Club
Super Eagles boss wants Ahmed Musa to sort out his career before Afcon qualifiers
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr hopes to see his captain Ahmed Musa back to action ahead of their 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March. The three-time African champions will take on the Republic of Benin and Lesotho in their last Afcon qualifying games next month. Musa has been without a club since October when he left Saudi Arabian side Al Nass by mutual agreement. The forward starred for Russian Premier League club CSKA Moscow before moving to England to team up with Leicester City. The Super Eagles winger struggled to establish himself at the King Power Stadium and in an effort to enjoy more playing time, he left for Saudi in 2018. The forward is now looking to returning to Europe and has been heavily linked to Premier League club West Bromwich Albion. Rohr is hopeful ...
Thiago Silva reveals ‘nice surprise’ from Frank Lampard after Chelsea move
Thiago Silva says a “nice surprise” from Frank Lampard immediately assured him he made the right choice when joining Chelsea over the summer. The Brazil defender moved to the Premier League shortly before his 36th birthday, bringing to an end his eight-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain. Silva says he had no doubts about his decision to head to Stamford Bridge, but appreciated a gesture he received from his new manager as he prepared for the move. What did Lampard send Thiago Silva? “As soon as I said yes, he sent me a picture of us both shaking hands as national team captains in 2013,” Silva told FourFourTwo. “It was a nice surprise. He understood exactly what I needed at this stage of my career, probably because he had made a similar move when he was also 36, from Chelsea to Manchester Ci...
Ex-Golden Eaglets star joins South African side Stellenbosch FC
Former Nigeria’s Under-17 star, Ibraheem Jabaar, has pitched tents with a South African club, Stellenbosch FC. Jabaar, a member of the Golden Eaglets squad that made it to the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup, is an exciting addition in attack to Steve Barker’s team. ✍️✅🛅 Deal Sealed. The club is excited to announce the signing of this young Nigerian International who puts pen to paper with #Sfc 🍇 🤝 🇳🇬 Welcome Ibraheem Jabaar (18 y/o)👏 Jabaar is…#ProudlyStellenbosch#StellenboschFC pic.twitter.com/g0Vf7y05nx — Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) February 9, 2021 The 18-year-old talent joined the South African side from Ijebu United on a long-term contract. Confirming the signing of the Nigerian midfielder ...
Odion Ighalo: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave me the chance to live my dream
Nigeria’s Odion Jude Ighalo will forever be grateful to Manchester United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for supporting him to live his dream with the Old Trafford squad. Speaking for the first time after he moved from Saudi Arabian side, Al-Shabab, Ighalo expressed his love and admiration to the coach who believed in him and gave him the chance to live his childhood dream of playing for the Red Devils in any capacity. “Every player wants to play, but I always respect my coach. I’m a hard worker in training and match situations, It’s painful though, but the decision is not yours,” Ighalo informed 88.9 sports radion. “No player wants to be on the bench, particularly when you know you are fit or even better than those selected ahead of you. “But, I respect Ole. He gave me the chance to live m...
Ex-Golden Eaglet defender Joins Georgian club Saburtalo Tbilisi
Former Nigerian Under-17 international left-back, Ogaga Oduko, has completed a winter transfer to FC Saburtalo Tbilisi, one of the elite football club-sides in Georgia. Saburtalo, league champions in 2018, Georgian Cup winners in 2019 and also Georgian Supercup winners in 2020 snapped up Oduko on a two-year contract until January 2023. Ese Oduko, the adoptive father of the ex-Golden Eaglets player said his son “signed a two-year deal and might go to Belgium in the summer before moving to England.” England-based football scout, Ese Oduko who is also the CEO of Fresh Talents Football club/academy further said: “But we are hopeful for the future for him (Ogaga).” The 18-year-old who played for Nigeria at the U-17 African Cup of Nations hosted by Tanzania in 2019 has already played a friendly ...
Liverpool complete loan deal for Schalke defender
Liverpool have completed the deadline-day signing of Ozan Kabak from Schalke, subject to international clearance. The 20-year-old defender will move to Anfield on loan until the end of the season, with the Reds having the option to make the move permanent in the summer for a fee of £18 million ($25m). Kabak, a Turkey international who moved to Schalke from Stuttgart in 2019, will be the first of two signings on a busy day on Merseyside. He will be joined by Preston centre-back Ben Davies, who finalised his switch earlier on Monday. Goal understands that Liverpool will pay an initial loan fee of around £1m ($1.4m) for Kabak, while the deal for Davies could be worth in excess of £1.6m, should all performance-related add-ons be triggered. The Reds had been insistent that it would be a quiet w...
Shkodran Mustafi joins Schalke from Arsenal
Arsenal’s squad trimming has continued, with Shkodran Mustafi joining Schalke on a deal until the end of the season. Gunners boss Mikel Arteta said prior to the January transfer window that he was keen to trim some flab from his squad. Mesut Ozil has been the highest-profile departure, with the former Germany international joining Fenerbahce and in so doing the club cleared a sizeable chunk of wages from the monthly bill. Sokratis Papastathopoulos joined Olympiakos earlier this month after being released from his contract, William Saliba, Sead Kolasinac and Matt Smith have left on loan, while Matt Macey joined Hibernian on a permanent basis. World Cup winner Mustafi emerged as a possible departure towards the end of January, and he was linked with a shock move to Liverpool. Premier League ...
Racism: Anthony Martial seeks for security protection
Anthony Martial has asked Manchester United to help with security at his house after racist trolls abused him and his wife on social media. Martial was targeted with vile racist abuse following Man United’s shock home defeat to Sheffield United last week. The forward’s wife, Melanie, also received online hate which included death threats to both herself and her husband. The couple, who have a young child, have since approached the club who are believed to be happy to assist with extra security at their house. The Red Devils provided protection for executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward when angry fans attacked his home with flares last year.They beefed up security at his house and launched a review of safety measures. A similar set of actions is expected to take place at Martial’s house. Man ...
Nwankwo Kanu reacts to Arsenal vs Manchester United draw
Former Nigeria international Nwankwo Kanu has praised both former club Arsenal and Manchester United following their tensed 0-0 draw in Saturday’s Premier League tie at the Emirates. Both teams went into the game on the back of contrasting results with Arsenal beating Southampton 3-1 while United were stunned 2-1 at Old Trafford by relegation threatened Sheffield United in their last fixtures. The result means United have not beaten a ‘Big Six’ rival in the Premier League this season. For Arsenal, they continue their resurgence after a run of poor results. Reacting to the stalemate Kanu stated that both teams played well and stated he is looking forward to Arsenal returning to winning ways in their next fixture. “Both teams did well. Well done Gunners. We look forward to next 3 points,” he...
Alex Iwobi in action as Everton bow to Newcastle United
Alex Iwobi was on parade as Everton lost 2-0 to Newcastle United in Saturday’s Premier League game at Goodison Park. The 24-year-old returned for the Merseyside outfit against Leicester City on Wednesday, making a cameo appearance in the encounter. The Nigeria international missed his side’s outing against Sheffield Wednesday in the fourth round of the FA Cup on January 24. The forward was then restored to the starting XI against the Magpies to afford him more opportunities to make a meaningful impact for the club. Iwobi gave a good account of himself in the encounter but his effort was not enough to help his side avoid their sixth defeat of the season. The game started with both sides striving to outwit each other but despite their efforts, the first half ended without goals. After the re...
Henry Onyekuru grabs brace as Galatasaray beat Gaziantep away
Henry Onyekuru scored twice as Galatasaray beat Gaziantep 2-1 in their Turkish Super Lig clash at the Gaziantep Stadyumu on Friday. It was Onyekuru’s first appearance for Fathi Terim’s side since he linked up with the club from Monaco. The Nigeria international started the game on the bench and replaced Morocco international Younnes Belhanda after the break. The 23-year-old put Galatasaray ahead in the 51st minute after he was teed up by Dutchman Ryan Babel. He scored his second goal of the game 12 minutes from time. His international teammate Oghenekaro Etebo replaced Emre Kılınç in the 75th minute. Former Flying Eagles defender Valentine Ozornwafor was an unused substitute for Galatasaray in the game. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looki...
Joan Laporta: PSG have been disrespectful in Leo Messi pursuit
Paris Saint-Germain have been “disrespectful” in their pursuit of Lionel Messi, according to Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta, who has threatened to report the Ligue 1 champions to FIFA. PSG have been strongly linked with Messi ever since his decision to hand in a transfer request at Camp Nou at the end of the 2019-20 campaign. The 33-year-old ultimately decided to see out the final year of his current contract with Barca after opposition from club officials and La Liga, but his long-term future remains up in the air. Parc des Princes has been mooted as the most likely next destination for Messi, and PSG sporting director Leonardo publicly sounded out the six-time Ballon d’Or winner earlier this month. “Great players like Messi will always be on PSG’s list,” said the Brazilian...
