TEAM BY TEAM TRANSFERS.....

ARSENAL
INS: Cohen Bramall (£40,000, Hednesford Town).
OUTS: Dan Crowley (loan, Go Ahead Eagles), Jon Toral (Rangers), Chuba Akpom (loan, Brighton), Gedion Zelalem (loan, VVV Venlo).

BOURNEMOUTH
INS:
OUTS: Emerson Hyndman (loan, Rangers), Jordan Lee (loan, Torquay), Callum Buckley (loan, Aldershot), Shaun Hobson (loan, Eastbourne), Brandon Goodship (free, Yeovil).

BURNLEY
INS: Joey Barton (unattached).
OUTS: Lukas Jutkiewicz (£1m, Birmingham), Daniel Lafferty (undisclosed, Sheffield United), Ntumba Massanka (free, Wrexham), Chris Long (loan, Bolton).

CHELSEA
INS: Kyle Jameson (unattached).
OUTS: Oscar (£52m, Shanghai SIPG), Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough, £5.5m), John Obi Mikel (free, Tianjin TEDA), Jay Dasilva (loan, Charlton), Marco van Ginkel (loan, PSV), Jamal Blackman (loan, Wycombe), Jordan Houghton (loan, Doncaster), Izzy Brown (loan, Huddersfield), Fankaty Dabo, Charlie Colkett and Islam Feruz (loan, Swindon), Fikayo Tomori (loan, Brighton), Nathan Baxter (loan, Solihull Moors), Dion Conroy (undisclosed, Swindon).

CRYSTAL PALACE
INS: Jeffrey Schlupp (£12m, Leicester), Patrick van Aanholt (£14m, Sunderland)
OUTS: Hiram Boateng and Keshi Anderson (loan, Northampton), Freddie Ladapo (loan, Shrewsbury).

EVERTON
INS: Ademola Lookman (£7.5m, Charlton), Morgan Schneiderlin (£20m, Manchester United), Anton Donkor (loan, Wolfsburg)
OUTS: Darron Gibson and Bryan Oviedo (£7.5m, Sunderland), Delial Brewster (loan, Southport), Conor Grant (loan, Doncaster), Tom Cleverley (loan, Watford), Oumar Niasse (loan, Hull), Callum Connolly (loan, Wigan), Gethin Jones (loan, Barnsley), Antony Evans (loan, Morecambe), Nathan Holland (free, West Ham), Gerard Deulofeu (loan, Milan), Russell Griffiths (loan, Motherwell), Tyias Browning (loan, Preston).

HULL
INS: Markus Henriksen (undisclosed, AZ Alkmaar), Oumar Niasse (loan, Everton), Evandro (undisclosed, Porto), Omar Elabdellaoui (loan, Olympiakos), Lazar Markovic (loan, Liverpool).
OUTS: Jonathan Edwards (loan, Accrington), Harvey Rodgers (loan, Accrington), Jake Livermore (£10m, West Brom), Allan McGregor (loan, Cardiff), Robert Snodgrass (£10.2m, West Ham).

LEICESTER
INS: Wilfred Ndidi (£15m, Genk).
OUTS: Jeffrey Schlupp (£12m, Crystal Palace), Luis Hernandez (£1.75m, Malaga), Harvey Barnes (loan, MK Dons), Matty James (loan, Barnsley).

LIVERPOOL
INS:
OUTS: Tiago Ilori (£3.75m, Reading), Pedro Chirivella (loan, Go Ahead Eagles), Joe Maguire (undisclosed, Fleetwood Town), Lazar Markovic (loan, Hull), Cameron Brannagan (loan, Fleetwood).

MANCHESTER CITY
INS:
OUTS: Pablo Maffeo (loan, Girona), Angeliño (loan, Girona), Manu Garcia (loan, NAC Breda), George Glendon (undisclosed, Fleetwood Town), Ian Lawlor (undisclosed, Doncaster), Bruno Zuculini (Verona), Billy O’Brien (loan, St Mirren).

MANCHESTER UNITED
INS:
OUTS: Morgan Schneiderlin (£20m, Everton), Sam Johnstone (loan, Aston Villa), Joe Riley (loan, Sheffield United), Memphis Depay (£21.7m, Lyon), Sean Goss (£500,000, QPR)

MIDDLESBROUGH
INS: Mikael Soisalo (undisclosed, Ilves), Rudy Gestede (£6m, Aston Villa), Patrick Bamford (£5.5m, Chelsea)
OUTS: David Nugent (£2.5m, Derby), Emilio Nsue (undisclosed, Birmingham), Julien de Sart (loan, Derby), Tomas Mejias (loan, Rayo Vallecano), Bryn Morris (free, Shrewsbury), Jonny Burn (undisclosed, Bristol Rovers), Joe Fryer (loan, Hartlepool), Mark Kitching (loan, Rochdale), Carlos de Pena (loan, Real Oviedo).

Efe Ambrose not Joining Hibernian

Ambrose is in the final six months of his contract and the 28 year old revealed he already knows where he future lies and it’s not at Hibernian, where he was reportedly said to be heading to before the end of the January transfer window.
” I am driving to training as we speak. It’s not true am not joining Hibernian but I know where am going soon. You guys should be patient very soon it will be public knowledge”,
Heavily linked with a move to French side Bastia and Schalke 04 of Germany, the Nigeria international was in no mood to reveal where he is heading to in the summer.
” I just told you am driving to training, that should be enough for now. Summer is not far off maybe before then you never know”.

Nosa Igiebor Joins Oboabona's Rizespor.

Nosa Igiebor is set to end his transfer speculatiom as he jets out to Turkey.
The Nigeria international has been authorized by the Yellows to travel to Turkey to discuss personal terms with the Super Lig club.

Rizespor would by Igiebor’s fifth club in Europe following spells with Lillestrom, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Real Betis and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

The attacking midfielder is expected to join Godfrey Oboabona and Bright Edomwonyi at Rizespor.

IGHALO HITS CHINA JOIN Changchun Yatai.

Watford striker Odion Ighalo is currently undergoing a medical in London ahead of his proposed move to Changchun Yatai.

The Nigeria international has already reached an agreement in principle with the Chinese Super League club, but has not yet appended his signature to the contract.

Ighalo and his intermediary have informed Changchun Yatai to make some amendments to the contract before he signs on the dotted line.

The former Udinese, Lyn Oslo and Granada man was also said to be courted by West Brom in the January transfer window, but Changchun Yatai beat them to his signature.

Chuba Akpom joins Brighton on  Loan .



  Through a statement on their official website, Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion have  announced the capture of Arsenal player on Loan.

Premier League club Arsenal have sanctioned Akpom’s loan move to the Seagulls until the end of the 2016-2017 season. 

The 21-year-old previously played on loan at Hull City, Brentford, Coventry City and Nottingham Forest.

He will begin training with his new teammates at Brighton on Tuesday morning, ahead of the trip to John Smith’s Stadium, where they face Huddersfield in the Championship in two days time.

AKPOM SET TO JOIN BRIGHTON ON LOAN

 
Promotion hopefuls Brighton & Hove Albion have leapfrogged Aston Villa, Brentford, Cardiff and Fulham in the race for the signature of England U21 star Chuba Akpom, according to reports from England.

The Daily Mirror is reporting that the Arsenal striker is expected to complete his switch to the Seagulls before the close of the transfer window on Tuesday.

This would be Akpom’s fifth loan spell away from the Emirates Stadium, having previously spent time on loan at Hull City, Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Coventry City, if the transfer materializes.

Because of a back injury, the English-born Nigerian attacker has played only once for the first team of the Gunners this term.

 Chinese Club Tianjian Quanjian  Speculations linking Maccabi Tel Aviv .midfielder Nosa Igiebor with a transfer to Chinese Super League club Tianjian Quanjian are wide of the mark.

It has been claimed by the press back in his homeland the former Lillestrom sensation is among three Nigeria internationals that will move to the China before the close of the window, the others being Odion Ighalo and Emmanuel Emenike.

Asked to confirm reports of a possible move to Tianjian Quanjian, a top source close to Nosa told  “No, he is not moving to Tianjian  Quanjian”.

With Nosa’s Maccabi Tel Aviv contract due to run out at the end of this season, he can start discussing with interested clubs as from this month.

Chelsea Admit Nigerian Defender Had A Dreadful Debut

 

The Brighton players could not believe when Tomori inadvertently put the ball into  his own net against non-league Lincoln City in the 62nd minute and he was yellow carded before the end of the first half.

“But there was a Brighton debut to forget for Fikayo Tomori as he put through his  own net as the Sussex club were beaten by non-league Lincoln City,” Chelsea wrote on their official website.

Tomori, 19, started twelve games for the Blues U23 squad, scoring once against Tottenham Hotspur before he was farmed out on loan to the Seagulls.

Baggies want Branislav; Moyes raids Everton

BAGGIES WANT BRANISLAV
Tony Pulis is trying to hijack Branislav Ivanovic’s move from Chelsea to Zenit St Petersburg.’ Elsewhere, we read that although Ivanovic has long been in talks with the Russian club about a free transfer this month, he would actually prefer to stay in the Premier League.
It’s no surprise that Pulis – an avid collector of centre-halves who can also ‘do a job’ at full-back – is interested, or that Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce is also mentioned as an admirer.

SUNDERLAND MOVE FOR ULLOA, OVIEDO AND GIBSON
And if that does not sound like a recipe for Premier League survival, we don’t know what is. The problem with Leonardo Ulloa is that Leicester preposterously value their bit-part 30-year-old striker at £11m and Sunderland would quite like to pay £5m, thank you. Surely a compromise can be reached.
And how wonderfully predictable that Moyes’ transfer plans involve basically looking at a list of Everton players and picking a couple that are not playing football. Bryan Oviedo has started six Premier League games this season while Gibson’s only start came in the Checkatrade Trophy. Frankly, we had forgotten his existence. Moyes had not; he remembers everybody he bought for Everton and intends to slowly buy them all again.

GABBIADINI PREFERS SAINTS
The biggest-money move of transfer deadline day may yet be Manolo Gabbiadini to Southampton, and the £17m switch looks likely to happen even after a late move from Marseille, as reported by L’Equipe on Monday. Not content with signing Dimitri Payet, it seems they moved for the Napoli striker, but was told that the striker preferred the Premier League as an option.

AND THE REST
Burnley hope to sign Republic of Ireland winger Robbie Brady from Norwich City for around £13m…Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is ready to make a renewed move for Middlesbrough striker Jordan Rhodes with an £8m bid…Leicester want to sign Anderlecht’s Senegal defender Kara Mbodji and Middlesbrough’s Uruguay playmaker Gaston Ramirez…Newcastle and Crystal Palace are discussing a potential swap deal that would see England winger Andros Townsend rejoin the Magpies, and DR Congo defender Chancel Mbemba head to Selhurst Park…Southampton are in talks to sign Spartak Moscow defender Serdar Tasci on loan…Leeds expect to sign West Ham striker Ashley Fletcher on loan before Tuesday’s transfer deadline…Belgium midfielder Steven Defour says he is not sure whether his long-term future is at Burnley…Queens Park Rangers have agreed a £300,000 deal with Bristol City to sign midfielder Luke Freeman.

 Sakho speaks out over row with Klopp

Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has lifted the lid over his falling out with Jurgen Klopp that saw him exiled from the first-team squad.
The France international angered Klopp on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States where he turned up late to sessions more than once.
Subsequently, he was sent home from the trip and hasn’t played for the first-team at Anfield during this campaign.
Instead, Sakho has been forced to train and play with the under-23 side with the Reds reportedly keen to move him on before the end of the January transfer window.
“It is true that I turned up late. There was a rule that I should have observed. I do not at all see myself as above the rules, I respect everyone.
“I paid my fine, I was sanctioned, I apologised to my team-mates and my manager,” Sakho told Canal Football Club.
“Aside from that… I do not want to go into the controversies.”
Sakho is fit and ready if he gets a move before the deadline with Southampton and Ligue 1 side Nice both being linked with the centre-back.
“I work a lot, I have the chance to train with the reserve team , which allows me to keep up. And beside that I have my trainer. So I work a lot to stay on top of my game,” Sakho added.
However, he has ruled out a move to Marseille due to the club’s rivalry with fellow French outfit Paris Saint-Germain.
“Since I started this incredible adventure abroad, in terms of football but also in terms of my family, because when I see my children speaking English I think it is a glorious thing that I have been able to give them,” Sakho continued.
“I think I have a few more wonderful years to experience abroad first. And PSG, why not, but afterwards.
“I think Marseille have a very good team. Bafé (Gomis) and Pat (Evra) are friends of mine. But my answer to this might remind certain people about a song. When there is PSG, Sakho is with them.”

 Most expensive players from around the globe

Argentina – Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli to Juventus, £75.3m)
An awful lot of money for a 28-year-old, and Higuain is also the most expensive player from the world’s No. 1. Shame Lionel Messi is going to join Manchester City for £200m in the next transfer window. Or the next. Or the next. Or the…

Brazil – Oscar (Chelsea to Shanghai SIPG, £60m)
Neymar’s transfer fee is as murky as a muddy, oily puddle, but we’re going with the official amount of £57m-ish that means Oscar pips him to the post. Is he the best Brazilian player? No. Is he in the top 20? Maybe not. Is he the most expensive? Yes, ridiculously.

Germany – Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid to Arsenal, £42m)
Arsenal are responsible for three signings on this list, more than any other English club. The first is Ozil,  the most expensive German player in history. Ten nations have more expensive players than Germany, which suggests two things: 1) German players are bargains. 2) They produce teams, not individuals.

Chile – Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona to Arsenal, £35m)
The leader of Arsenal and the leader of Chile, Sanchez is worth every bloody penny of those £35m. That won’t change even if he takes Atom, Humber and that smiling Instagram persona with him to Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Juventus for nothing next year.

Belgium – Kevin de Bruyne (Wolfsburg to Manchester City, £55m)
Want a laugh? Second to De Bruyne on this list is the £32.5m that Liverpool paid Aston Villa for Christian Benteke. Full pockets truly do make for foolish shoppers.

Colombia – James Rodriguez (Monaco to Real Madrid, £71m)
The name is Bond, James Rodriguez, and he’s on our list. Ham-ez is actually the first and third most expensive Colombian signing, with both his moves to and from Monaco sandwiching Radamel Falcao’s move to Monaco and just ahead of Jackson Martinez’s jaunt to China. There’s not a lot of value for money to be found here.

France – Paul Pogba (Juventus to Manchester United, £89.3m)
He moved for a big fee – you might have heard about it. You might be sick about middle-aged white writers tutting about the number of different haircuts and dances he’s done, too.

Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United to Real Madrid, £80m)
Being the third most expensive player in history and also a sensational bargain. Ronaldo that…

Uruguay – Luis Suarez (Liverpool to Barcelona, £65m)
No really, what were they smoking over at the Emirates? Had Arsenal offered £10m more, they would surely have won the Premier League by now

Spain – Fernando Torres (Liverpool to Chelsea, £50m)
For all Spain’s dominance on the international stage between 2008 and 2012, Torres and Juan Mata are the only Spanish players to move for more than £30m. Funny ol’ game, Saint.

Switzerland – Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach to Arsenal, £33.8m)
Oh Granit,probably because you’ve been really disappointing. Sanchez and Ozil make up two of Arsenal’s three representatives and have given great value for money. Xhaka still has plenty of way to go.

Wales – Gareth Bale (Tottenham to Real Madrid, £85.3m)
It’s about this time that I shake my head and realise that England have let Wales get above them in FIFA’s rankings. For shame, Roy Hodgson. For shame.

England – Raheem Sterling (Liverpool to Manchester City, £49m)
We know that he shops at Poundland, drives a dirty car, goes to Greggs occasionally and buys houses for his Mum. You might think that’s par for the course when you move for £49m and Sterling should suck it up. But if you do think that, you’re a moron.

Croatia – Luka Modric (Tottenham to Real Madrid, £30m)
The second best Real Madrid signing of the last ten years? There’s certainly an argument for Modric the magician, who would have been good value at double the price.

Poland – Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla to Paris St Germain, £34m)
Robert Lewandowski might be better, but Krychowiak’s move to Paris makes him the most expensive, with ease. With Lewandowski turning 29 this year and Poland’s golden generation past their best, this could last for a heck of a long time…

Italy – Gianluigi Buffon (Parma to Juventus, £32.6m)
…but surely not as long as this one. Buffon’s move in 2001 is still the highest fee for a goalkeeper and the highest fee for an Italian, which is absolutely mad when you consider how much the game has changed in that period. Even more weird is the fact that Christian Vieri is second, and his big-money move came two years earlier.

Costa Rica – Bryan Ruiz (FC Twente to Fulham, £10.6m)
When I started this list, I didn’t think Fulham would be getting a big shout out. Costa Rica’s performance over the last five years really has been impressive.

Mexico – Raul Jimenez (Atletico Madrid to Benfica, £18.7m)
A reported transfer target for Liverpool, any move would allow Jimenez to break his own national record. Atletico Madrid somehow made almost £10m profit on a striker who scored one goal in 27 matches during his time at the club.

Peru – Juan Vargas (Catania to Fiorentina, £10.2m)
Only the third player on this list bought by an Italian club, and comfortably the most forgettable. It’s now getting on for nine years since Fiorentina paid Catania over £10m to sign a 24-year-old winger amid rumoured interest from Real Madrid.

Ecuador – Antonio Valencia (Wigan Athletic to Manchester United, £16m)
Find me a more hard-working player on this list, and I’ll find you a liar.

Jose wary of fixture congestion

Jose Mourinho has confirmed Bastian Schweinsteiger will be staying at Manchester United for the remainder of the season but Ashley Young could leave before the January transfer window shuts on Tuesday.
The United boss, however, would not get drawn on speculation about Wayne Rooney’s future as he spoke to media after his side’s comfortable FA Cup fourth-round win over Wigan at Old Trafford.
Rooney, who became United’s record goalscorer earlier this month, was the subject of fresh reports linking him with a move to China on Sunday morning.
But it was the future of Schweinsteiger, who scored in the 4-0 defeat of the Championship Latics on his first start for more than a year, which was made the clearest.
Mourinho said of the German World Cup-winner: “Yes, he is staying. He is going to (be included on) the Europa League list because we opened spaces with (Memphis) Depay and (Morgan) Schneiderlin (leaving) and we don’t have many players, and we don’t have many options in midfield.
“Ninety minutes (against Wigan) was probably too hard for him, from minutes 65-70 it was hard for him but now I think he is happy.
“He was a good professional when he was not playing, and after having some minutes he will be the same. With so many competitions and games he will be an option.”
Mourinho deflected a question about England captain Rooney in his post-match press conference by speaking about former England international Young.
He said: “The only player that I am aware of a possibility to leave, and I am waiting for January 31 to know what is going on, is Ashley Young, a player I would love to keep.
“I am not happy if he leaves, but he is the only player that I am informed has a possibility of leaving. That is why he didn’t play and I gave chances to other people, because I don’t know if he is going to stay.
“If I could choose, definitely yes he would stay with us.”
That answer may not quell speculation concerning Rooney, particularly with the Chinese transfer deadline not until the end of February and not Tuesday, as is the case domestically.
United laboured through the first half against Wigan but the result did not seem in doubt after Marouane Fellaini headed them ahead after 44 minutes. Chris Smalling, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Schweinsteiger made the result safe after the break.
With the EFL Cup final next month and the Europa League also due to resume, Mourinho was concerned about fixture congestion.
He said: “We are going to have a very difficult season compared with other clubs. Liverpool will play 16 matches until the end of the season, Chelsea will play 16 plus some in the FA Cup and we are in this really crazy situation.
“Southampton will have 15 days without football before the final. We are going to play two matches against St Etienne and the next round of the FA Cup, so the calendar in the best country of world football is nonsense.”
As for his side’s performance, he said: “The first half was not good enough but the second half was different, much more intense in the passing and movement.”
Wigan boss Warren Joyce, a former United coach, felt his side acquitted themselves well.
Joyce said: “We got all the things we wanted to do pretty much right for 44 minutes. I thought we had a good method and the lads were brave.
“We created the best chances with some pretty clever football and then conceded a goal you see every week in the Championship, so that’s disappointing.
“For 60 minutes I was really pleased and the last 20 you can forget about because we were going gung-ho, chasing the game, and 4-0 probably flatters Manchester United.

Afcon Highlights

Morocco failed to clear the bouncing ball and substitute Kahraba hooked it home from close range to book a semifinal on Wednesday against Burkina Faso.

The seven times winner were on the back foot for much of the game against their north African rivals but snatched the winner from an 87th minute corner.

Ghana meet Cameroon in the other semifinal in Franceville on Thursday.
The first half proved an intriguing tactical battle as Morocco pressed their opponents but gave away too many midfield fouls.
There was little way through got Egypt in the first half and their only chance fell after 15 minutes from a corner when Juventus’ Medhi Benatia completely missed the cross and Mohamed Trezeguet behind him was gifted a chance to shoot, forcing out a good save from Morocco goalkeeper Munir.
A similar defensive lapse by Egypt almost saw them concede their first goal of the tournament when Romain Saiss had a chance right in front of goal but completely missed it, only for the ball to bounce back for him to follow-up with header that shaved the crossbar and bounce over.
At start of the second half, Egypt had an immediate opportunity when Mohamed Salah broke free of his marker and hit a half volley at goal only to see Munir make a superb one-handed save.
Then Morocco’s Mbark Boussoufa curled a shot from outside the box onto the crossbar in the 55th minute and five minutes later target man Aziz Bouhaddouz missed from close range.
Morocco kept up the pressure with more half chances in the final minutes before being caught at their own corner and seeing their Nations Cup hopes dramatically ended.

In a similar vein, Goals from the Ayew brothers have steered Ghana into a African Nations Cup semifinal meeting with Cameroon after they defeated DR Congo 2-1 in Oyem on Sunday.

Jordan Ayew broke the deadlock in the second half, before Paul-José M'Poku bagged a brilliant equaliser for the Congolese.
But Andre Ayew found the back of the net from the penalty-spot to put the Black Stars in front and they never looked back.
DR Congo made the brighter start and should have been ahead inside seven minutes when Dieumerci Mbokani rounded Ghana keeper Brimah Razak, but his weak shot trickled onto the post when he should have scored.
Mbokani was wasteful again eight minutes before halftime when he was played into space in the box, but shot wildly wide when he should have done much better.
The teams went into the break even, but Ghana started with much more purpose after the break and after going close several times, Jordan Ayew broke the deadlock.
His ran at the DR Congo defence, beating two players before rifling a shot past Ley Matampi in the DR Congo goal.
The lead lasted just a matter of minutes though as M'Poku crashed the ball home from 35-yards with a super long-range pile-driver.
Ghana were back in front with 13 minutes remaining when Christian Atsu was felled in the area and Andre Ayew converted from the spot.

TEAMS
DR Congo: Matampi, Issama, Tisserand, Mutambala, Mbemba, Mpoku, (Bakambu 63'), Mulumba (Bolingi 85'), Bope, Kabananga, Mbokani, Mubele (Bokila 83').
Ghana: Razak, Afful, Acheampong, Boye, Amartey, Wakaso, Acquah, Atsu, J. Ayew, Partey, A. Ayew.

Patrice Evra joinsMarseille from Juventus

Veteran French defender Patrice Evra has completed his move to Ligue 1 side Marseille.

The 35-year-old former Monaco and Manchester United left-back joins the nine-time league winners on an 18-month contract from Juventus.
Evra, who began his career with Paris Saint-Germain, and also had spells with Monza and Nice, had joined Juve in July 2014 after making 379 appearances in eight years with the Red Devils.
He begins this next and possible last phase in his career with five Premier League titles on his CV, one Champions League medal, a Club World Cup triumph, three League Cup successes, two Serie A titles, two Coppa Italias and a Supercoppa Italiana.
A brief statement from Marseille read: "After having met his medical requirements, Patrice Evra, the French international, signed an 18-month contract with the Olympique of Marseille this Wednesday.
"He will attend the press conference this Thursday, January 26, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. in the presence of OM President, Jacques-Henri Eyraud, and sports director, Andoni Zubizarreta."
And Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri praised Evra for his contribution to the club over the past few seasons.
"He had a great two-and-a-half seasons with us. He's a great champion, a great professional and I'm sorry he's left," he said.
"But we talked and we came to this decision. I have only positive things to say about Evra.
"He played for 10 years at Manchester United, he came to Juventus and was a very important player for us."

Olympic Marseille complete Dimitri Payet signing from West Ham

Olympique Marseille have signed Dimitri Payet on a four-and-a-half-year deal from West Ham United for a fee of £25 million.

The 29-year-old, who had a medical on Sunday, is Marseille manager Rudi Garcia’s third signing of the winter transfer window.
The France international had a previous stint at Marseille, playing 72 Ligue 1 games for them from 2013 to 2015.
Payet became a favourite among Hammers supporters in his short stay in England, scoring nine goals in 30 games last season, but he made his intentions to leave plain.
His final outing for West Ham was was not a happy one, losing 5-0 on January 7 in their FA Cup third-round clash against Manchester City.
He could be making his second debut for Marseille as early as tomorrow in their Coupe de France round-of-32 tie against Olympique Lyonnais.
Marseille's next Ligue 1 game is against Metz on Friday.

NIGERIAN PLAYERS UPDATES...

Bright Dike scored on his debut for his Malaysian team Pahang as they thrashed PBDKT-Team 5-0 in a league game. Anthony Nwakaeme continued his fine form in front of goal for Israeli side Hapoel Beer Sheva, by scoring his 9th league goal but 12 for the season in all competition in their 3-1 win over Beitar Jerusalem.
While Nwakaeme is making a strong case for his consideration by coach of the Super Eagles, Fenerbahce forward Emmanuel Emenike who was earlied rumoured to be on the wishlist of Rohr appears to have lost his early season spark.
He is now the third choice strike behind Moussa Sow and Robin Van Persie, but even in the absence of Van Persie he was an unused substitute as Antalyaspor defeated Fenerbahce 1-0.
Junior Ajayi who has been in fine goal scoring form for Al-Ahly of Egypt has also failed to find the back of the net in their last two games, as he once again fired blank in their 0-0 draw with ENPPI.
Just like Ajayi, Super Eagles forward Brown Ideye has also gone two games without a goal, a shocking statistic going by his fine scoring form for Olympiakos of Greece.
David Abwo played 81 minutes for Giresunspor until he was replaced with Jones Carioca.
Ideye was on for over an hour but failed to get on the score sheet in their 2-0 win away to PAS Giannina, while in Cyprus Shehu Abdullahi suffered a 2-1 loss with Anorthosis against Apoel Nicosia.
romise Isaac was the hero of his new Turkish second-tier league team Giresunspor as he scored the winner in their 1-0 win at Balikesirspor.

Joel Obi Injured again as orji,Sadiq Umar were unused.

Torino midfielder Joel Obi has once again suffered another injury after limping off the pitch in Torino’s 1-1 draw against Atalanta.
Obi has already suffered two injuries this season, and he only recently just returned from another before limping off after 30 minutes after suffering a set back.
Injuries hampered his progress in Inter Milan, and finally made the Milan giants released him to join Torino before the start of last season for a nominal transfer fee.
Meanwhile Nigeria Rio 2016 ace Sadiq Umar returned from a two months injury for his loan side Bologna but was an unused substitute, same as his Nigerian colleague Orji Okonkwo as nine man Bologna drew 1-1 at Cagliari.
Just like the duo of Sadiq and Orji, Simmy Nwankwo was also not needed by Crotone in their 4-1 win over Empoli. The summer signing watched the entire proceeding from the bench.

WE NEED EBUEHI IN OUR NEXT GAME.

Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles Gernot Rohr has revealed his eagerness to see Dutch-Nigerian full back Tyrone Ebuehi play for Nigeria as soon as possible.
Ebuehi was invited for the Super Eagles last competitive game against Algeria, but the 20 year old opt to remain with his team ADO Den Haag to establish himself in the team.
However in a chat with highly respected Nigerian journalist Osasu Obayiuwana Rohr said, he has a promise from the right back that he is now willing to play for Nigeria if called up.
Since taking over as coach of the Super Eagles, Rohr has used four players at right back in three games as coach of the team, with three of the four players played out of position to cover up for the lack of a proper right back.
Rohr has been searching for credible options in the right full back role of the Super Eagles, a situation he hope to fix with Ebuehi.
” I hope that Tyrone Ebuehi will be ready for the next Super Eagles game we play. We need a good right back”, he told Osasu in Gabon where he is working as a pundit in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.

EAGLES WRAP....

Here is the highlight of  the performances of players of Nigerian descent in the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday, January 28.

In the early kickoff, Ovie Ejaria was involved for 74 minutes as Liverpool suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Teammate Sheyi Ojo was not selected by manager Jurgen Klopp.
Exciting striker Bright  Enobakhare was an unused substitute, Dominic Iorfa was not selected for tactical reasons and Carl Ikeme missed out because of a suspension.

In an entertaining encounter at White Hart Lane, Spurs beat Wycombe Wanderers 4-3 with England U20 star Josh Onomah putting in a 61-minute shift for the home team. He was replaced by Dele Alli, who scored to bring the scoreline to 3-3 in the 89th minute.

Adebayo Akinfenwa started and played for 68 minutes for the visitors.

Young goalkeeper Manny Agboola, sporting the number 40 shirt, was on the bench as Oxford United beat Newcastle United 3-0 at The Kassam Stadium. The Magpies were without Sammy Ameobi.

On his debut for Brighton, Chelsea loanee Fikayo Tomori went the distance in his team’s 3-1 loss to Lincoln City. The defender put the ball into his own net in the 62nd minute and was booked in the first half.

The Seagulls number 44, Canada international Sam Adekugbe, logged ninety minutes.

Over to Stamford Bridge, Victor Moses was given a much needed rest as Chelsea hammered Brentford 4-0, having failed to come off the bench. Dominic Solanke and Ola Aina didn’t feature for the home team.

England U21 star Tammy Abraham subbed in after 61 minutes as Bristol City lost 2-0 to Premier League opposition Burnley.

Three Nigerians were in action in Blackburn Rovers 2-0 win over Blackpool. Midfielder Hope Akpan started and was replaced in the 67th minute, 12 minutes after Bright Osayi-Samuel subbed out for the visitors.

Sanmi Odelusi was introduced ten minutes out of intermission for the Seasiders.
The future of Kelechi Iheanacho and Tosin Adarabioyo at City remains covered in mist despite the recent pronouncements of manager Pep Guardiola. The pair did not make the match day squad as the Citizens thrashed Crystal Palace 3-0 at Selhurst Park.

In the late kickoff, Alex Iwobi is on the bench for Arsenal’s clash versus Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium. Young strikers Chuba Akpom and Olufela Olomola have not been selected.

Aaron Samuel joins CSKA Moscow Explains Why He Chose Number 99 Kit

   

Aaron Samuel has completed his move to Russian champs CSKA Moscow after putting pen to paper on a four-and-a-half-year deal that ties him to the club until the end of the 2020-2021 season.

For the remainder of the season, the former Sarpsborg 08 FF and  Guangzhou R&F star will suit up with the number 99 jersey.

Explaining the rationale behind his choice, Samuel said to CSKA TV: “99 - that’s my favorite number, I played under it since childhood and always dreamed it is that I have.

“So I’m playing all my life under two nines - so it was in Norway, and in CSKA. So I had no doubt now is what number to choose.”

The 22-year-old striker joined CSKA Moscow at their training camp at Campoamor on Saturday.

Barcelona dump Real Sociedad out of Copa del Rey .

 

Barcelona made short work of Real Sociedad, thrashing them 5-2 in the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final clash to advance to the next round 6-2 on aggregate.

Denis Suarez opened the scoring in the 17th minute with Lionel Messi making it 2-0 on the night 10 minutes after the break.

Juanmi pulled one back in the 62nd minute before Luis Suarez restored their two-goal cushion. Willian Jose brought it back to 3-2 before Arda Turan (80') and Denis Suarez (82') both netted to secure an emphatic 5-2 win.
Barcelona began the match in the ascendancy after winning the first leg 1-0 away from home and looked by far the more comfortable of the two sides in the opening exchanges.

It came as no surprise when Suarez netted in the 17th minute to put the home side 2-0 up on aggregate.

What was slightly more perplexing was that it took until the 55th minute for them to double their lead on the night, through Messi from the penalty spot.

The home side battled back well and Juanmi gave them a brief glimmer of hope when he pulled a goal back in the 62nd minute, but less than 60 seconds later, Suarez made it 3-1 on the night.

Willian Jose pulled another goal back in the 73rd minute, but a late push forward from the Catalans secured their spot in the next round with Turan scoring in the 80th minute before Suarez made it 5-2 on the night and 6-2 on aggregate.

Jose Mourinho refuses to accept Hull City goal against Manchester United

Jose Mourinho claims Manchester United are “still unbeaten”, despite suffering defeat in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final against Hull City.

The Red Devils saw a sequence of 17 games without defeat come to an end on Thursday as they lost 2-1 at Premier League strugglers Hull, although the Manchester giants still progressed to the final by a 3-2 aggregate scoreline.
The Tigers had opened the scoring this week through a Tom Huddlestone penalty when referee Jon Moss controversially pointed to the spot after United defender Marcos Rojo was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of Harry Maguire.
United responded through Paul Pogba, ultimately putting the game to bed and rendering Omar Baye Niasse’s late goal as only a consolation, but in a tense post-match press conference, which lasted all of 28 seconds, Mourinho refused to accept Hull’s opener as a legitimate goal.
"We didn't lose," the Portuguese tactician said. "It was 1-1. I only saw two goals. I saw a [Paul] Pogba goal and their goal, a fantastic goal.
“It was 1-1, we are still unbeaten. I think 18 matches unbeaten is amazing.
"I didn't see Hull's first goal. We celebrate, we are in the final. I don't want to speak about the penalty or the performance.
“The game was in our pocket, under our control, and something happened to open the game.
"The game was dead. The game was what we wanted it to be. I don't want to say anything else, it is enough. I am calm. I behaved on the bench. No sending off, no punishment, so no more words."
Manchester United will now face Southampton in the EFL Cup final at Wembley on February 26 after the Saints saw off Liverpool in their second-leg clash on Wednesday.

EPL TRANSFER GOSSIP

GRIEZMANN NEWS
The only man we will ever trust when it comes to Manchester United transfer updates is Duncan Castles. Handily, he brings us news on Friday morning.
His claim in the Daily Record is that Manchester United will hope Paul Pogba can persuade Antoine Griezmann to join in the summer. The two are close friends from their time together in the national team, of course.
Pogba is claimed to be ‘talking to the boy almost every day to push him to go’, while Castles adds that United see Griezmann as the ‘natural successor to Wayne Rooney’. Bit harsh.

JURGEN WILL BE BUSY
James Milner has done a fine job at left-back for Liverpool this season, but he is no long-term option. It turns out that Jurgen Klopp wants an actual left-back to play at left-back, which is fair.
According to the Daily Mail, Riza Durmisi could be that man. The Real Betis defender has a £17million release clause, and the Reds have sent scouts to watch him recently. The 23-year-old only moved to La Liga from Brondby last summer, but has impressed recently.
At the bottom of the Mail’s Liverpool transfer update comes two more lines: They still want Bayer Leverkusen forward Julian Brandt, while Henry Onyekuru has been recommended. And we’ve all heard of him. And if you haven’t, he’s a 19-year-old striker who plays for Belgian club Eupen. Sure.

REUS RACE
The news from the Emirates Stadium is that Arsenal are already sourcing replacements for Alexis Sanchez, just in case his contract saga is not resolved.
Almost everyone is reporting it, but it was Italian journalist Emanuele Giulianelli who first claimed that the Gunners ‘will make a move’ for Reus if they lose Sanchez this summer.
The claim is that Arsenal have ‘opened negotiations’ with Borussia Dortmund over a potential deal, and they are willing to break their club-record transfer fee to get Reus. They will bid up to £50.9m, but only if Sanchez finds a new home.
Quite how Giulianelli knows that the German forward would sign a five-year deal worth £6.8m per year is beyond us, considering Arsenal have not even made a bid, never mind got anywhere near to discussing terms with the player himself. But there we go.

MARKOVIC TO HULL…
‘Liverpool would allow winger Lazar Markovic to join relegation-threatened Hull City on loan, a source has told ESPN FC,’ claims ESPN, oddly enough. It’s not going well for Markovic at Sporting, where he has started just two league games – the last of which came in October. Should Liverpool and Sporting come to an agreement, the loan could be cancelled and Markovic would be free to join Hull on loan.
According to the Liverpool Echo: ‘Hull boss Marco Silva is keen to secure the 22-year-old’s services on a temporary basis and Klopp is happy to sanction that move. Talks are ongoing between the clubs over a potential deal.’ They go on to claim that there is ‘no way back for him’ at Anfield.

GUEDES NOT JOINING MAN UNITED
There were very strong rumours emanating from Portugal on Sunday that Benfica winger Goncalo Guedes was on his way to Manchester United in a £26m deal. They predicted that he would be left out of Benfica’s line-up for their clash with Tondela; and so it came to pass.
But Benfica manager Rui Vitorio insisted: “The coach is here to make decisions. I decided this was not the game Gonçalo Guedes to play in. I have to make choices, there are more players at Benfica and I chose to play them. End of story. Guedes didn’t play because I choose to pick other players. I have no indication that he will leave.”
Well, we don’t believe you. But we do believe one man when it comes to what is in the mind of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho…
Portuguese reports on Monday suggest that he may well join PSG instead. Or at least that’s what Benfica want us to think…

JOSE HAPPY TO SEE ROONEY MOVE TO CHINA
We bet he is. The Mirror claim that ‘Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande and Super League rivals Beijing Guoan are prepared to fork out a staggering £700,000-a-week to lure record-breaking Rooney away from Manchester United’ and the manager will not stand in his way.
“I don’t know, it’s up to him,” said Mourinho. “I don’t like to be critical of players who decide to go to China. It’s their life, it’s their organisation of their life, their organisation of their career. “The money is huge. The experience can also be interesting. I know some of my colleagues think they are more important than they are and think they can interfere in the lives of other people, but I’m not that sort of guy.”

AND THE REST
Everton are targeting Chelsea’s Serbia defender Branislav Ivanovic, 32, to replace their 34-year-old England centre-back Phil Jagielka…Manchester United will make a decision this week on whether to bring forward the £38m signing of Benfica defender Victor Lindelof…Everton’s 22-year-old Spanish winger Gerard Deulofeu will have a medical on Monday before joining Italian side AC Milan on loan…Watford will sign Fiorentina’s Argentine striker Mauro Zarate, 29, on loan for the rest of the season before completing a £2.4m deal in the summer for the former West Ham United player…Brentford striker Scott Hogan is expected to complete a move to West Ham this week…Barnsley midfielder Conor Hourihane has admitted his head has been turned by interest from Championship rivals Aston Villa.

CHELSEA MOVE FOR VIDAL FOR £56M
Chelsea will launch a bid to sign Arturo Vidal from Bayern Munich this summer, according to reports in Chile. And apparently they are willing to match Bayern Munich’s £56 million asking price for the player they paid £25.5m to sign from Juventus under two years ago. That is a f*** of a lot of money for a 29-year-old. That would beat the record transfer fee for a 29-year-old, which was £46.7m for Zinedine Zidane.
Vidal is in regular contact with his old Juventus boss, who has previously said: “He has extraordinary physical and technical attributes, if I get to coach him a little more it’d be fantastic. I want him in all my teams.”

CHELSEA BID £27M FOR ‘NEXT YAYA’
To be fair to the Daily Star’s Paul Brown, he does not mention Atalanta midfielder Franck Kessie being remotely like Yaya Toure until his final paragraph, but the headline seizes upon the comparison with a headline of ‘Chelsea make £27m bid for the next Yaya Toure’. He’s a midfielder, he’s black and he’s from the Ivory Coast, you see.
Anyway, the Star have pretty boldly said that Chelsea are not only interested, but have made an actual bid of £21m – rising to £27m – for the midfielder. The bid has apparently been turned down, with Atalanta eyeing a bidding war in the summer. Manchester City, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been linked with Kessie.

PAYET OFF TO NICE NOW?
If Marseille thought they could play silly beggars with West Ham over Dimitri Payet then they can think again – according to the Mirror, the plan is now to send the Frenchman to the south of France, but not to his old club Marseille but to Ligue Un leaders Nice on loan. This is considered a no-lose situation by West Ham, who lose his £125,000-a-week wages and his sulking mug around the training ground.
Oh but here’s Fissler with another exclusive in the Express: ‘PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN are ready to launch a rival bid to snatch West Ham United’s striking play maker Dimitri Payet from under the noses of Marseille.’ So here is a man with the ear of the big-wigs of both Real Madrid and PSG? Now that is impressive. You would think that with those sort of contacts, he could stop being the king of rugby gossip…

CHELSEA WILL SELL COSTA…FOR £130M
That’s the claim in the Sunday Times from our friend Duncan Castles. He writes that ‘Chelsea have put a price tag of £130m on Diego Costa and believe they can realise what would represent a global record transfer fee before the year is out’. And he claims that ‘instead of acting to improve the player’s financial terms, Chelsea are understood to have asked agents to find a Chinese club willing to pay €150m (£130m) or more for him’.
And then we get to the crux of the matter:  ‘It is understood that (Jorge) Mendes’ advice to Costa has been to stay in European football and not consider a move to China until he is well into his thirties. The Portuguese agent also advised Chelsea not to sell mid-season.’ As Castles is the media voice of Jose Mourinho (whose agent is Jorge Mendes), we think we can guess from where this story has originated.

AND THE REST
Manchester United’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney is expected to receive an offer of £1m a week to play in the Chinese Super League…Chelsea have joined Manchester United and Bayern Munich in pursuit of Benfica’s £34m-rated Portugal international right-back Nelson Semedo…Sunderland could bring in Robbie Keane and Joleon Lescott – who have a combined ages of 70…Tottenham have rejected an £8m offer from Crystal Palace for Wales international full-back Ben Davies…The Black Cats are monitoring former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira, currently coaching New York City in the MLS, if David Moyes departs…Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are considering bids for Inter Milan’s Croatian international midfielder Ivan Perisic…
…Juventus are considering a move for Liverpool’s Germany international midfielder Emre Can…New Swansea manager Paul Clement says he wants to hang on to in-form striker Fernando Llorente…Watford have agreed to sign former Birmingham City, West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers striker Mauro Zarate…West Ham transfer target Scott Hogan, 24, was left out of Brentford’s matchday squad against Wigan on Saturday, fuelling speculation that he will shortly be on his way out of Griffin Park…Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy says former Newcastle defender Steven Taylor could be joining the Suffolk club next week.

Ekong Can stop his former team mate Harry Kane.

Coach of Belgian side Gent is optimistic that Nigerian defender William Troost- Ekong can cope with the threat of Tottenham Hotspur star forward Harry Kane, when both sides clash in the Europa League.
Ekong played his first game for the team last weekend against Charleroi, 18 months after joining them as he has been on loan with Norwegian side FK Haugesund.
Coach Hein Vanhaezebrouck believes he has seen enough in the 23 year old to suggest he won’t be out of sort, when he comes up against Spurs forward Harry Kane.
Ekong who travelled with the team during their Europa League group games his ineligibility to play as he wasn’t registered back then, will get his baptism of fire when they take on Spurs in the knockout stage.
The 23 year old Dutch-Nigerian started his career at White Hart Lane with Spurs, and at a time was teammates with Harry Kane at youth level.
” Ekong did very well in our first game, I have never doubted him. He just needed time to play for us, he is at a stage right now where he is so confident in his abilities and play. Hopefully he will give us an edge against Spurs in the Europa League”, he said.

Awaziem courted by Portuguese Division 2.

Portimonense have contacted FC Porto on the possibility of signing Chidozie Awaziem on loan.
Awaziem will help the team who are top of the second division in Portugal realise their dream of gaining promotion at the end of the season, but a deal is far from agreed with FC Porto.
Porto wants the youngster to remain with the team until the summer, even though he isn’t guaranteed games with the first team unlike last season when he had his breakthrough.
Second division side Portimonense will be hoping that FC Porto shift grounds particularly as they have strong ties with the club when it comes to Nigerian players.
Presently Chidera Ezeh and Fidelis Irhene are on loan with the team, while Musa Yahaya passed through them before ending at FC Porto last summer.

John Chibuike joins Hapoel Tel Aviv

Hapoel Tel Aviv have hijacked Hapoel Haifa’s deal to sign former Rosenborg sensation John Chibuike.

Hapoel Tel Aviv have pulled off a transfer coup after luring the attacking midfielder to the Reds, and he has put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal that will run out at the end of the 2018-2019 season.
A possible move to Samsunspor (Turkey) had been on the cards before Chibuike committed his future to the 14-time Israeli champions.

The deal that took the 28-year-old to Hapoel Tel Aviv was brokered by Hasan Egilmez in collaboration with Shlomy Ben Ezra and Marco Salvatore.

Oduamadi to quit AC Milan After Nine Years


AC Milan winger Nnamdi Oduamadi might quit  AC Milan  before the close of the January transfer window.

 The Nigeria international has agreed terms with an Israeli club and the transfer is expected to be announced in the coming days if not hours.

Oduamadi spent the whole of last season at Finnish club HJK Helsinki, for whom he made 34 appearances, scoring 7 goals ( 6 assists).

The 26-year-old previously represented Varese, US Latina, Brescia, Crotone and Torino on loan.

Watford Star Ighalo NOT Joining Shanghai Shenhua Or Hebei China Fortune

 Watford star Odion Ighalo is being courted by a number of Chinese Super League teams ahead of the close of the January transfer window.

While the identity of the club Watford are negotiating with is classified information, this website can exclusively report that the Hornets number 24 is not generating interest from Shanghai Shenhua and Hebei China Fortune, contrary to various speculations in the media.

At the moment, Shanghai Shenhua have five foreigners on their payroll, including Nigeria star Obafemi Martins and Carlos Tevez, so a move to the club is out of topic.

Ighalo’s bonafide intermediary was sighted in London on Wednesday, fueling speculation that he traveled to England to hold clear the air talks with Watford suits about the striker’s future at The Vic.

A proposed move to West Brom appears to have fallen through, with the Baggies failing to meet his asking price, thought to be in the region of 17 million pounds.

 Nigerian Teen sensation  Goes AWOL in Belgium.

 

Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru left his club Eupen camp ahead of the league match with Standard Liege on Thursday.

The highly-rated teenager has not given up hope of ending his association with Eupen before the close of the transfer window, and it appears he is trying to force through a move, having embarked on a media campaign to show his displeasure with his present employer.

Onyekuru has been linked with a transfer to Scottish champions Celtic and Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, and has been scouted by a plethora of teams in Europe after taking the Pro League by storm.

Eupen have insisted that they do not want to sell the Nigerian because they are fighting for survival, with only three points separating them from Westerlo, who are 15th on the 16-team table.

In 22 outings in the league this season, Onyekuru has found the net 10 times, and is the top scorer of his team.

Chinedu Obasi Joins Chinese Club.

  Chinedu Obasi has ended speculation about his future after signing a deal with Chinese League One side Shenzhen F.C.

The Nigeria international has put pen to paper on a one-year contract, and Shenzhen F.C have retained the option of extending the agreement for twelve months at the end of the 2017 season.


Now 30, the attacker previously had spells with Lyn Oslo, Hoffenheim, Schalke 04 and Swedish Allsvenskan side AIK.

Shenzhen F.C are coached by the successful former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

 Hector Cuper plots Renard fall as Egypt clash with Morocco.

Egypt coach Hector Cuper says his team will immediately start preparing for their African Nations Cup quarter-final with Morocco on Sunday.

The Pharaohs finished top of Group D with seven points following a 1-0 win over runners-up Ghana in Port-Gentil, Gabon last night.
The Black Stars also advanced and will face DR Congo on Sunday.
"We always think of winning whatever game we are going into," Cuper is quoted as saying by CAF. "I wished to play a better game especially in the second half, but we were facing a very strong team in Ghana. They were very dangerous especially in the second half.
"Ahmed Fathy played as a left-back because it was a tough game and we needed his experience.
"We will start immediately preparing for the quarter final game against Morocco.
"Our ambition is very high and we are happy to win such a tough game. Our next game is even more difficult but I promise our supporters back home that we will fight till the last second."
Egypt have won the competition a record seven times - three more times than next best Ghana and Cameroon.

 Mario Balotelli insults Bastia coach Francois Ciccolini

Bastia coach Francois Ciccolini says that Mario Balotelli insulted his mother, as a fan who racially abused the Italian striker was given a stadium ban by the Ligue 1 side.

Balotelli had posted on social media that he had been subjected to "monkey chants for the whole game" during Nice's 1-1 draw with Bastia on Friday, and after an appeal by the club for the fan to come forward, the supporter was subsequently banned and had his season ticket revoked.
A Bastia statement read: "Regretting his attitude and aware of the repercussions, this person responded to our appeal and came to the stadium on Tuesday.
"Acknowledging he was responsible for the incriminating chants, he has been notified of the deactivation of his season ticket along with a general ban from the Stade de Furiani."
After the match, as Balotelli was leaving the field, he could be seen saying something to Ciccolini, who later revealed what the striker had to say.
He told L'Equipe: "Quite sincerely, I understand Mario Balotelli's irritation. Like a lot of people, I discovered the following day he'd been the victim of racist insults, that he had even had big problems with some of our supporters.
"He was annoyed. But it wasn't my fault. When he passed in front of me, he started to talk to me and insult me.
"I responded. I'm a teacher. I should set an example, not get annoyed etcetera. But there comes a time when the human being comes through. And I understand Italian perfectly. And my mother is not someone you can insult, call all sorts of names. My mother is 80 years old. People know me. I didn't react gratuitously."

Serena Williams vs Venus Williams,

The  two tireless personalities of our modern tennis era. At 35 and 36 years of age, they are still pushing on and inspiring so many people that age is just a number. Good to have both amazing sisters in another Grand Slam final. Congratulations!#AustralianOpen2017.

Nigerian Players watch.

The weekend games in Europe involving Nigerian players came to an end yesterday with some tasting the joy of victory while other had to swallow the bitter pill of defeat.
We bring to you the performances of some of the players in games that slipped under our radar during our monitoring of Nigerian players in Europe.
Turkey:
Eddy Onazi was a trojan in the middle for Trabzonspor, playing for the entire duration of their 1-0 win over Kasimpasa, who had Kenneth Otigba on the bench all through while Emem Eduok was introduced by the home team 17 minutes to the end.
Still in Turkey Aminu Umar started and ended the game for Osmanlispor but failed to provide the much needed goal as they slumped to a 1-2 loss against Antalyaspor, with Africa soccer legend Samuel Eto’o scoring the winner for the visitors on the dot of regulation time.
While Godfrey Obaboana lasted the entire duration of Rizespor 1-2 loss away to Konyaspor, new signing Bright Edomwonyi failed to alter the scoreline for the visitor after coming on in the 66th minute.
Super Eagles right full back Musa Muhammed was omitted yet again from the matchday squad of Istanbul Basaksehir who were beaten 1-0 by an inspired Fenerbahce side away from home.
Since joining tabel topping Basaksehir 18 months ago, the former captain of the Nigeria U-17 and 20 team is yet to play in the league for the team.
Netherlands:
Liverpool loanee Taiwo Awoniyi was for the second game running an unused substitute for NEC Nijmegen in their 2-0 win over Roda JC in the top league in Holland, while former U-20 captain Abdul Ajagun lasted the entire duration of the game for the losers.
On loan Arsenal midfielder Kelechi Nwakali had a game to forget as MVV Maastricht slumped to their first defeat in 2017 losing 2-1 to VVV-Venlo.
Belgium:
Former Nigeria Under-17 and 20 forward Saviour Godwin was made to take the walk of shame after his sending off in the 74th minute of Roeselare 0-1 loss at home to Union St.-Gilloise in the Belgian second division.

Okoronkwo Trying His Luck At Polish Club Sandecja Nowy Sacz Liga club .

 Sandecja Nowy Sacz have handed a trial to Nigeria international Solomon Okoronkwo with a view to a transfer.

The striker participated in his first training session with the Bianconeri on Wednesday afternoon.

Okoronkwo has a rich curriculum vitae, with spells at Hertha BSC, Rot-Weiss Essen, Erzgebirge Aue, SV Sandhausen and FC Saarbrücken.

Apart from those five German clubs, the Gabros of Nnewi product has donned the jerseys of Aalesund (Norway) and Pécsi MFC (Hungary).

The Beijing 2008 Olympics silver medalist recently trained with AS-FAR Club but did not agree terms with the famous Moroccan club.

Arsenal May loan Promising Nigerian Striker To Aston Villa

   


Aston Villa are among the Championship teams showing an interest in England U21 international Chuba Akpom.

The Birmingham Mail writes that Arsenal are prepared to loan out the young striker again to enable him get more playing opportunities after a back injury slowed down his progress.

If Akpom’s move to Aston Villa materializes, he will link up with his former teacher Steve Bruce, who coached him at Hull City last season.

The Hale End Academy product previously enjoyed loan spells with Brentford, Coventry City and Nottingham Forest.

EPL TRANSFER WATCH AND GOSSIP..........
Now we have certainly read the ‘Dele Alli to Real Madrid’ line before, so what’s the ‘exclusive’ element of the Sunday Express story? Well it begins: ‘REAL MADRID are ready to trump any offers that are made for Tottenham play maker Dele Alli.’ So the ‘exclusive’ is presumably that they are really, really serious. Apparently, ‘they are planning a major clear out at the end of the season and made it clear that they will do whatever it takes to land Alli.’ And apparently they have ‘made it clear’ by telling an English journalist who largely specialises in rugby. Which is odd.
Apparently, Real Madrid are ‘ready to break the £50m barrier’ to sign Alli, which sounds like peanuts when Oscar has moved for more. We suspect that Real might have to bid a little more than £50m for Alli, who has scored 11 goals this season and is thriving in partnership with Christian Eriksen.

PAYET OFF TO NICE NOW?
If Marseille thought they could play silly beggars with West Ham over Dimitri Payet then they can think again – according to the Mirror, the plan is now to send the Frenchman to the south of France, but not to his old club Marseille but to Ligue Un leaders Nice on loan. This is considered a no-lose situation by West Ham, who lose his £125,000-a-week wages and his sulking mug around the training ground.
Oh but here’s Fissler with another exclusive in the Express: ‘PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN are ready to launch a rival bid to snatch West Ham United’s striking play maker Dimitri Payet from under the noses of Marseille.’ So here is a man with the ear of the big-wigs of both Real Madrid and PSG? Now that is impressive. You would think that with those sort of contacts, he could stop being the king of rugby gossip…

CHELSEA WILL SELL COSTA…FOR £130M
That’s the claim in the Sunday Times from our friend Duncan Castles. He writes that ‘Chelsea have put a price tag of £130m on Diego Costa and believe they can realise what would represent a global record transfer fee before the year is out’. And he claims that ‘instead of acting to improve the player’s financial terms, Chelsea are understood to have asked agents to find a Chinese club willing to pay €150m (£130m) or more for him’.
And then we get to the crux of the matter:  ‘It is understood that (Jorge) Mendes’ advice to Costa has been to stay in European football and not consider a move to China until he is well into his thirties. The Portuguese agent also advised Chelsea not to sell mid-season.’ As Castles is the media voice of Jose Mourinho (whose agent is Jorge Mendes), we think we can guess from where this story has originated.

AND THE REST
Manchester United’s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney is expected to receive an offer of £1m a week to play in the Chinese Super League…Chelsea have joined Manchester United and Bayern Munich in pursuit of Benfica’s £34m-rated Portugal international right-back Nelson Semedo…Sunderland could bring in Robbie Keane and Joleon Lescott – who have a combined ages of 70…Tottenham have rejected an £8m offer from Crystal Palace for Wales international full-back Ben Davies…The Black Cats are monitoring former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Patrick Vieira, currently coaching New York City in the MLS, if David Moyes departs…Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United are considering bids for Inter Milan’s Croatian international midfielder Ivan Perisic…
…Juventus are considering a move for Liverpool’s Germany international midfielder Emre Can…New Swansea manager Paul Clement says he wants to hang on to in-form striker Fernando Llorente…Watford have agreed to sign former Birmingham City, West Ham United and Queens Park Rangers striker Mauro Zarate…West Ham transfer target Scott Hogan, 24, was left out of Brentford’s matchday squad against Wigan on Saturday, fuelling speculation that he will shortly be on his way out of Griffin Park…Ipswich manager Mick McCarthy says former Newcastle defender Steven Taylor could be joining the Suffolk club next week.

GRIEZMANN AND DOLBERG IN, SHAW OUT AT MAN UNITED
A busy day of Manchester United transfer rumours, that’s for sure.
– We’ll start with the guy that’s already there, in Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Sun says that United want him to stay for two more years and might give him a coaching role thereafter.
– Next is the Independent. Miguel Delaney writes that Antoine Griezmann is the club’s main summer transfer target, which is something plenty of outlets have reported. The more interesting line is that Jose Mourinho is losing faith in Luke Shaw, and that the left-back is almost certain to leave.
– Finally, the Manchester Evening News says that Ajax striker Kasper Dolberg is being tracked by United, Man City and Everton. He’s 19 and is scoring goals for fun, so you better bloody hope he’s being ‘tracked’.

CHELSEA’S SHORTLIST TO REPLACE COSTA
Well, you can go right here to read about that, you lucky fools.

PJANIC FOR SANCHEZ DEAL?
Interesting lines coming out of Italy now, if by interesting you mean ‘intriguing, but quite possibly b*llocks’.
Tuttosport believe that Juventus will offer Miralem Pjanic as part of a swap deal for Alexis Sanchez, hoping to link him with Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain. They’re going to win 20 titles in a row, aren’t they?
Tuttosport say that Juventus sporting director Giuseppe Marotta doesn’t want to include Pjanic in any deal, but is aware that Arsenal are big fans of the Bosnian. Unfortunately, Wenger says Sanchez won’t be sold before his contract is up.

SAKHO IS LEAVING LIVERPOOL, BUT TO WHERE?
Mamadou Sakho’s Liverpool career is over. Dead. Buried. Finished. Finito. Stop just saying words. On Monday the central defender was left out of the U23 team that faced Manchester United, which is evidence enough that you aren’t wanted.
Unfortunately, Liverpool are apparently demanding a £20m fee for Sakho’s services, which is a bit ridiculous. You’re paying him £105,000 a week, guys, and you’ll never play him again. Why not just get rid for £12m or £15m?
Anyway, Crystal Palace, West Brom and Swansea apparently want Sakho, but are presumably not prepared to pay £20m. And so the saga rumbles on.

AND THE REST
Netherlands winger Memphis Depay could complete his move from United to Lyon within the next 48 hours… England goalkeeper Joe Hart believes he has played his last game for Manchester City and expects to be sold once his loan spell at Torino ends in the summer… Leicester City striker Leonardo Ulloa wants to leave, with West Brom, Hull, Sunderland and Swansea interested… West Ham and Brentford have had a breakthrough in talks over the transfer of Scott Hogan… Watford are set to bid for Bournemouth’s Max Gradel… Birmingham City are set to sign Middlesbrough’s Emilio Nsue.