Three Super Eagles players will be in action when Trabzonspor take on Konyaspor in Friday’s Turkish Cup final, with Paul Onuachu and Chibuike Nwaiwu chasing their first medal with the Black Sea Storm and Anthony Nwakaeme set to play his last-ever game for the club.
Trabzonspor head into the final with serious Nigerian firepower at their disposal. Onuachu, who joined the club on a permanent deal last summer after a loan spell, had an extraordinary 2025-26 Süper Lig campaign, finishing as joint top scorer with 22 goals to share the golden boot with Bashkir’s Eldor Shomurodov. He added two more in the Turkish Cup, helping fire his side to the final. Supporters looking to bet on the final can use the Bet9ja promotion code for an enhanced opening offer before kick-off on Friday.
Nwaiwu has been equally impressive since arriving from Austrian side Wolfsberger AC in January. The 22-year-old centre-back made 20 appearances for Trabzonspor in the second half of the season, contributing three goals and one assist from the back. His performances have been so striking that the club is now reportedly holding out for a fee of 40 million euros to sell him this summer, with Bayer Leverkusen and Fulham among the clubs monitoring him.
As reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng, the Turkish Cup final represents the first realistic chance for both Onuachu and Nwaiwu to win silverware with Trabzonspor, having missed out on the Süper Lig title this season despite Onuachu’s remarkable individual output.
Nwakaeme’s Farewell After Eight Years at Papara Park
For Anthony Nwakaeme, Friday’s final carries a very different weight. The 37-year-old winger is out of contract this summer and Trabzonspor have decided not to offer him a new deal, meaning the cup final will be his last outing for the club. Nwakaeme’s history with Trabzonspor spans two separate stints. His first, from 2018 to 2022, was defined by extraordinary productivity: he scored 41 goals in 120 appearances and was central to the side that lifted the Turkish Super Lig title in 2021-22, the club’s first league championship in nearly four decades.
After two seasons with Saudi Arabian club Al-Fayha, Nwakaeme returned to Trabzonspor in July 2024. Injuries disrupted the start of his second stint, and he featured in only five Süper Lig games this season. His involvement in the cup run has also been limited, but coach Fatih Tekke is expected to give him time on the pitch on Friday as a send-off befitting his legacy at the club. Trabzonspor erected a statue of Nwakaeme at Papara Park after he helped deliver the league title, a rare honour that underlines how much he means to the club’s recent history. Nigerian fans looking to follow the action can check out the latest Bet9ja promotion code ahead of the match.
A Cup Final With Familiar Opponents
Trabzonspor and Konyaspor are not strangers this season. The two sides met twice in the Süper Lig, with Trabzonspor winning 3-1 in the first encounter before Konyaspor turned the tables with a 2-1 victory last month. That split record adds genuine uncertainty to Friday’s final and gives Konyaspor a credible case despite coming in as the less fancied side.
A win would be a tenth Turkish Cup for Trabzonspor, and for Onuachu it would add cup glory to an individual season that already ranks among the finest by any Nigerian playing in Europe this term. New Nigerian football fans wanting to get involved in the cup final buzz can take advantage of the Bet9ja booking code page for a full guide on placing bets this Friday.
Win or lose, the final marks the end of an era at Trabzonspor. Nwakaeme walks away as one of the most decorated Nigerians in Turkish football history, and the duo of Onuachu and Nwaiwu will carry the Super Eagles flag at the club into whatever comes next.
📌 Did You Know?
- Paul Onuachu stands at 2.01 metres, making him one of the tallest outfield players in professional European football. His height has been a major weapon at Trabzonspor, where five of his eight goals in one early-season run came from headers.
- Onuachu’s 22-goal Süper Lig season made him the sixth player in Trabzonspor’s history to claim the club’s top-scorer title, joining a list that includes Alexander Sörloth, who scored 24 goals in the 2019-20 season.
- Chibuike Nwaiwu began his senior career with NPFL side Heartland FC in 2021, then moved to Enyimba before making the leap to Austrian football with Wolfsberger AC in 2024. His January 2026 transfer to Trabzonspor cost 5.5 million euros.
- Anthony Nwakaeme’s first stint at Trabzonspor (2018-2022) produced 41 goals and 32 assists in all competitions. He was so influential in the 2021-22 Süper Lig title win that the club erected a life-size statue of him at Papara Park.
- Trabzonspor have won the Turkish Cup nine times in their history. Their most recent triumph in the competition came in the 2019-20 season, the same campaign in which Nwakaeme featured prominently.
- Nwaiwu’s rapid rise has attracted interest from Bayer Leverkusen and Fulham, with Trabzonspor reportedly valuing him at 40 million euros. If sold for that fee, it would be the most expensive transfer ever completed by a Süper Lig club.
- Before joining Trabzonspor permanently, Onuachu had a difficult spell in England with Southampton, scoring just four goals in 36 appearances across one and a half seasons in the Championship and Premier League.
