Emmanuel Emenike gets his Al Ain chance as Asamoah Gyan successor

Nigeria striker Emmanuel Emenike has been given the chance to fill Asamoah Gyan's boots at Al Ain.

Fenerbahce have caused a real stir in the transfer window, making the world sit up and take notice with the signings of Nani and Robin van Persie from Manchester United.

Amid the delirium surrounding those moves, Nigeria's Emmanuel Emenike has been let go.

The striker's loan deal to Al Ain, where he will replace Shanghai-bound Asamoah Gyan, shows that opportunities exist for players outside of Europe. His switch to Abu Dhabi will pocket him a lot of money but with that comes responsibility. Such things may spark his career back into life following a disappointing campaign last time out in which he scored just four goals in 27 appearances.

That's not how Emenike will want to be remembered as a club player, especially not in the country where he made his name, Turkey.

Just five years ago in the 2009-10 season, he rose to prominence when he scored 16 goals for Karabukspor to secure their promotion to the Super Lig. The following season, he netted 14 times and was picked up by Fenerbahce, with whom he has had a tricky relationship.

Fenerbahce sold Emenike to Spartak Moscow in the aftermath of the 2011 match-fixing scandal. A wide-ranging investigation into 19 matches saw Fenerbahce and Besiktas banned from European competition for two years, making Emenike a luxury they could not afford. In 2013, when Fenerbahce's suspension was over, they bought Emenike back but he failed to justify their faith.

Now, he has a chance to put that right at Al Ain, who will be expecting even bigger things considering the man he is replacing. Gyan was the UAE league's top scorer in three out of the past four seasons and took Al Ain to the Asian Champions League semifinals. Emenike will have do similar and has already indicated he is up for the task with a reminder of the trophy he has already won, but Gyan has not.

Asamoah Gyan has left Al Ain for Shanghai SIPG.

"Gyan is a very good player and I'm here to replace him. I hope I do well. Replacing him doesn't worry me. He has achieved a lot in his career but I have also achieved a lot. I've won the African Cup of Nations," Emenike said at his unveiling.

Not only was Emenike part of the Nigerian side who won the tournament 2013, he was the joint top scorer after finding the back of the net four times.

Elsewhere, Rasheed Olabiyi has got his first overseas break on the books of the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer and will hope he catches the eye of Nigeria's national coach Sunday Oliseh.

Olabiyi has already played for Nigeria at U17, U20 and U23 level and was named in the Nigeria Premier League best XI last season, where he played a key part in Enyimba's second-place finish.

There, Olabiyi was hailed for his discipline and his passing ability. He has already debuted for Houston and played in their weekend match against the San Jose Earthquakes, where he came on in the 79th minute.

He will hope for much more game time in MLS to show that beyond Europe there is a world out there for players to make their mark.