Pep Guardiola believes it’s difficult for Manchester City to beat Real Madrid or Barcelona in the transfer market. City are among a host of top European clubs interested in signing Ajax midfielder Frenkie De Jong but face competition from Barcelona as well as Paris Saint-Germain. Guardiola refused to be drawn on the chances of signing the 21-year-old Netherlands international, who could cost around £70 million, but admitted it’s difficult to take on the La Liga giants. “If you are the only one who want players it’s easy. But if you want one and many, many clubs want him it’s more…
Author: David Folami
Marko Arnautovic should be sold by West Ham because he could be a “problem” if he is denied a move to China, says ex-Hammers striker Ian Wright. The club have received a £35m bid for the Austrian forward, 29, from an unnamed Chinese side. West Ham say he is not for sale but Arnautovic’s brother and agent says he wants to move. “I think he’ll be a problem and I think that’s what’s happened at Stoke,” Wright said. “I think he’s been a problem most of the places he’s been. “He wants to go – I’d let him go.” Arnautovic…
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba said he is enjoying more “freedom” under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer than he had under Jose Mourinho. Pogba’s form has improved markedly since Solskjaer was made caretaker boss and he said it is because he has been given license to attack. “I play a bit further forward and I’ve got the security behind me,” Pogba told reporters at Wembley after helping United to a 1-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday. “He’s giving me the freedom of going forward, to shoot and to be forward with the three forwards.” Pogba was left on the bench for Mourinho’s…
Gabriel Jesus took his tally to seven goals in three games with a double as Manchester City beat 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 to cut Premier League leaders Liverpool’s advantage to four points on Monday. The Brazilian tapped in after 10 minutes and struck again from the penalty spot before the break after Wolves had been reduced to 10 men as Willy Boly was shown a straight red card. After back-to-back league defeats during the Christmas fixtures, City have now won five matches in a row in all competitions, racking up 24 goals in the process, and look primed to give…
La Liga president Javier Tebas has said he would welcome the return of Jose Mourinho to Spain’s top flight amid reports that the Portuguese coach could take over at Real Madrid for a second time. Mourinho, who was sacked by Manchester United on Dec. 18, recently said it would be a “tremendous honour” to guide his former club again. “He is a great coach and I don’t think it would be bad for La Liga,” Tebas told Catalan radio station Rac 1. “From a spectacle standpoint, it would be good, although I don’t know which club he would go to.”…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s shooting secrets are turning Marcus Rashford into a lethal finisher, according to Jesse Lingard. Lingard watched Manchester United’s caretaker boss work with Rashford during the warm weather training camp in Dubai and the extra training reaped immediate rewards as the 21-year-old striker scored the winner against Tottenham at Wembley. “Throughout the training sessions in Dubai he’s been practicing his finishing with the manager,” Lingard said. “It’s prepared him for big games and moments like that.” Solskjaer scored 126 goals during 11 years as a United player and his goalscoring tips have helped Rashford score in three consecutive…
Pep Guardiola has told his Manchester City players to forget about looking at Liverpool’s matches and focus on winning. City moved back to within four points of the Premier League leaders after a comfortable 3-0 victory over 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday night. The pressure was on his team after Liverpool returned to winning ways on Saturday but Guardiola says his players must forget about looking at where Jurgen Klopp’s side may slip up. “I don’t have a magic ball to discover when they are going to lose points,” he told a news conference. “I said to [the players] don’t…
La Liga champions Barcelona became the first football team to spend over half a billion euros in wages after their staff costs shot up by 42 percent over the past year, according to a study by KPMG. KPMG’s Football Benchmark study analysed the squads and finances of the respective champions of Europe’s top eight leagues. The Catalans, who signed Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in January 2018 for a club record €160 million ($183 million), have staff costs of €562 million a year. Paris Saint-Germain have the second highest wage bill on the KPMG list at €332 million, an…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council in Kogi State has described as fictitious, unfounded and tendentious, reports that the party has left the spokesman of the council and senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Dino Melaye, to his fate during in his hour of need. After playing hide and seen for a while, Dino Melaye finally gave himself up to the police. Days after, an ailing Melaye was taken away from the police hospital in Abuja, where he had been receiving treatment by masked security operatives on Friday. Chief Clarence Olafemi recently spoke to The Guardian, describing the…
The Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, has halted the remittance of check-off dues for its lecturers who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The university Spokesman, Mr Ademola Adekoya, revealed this recently. Adekoya said that remittance of the dues into the Union Bank accounts would remain suspended, until when the management and operation of the account(s) would be properly looked at. He said, “In the circumstance, the vice-chancellor, in the exercise of his supervisory and general responsibility to council to maintain good order in the university, has directed the immediate suspension of remittance of check-off dues…
The social media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mrs Lauretta Onochie has pasted her 4+4 photos all over her social media and urged Nigerians to support Buhari’s re-election bid. Her photos definately proved her unshaken loyalty and support for Buhari’s re-election. The popular and vibrant Lauretta also managed to convince Josephine, a staunch PDP campaigner to take few snaps with her. Lauretta then advised Nigerians to act according to the rules, noting that we are one and have to do things that will favour the country.
No fewer than three persons were died during an attack by unknown gun men on Sunday night between Asso and Tanda bridge in Gwong Chiefdom of Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna state. Mr Peter Averik, Chairman of the Local Government, who confirmed the sad news mentioned that the attack happened around 7:30 p.m when unidentified gun men started shooting at innocent persons who were walking along the Asso and Tanda bridge. “I was told the gun men, who seemed to be advancing, opened fire on the pedestrians over fear that they may be exposed. “One person died on the…
The Ondo State Government has made their intentions known about the need to strengthen the security measures in the state in order to create an safe environment for investors. Mr Jones Ogunmusire, the Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Administration and Policy Planning, said this in Akure at a press conference to herald the Ondo State Security Summit slated for Thursday. Ogunmusire explained that it has became compulsory to hold the summit amidst the security challenges in the state. He said, “In light of the developmental efforts of the Ondo state government to attract capital inflow to the…
A federal capital territory high court on Monday disregarded the suit filed by Ladi Adebutu to fight as regards the nomination of Buruji Kashamu as the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun state. Kashamu, senator representing Ogun east and Adebutu had been in dispute over the governorship ticket of the PDP in the state. In the suit, Adebutu requested of the court to declare him the real candidate of the party for the March 2 governorship election. As final judgement, Ajoke Adepoju, the judge, said emphatically, that the case filed by Adebutu cannot be maintained to…
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, on Monday recently challenged the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, to have him on trial over his alleged failure to declare his assets. The CJN, who delayed his planned arraignment after his refusal to show up before the Justice Danladi Umar’s led three-member panel tribunal, was however represented by a consortium of 89 lawyers that comprised of 46 Senior Advocates of Nigeria. The legal team, which was led by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, and a former…
Ado Ekiti-National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Prince Uche Secondus has said that the main reason why President Mohammadu Buhari has not succeeded in fulfil his vows of job creation, fighting insecurity and destroying corruption is because he is too weak to rule a country as big as Nigeria. He also issued a stern warning to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Idris Ibrahim, not to put the nation into unnecessary stress by attempting to alter the will of the people in the forthcoming general elections. In his words, “Do you know…
Governor Samuel Ortom has said that the recent statement directed to belittle him, credited to the Senior Special Assistant, SSA, to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who accused him of hate speech was the terrible work of the cabal who have taken over the presidency and running the country into a deep hole. Garba Shehu had alleged that Governor Ortom, in his campaigns ahead of the 2019 general elections, was flaunting a hate campaign in churches and making Benue people rise against President Buhari alleging that the president was on a mission to Islamize the country. Ortom…
Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has begged security agencies and those who will be involved in the conduct of the 2019 general elections to not be partial. According to the governor, “Politicians should be allowed to campaign freely, they should be allowed to reach out to the people to ask for votes, but, the people must also be allowed to exercise their will freely and we expect that impartiality is carried and there is no form of intimidation of voters in the course of the election because, when such happens, it will create a lot of challenges that will run…
Controversial actress, Tonto Dikeh, has joined in the #10yearschallenge fun movement, a online challenge where people share old pictures that shows what they look like 10 years ago in clear comparism with a more recent photo. The Nollywood movie star took to the gram to let fans know her version and wrote: “#10YEARSCHALLENGE God indeed has been faithful, A toast to life�#KINGTONTO” The now viral photo captured the mother of one looking beautiful, and placing focus on some parts of her body that she had surgery for including her breasts. Tonto still appeared amazing.
Nigerian rapper Falz has decided to flaunt a 2008 – 2019 throwback photo as he participates in the “10 years challenge” and his looks are absolutely flabbergasting. The photo showed Falz still rocking his well nourished and unbleached skin, looking as young and innocent as he could, totally different from the Bad Guy we know now. As caption for the said photos, he wrote: “#10YearsChallenge any mush divrent?” Falz is now known to be a conscious rapper who is currently using his music to be an activist.