Contract
Turkish side Trabzonspor in love with Ademola Lookman
Trabzonspor are interested in adding Nigerian wing wizard, Ademola Lookman, to their playing personnel and have registered their interest with the player’s parent club RB Leipzig, says Turkish publications Fotomac. Lookman is not short of suitors after impressing last term during a loan spell in the Premier League with Fulham. The former Everton ace scored four goals and added another four assists in 34 matches for the Cottagers. It was not enough, though, to help the London-based side avoid relegation to the Championship just a year after celebrating a long-overdue promotion. Fulham paid €2 million to Leipzig last summer before they could get the Super Eagles hopeful, and Trabzonspor may need to cough up an equivalent sum to acquire the services of the 23-year-old. A couple of years ago, ...
Georginio Wijnaldum joins PSG on three-year deal
Paris Saint-Germain have announced the signing of Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool on a three-year contract. The Ligue 1 giants made the announcement in a statement released on their official website on Thursday. “Paris Saint-Germain is delighted to announce the transfer of Georginio Wijnaldum. Arriving from Liverpool, the Netherlands international midfielder has signed with the club from the French capital until 30 June 2024. “Born in Rotterdam, and a product of the Sparta Rotterdam youth academy, he played for two of the biggest clubs in his homeland in Feyenoord (135 matches, 25 goals) and then PSV Eindhoven (154 matches, 56 goals) with whom he won the 2014-15 Eredivisie title. “After a season at Newcastle United, ‘Gini’ joined Liverpool FC in the summer of 2016. The ...
Inter Miami owner ‘optimistic’ that Leo Messi will join in the future
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas believes his side will be able to land Barcelona star Lionel Messi in the future. Messi’s contract with Barcelona will expire at the end of this month and the club is desperately trying to tie down the 33-year-old to a new deal. Various reports have stated that Messi’s potential Barca extension would include a provision for him to play two more seasons in Spain, then move to Inter Miami in 2023. Mas confirmed that he and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham have been involved in talks to bring Messi to Florida. “David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Leo Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time,” Mas told the Miami Herald. “I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami sh...
Manchester United ready to listen to offers for Dean Henderson
Manchester United are willing to listen to offers for goalkeeper Dean Henderson amid concerns over his attitude, Football Insider claims. The England international started last season as the back-up goalkeeper behind David de Gea, but he became a regular during the back end of the campaign. Despite this, he was ignored for the Europa League final against Villarreal. The club lost via a penalty shoot-out, with De Gea failing to save any of the 11 spot-kicks. Ahead of next season, the club are planning a radical overhaul of the goalkeeping department, and they have already released Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira. The club are also open to offers for Henderson and De Gea but acknowledge that they may struggle to offload the latter due to his hefty £350,000-a-week wages. Henderson is said to b...
PSG steals Georginio Wijnaldum from Barca’s grips with better offer
Liverpool’s Dutch midfielder, Georginio Wijnaldum, who had been a long-time target to firm up the Catalan midfield for Barcelona, made a sudden volte face by deciding for former French Ligue champions Paris Saint-Germain instead. Just when the details of his move from former English Premier League champions Liverpool were almost fully sorted with arrangements on course for Wijnaldum’s medicals at Camp Nou, PSG jumped ahead to challenge for the midfielder’s interest with a juicier offer which appears to have worked in their favour. The Ligue 1 side has now won the race to sign 30-year-old central midfielder on a free transfer from Liverpool. PSG found their way around advanced talks between Wijnaldum and Barca by showing the defender their determination to attract him to Paris by improving ...
Thomas Tuchel targets four signings at Chelsea after contract extension
According to the Daily Star, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel wants to bring in four new players this summer after signing a new contract with the club. Tuchel arrived at the Bridge in January earlier this year, after Chelsea had sacked club legend Frank Lampard owing to a disappointing run of results that threatened to derail the campaign. Under the German, though, the Blues experienced a tremendous turnaround as they clinched a top-four finish in the Premier League and also made it to the FA Cup finals. But the cherry on top was Chelsea going on to win the UEFA Champions League for just the second time in the history of the club, beating Man City in the finals in Porto. Following the sensational turnaround, Tuchel, who had initially signed just an eighteen-month contract, has now been hande...
Xavi explains why he has snubbed Barcelona managerial job twice
Xavi has been explaining why two offers from Barcelona to become their next manager were snubbed. The Liga giants have sounded out a familiar face on a couple of occasions in recent years when finding themselves in need of inspiration from the dugout. Both approaches have been knocked back, with a club legend who continues to cut his coaching teeth in Qatar with Al Sadd not yet of the opinion that the time is right to retrace his steps to Camp Nou. Discussing his decision to reject two advances from Catalunya, Xavi has told La Vanguardia: “Fortunately or unfortunately I have said no to Barcelona twice, due to different circumstances, family, professional, contractual… “And of course it was very difficult because I am a Barcelona fan, but it was not the [right] time.” The World Cup winner a...
Antonio Conte unconvinced by Tottenham project
Antonio Conte has major doubts about becoming Tottenham’s next head coach and is inclined to turn them down, according to Sky Italy. Spurs have been in talks with the former Chelsea boss, who left Inter Milan after winning Serie A last month. But after considering the role for several days, Conte remains unconvinced Spurs are a team ready to win trophies immediately. The Italian has won five league titles in the last decade and is looking for another ‘winning project’. He is trying to understand if it is possible to bridge the gap with the top four or five Premier League teams in a short period of time – with Spurs having finished 24 points behind champions Manchester City. It is understood Spurs would not pressure him to win trophies. If the parties fail to strike a deal, Conte could also...
Jordi Cruyff returning to Barcelona in advisor role
Jordi Cruyff, the son of Barcelona legend Johan, is returning to Camp Nou in an advisor role. The 47-year-old followed in the footsteps of his famous father when stepping out of the La Masia academy system in Catalunya. Much of his career was spent away from Barca, while he has also dabbled in coaching since hanging up his boots, but a familiar face now forms part of the restructuring work being put in behind the scenes by Blaugrana president Joan Laporta. Barca have said in a statement on the club’s official website: “FC Barcelona announces that Jordi Cruyff will join the football area of the Club and form part of the new organisational structure as of August 1. “Jordi Cruyff, who was a player in Barca’s youth teams and in the Barca first team from 1993 to 1996, returns in a strategic rol...
Nigerian government approves N9.2 billion premium for civil servants’ life insurance
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N9.2billion as premium to insurance companies that will manage the group life insurance for federal civil servants in the country. Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed revealed this when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the Council meeting which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja on Wednesday. He said: “On behalf of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, I will like to report that council today approved the award of contract for the appointment of insurance companies for group life assurance for federal government employees, public servants, para-military and the intelligence community for the year 2021-2022 in the sum of N9, 248. 995, 907. “This premium is for a perio...
Barcelona announce the signing of Eric Garcia
Finally, the signing of Eric Garcia has been officially announced by Barcelona. The 20-year-old centre-back has been linked to the club for almost a year now. He came very close to signing for his boyhood club last summer before the talks broke down on the deadline day, as well as January of this year. Garcia had spent nine years at the youth level in Barça before moving to Manchester City in 2017. The youngster has been captain of almost all the youth Barça teams he played at. He was also the captain of the U-19 team of Manchester City. After a triumphant spell with Manchester City in England, Garcia will return to Catalonia, securing the Premier League winners medal twice. Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, rates the young centre-back very highly. When asked about not selecting Ga...
Manchester City willing to break £100 million barrier to sign Aston Villa skipper
Manchester City are willing to break the £100m barriers to sign Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish. The Daily Mail says Grealish has long been admired by Pep Guardiola and City’s manager wants the 25-year-old at the hub of what he hopes he will become the second great team of his reign in Manchester. Villa rewarded Grealish last September with a lucrative new contract and the club captain still has four years to run on his deal. His importance to Dean Smith’s side is huge and, as such, they would not entertain selling their local hero for anything less than a new British transfer record. City have not had the most expensive player in the Premier League since they signed Robinho for £32.5m at the start of the Abu Dhabi era in September 2008 but there is recognition that recruiting Grealish w...
