Boniface on target against West Ham with agent in attendance; focused on Bayer amid transfer links

Victor Boniface played the role of a super sub as Bayer Leverkusen extended their unbeaten run to 42 games in all competitions after beating David Moyes' West Ham United 2-0 in the first leg of their Europa League quarterfinal clash staged at the BayArena on Thursday night, allnigeriasoccer.com reports.

Most of the pre-match talk centered around whether Xabi Alonso would include the Nigeria international in his starting lineup, but the Spaniard eventually opted to start the striker from the bench. 

Boniface was enjoying an extraordinary season in terms of goal scored and created, contributing to 25 goals (16 goals, 9 assists) before he picked up an injury during the Super Eagles' pre-Africa Cup of Nations training camp in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 

The game remain deadlocked until the 83rd minute when Jonas Hofmann pounced on the rebound and slotted home after Boniface was denied by Kurt Zouma,

A minute into injury time, Boniface netted the clinching goal as he headed the ball into the net after a fine delivery from Hofmann.

Boniface's Norwegian-based Nigerian agent Atta Aneke drove all the way to the city of Leverkusen to watch the Super Eagles star make his twenty-sixth appearance in a Bayer shirt. 

In recent weeks, the former Royale Union Saint-Gilloise star  has been linked with possible moves to Italian Serie A giants Juventus, Napoli and AC Milan. 

This website has been told that Boniface is unmoved by transfer speculation linking him with a departure from Bayer Leverkusen less than a year after his arrival in Germany. 

Boniface is focused on Bayer Leverkusen and determined to finish the season strongly after spending four months on the sidelines. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

Photo Credit: uefa.com

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