Yassir Zabiri has provided punch in the inside-left channel, Yassine’s volume of work has made others quicker, while the back line has absorbed pressure with mature discipline.

Ouahbi has tried to keep a lid on the mood — “We’re happy. But it’s only three points, we haven’t achieved anything yet… We want more. Confidence is growing, but we’re going to try to stay humble,” he said after beating Spain — yet even he will recognise how the right talent in the right structure can accelerate belief.

Where does this go next? In the short term, to a last-16 tie with a very different kind of pressure: expectation. Opponents will drop five yards deeper, full-backs will be less adventurous, and the space Maamma feasted on may shrink.

The next step in his tournament will be about variety — receiving to feet and combining in tighter corridors, drawing fouls, and making set plays count. Through two tests, he’s shown the decision-making to adapt.

In the longer view, it’s hard not to project forward. Morocco’s senior side has set a new standard for North African football in recent years; the conveyor belt below them is the point.

A winger who can both hurt elite opponents in transition and contribute in structured possession is a profile every national coach covets. On Chilean evidence, Maamma belongs in that conversation sooner rather than later.

For now, the brief remains simple: keep doing what’s working. Beat your man. Choose the moment. Trust the plan.

In a World Cup that often belongs to the cool-headed, Othmane Maamma has already shown he can decide games without hurry. Morocco have a star for this tournament — and, just maybe, a pillar for the next decade.

The post Othmane Maamma: Morocco’s breakout star lighting up the U-20 World Cup appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.