The Coalition of Buhari/Osinbajo Movement (COBOM) has said plans are underway to get 10 million Nigerians to vote in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari in the forthcoming poll. The Patron of the Group, retired Maj.-Gen. Garba Audu, made the vow at the launch of COBOM’s Executives in Abuja on Thursday. He said the project should be easy since Buhari’s record speak for itself. “We are having an inauguration of COBOM, a coalition with grassroots; we have about 10 million people with their voters’ cards and they are ready to vote for Buhari come Feb.16. “This is because they believe in…
Author: David Folami
Alhaji Abdu Ringo, Chairman, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Zaria Local Government Area of Kaduna State has said President Muhammadu Buhari’s integrity will make him win again in February. According to him, Buhari is the only leader, presently, without a foreign account or home in foreign countries. ‘‘President Buhari is a trustworthy, honest, truthful, committed and patriotic Nigerian who always works in the interest of national unity, national growth and development. ‘‘These qualities have earned him respect, not only in Nigeria or Africa but the world over, hence the need for Nigerians to give him a second chance to take…
Chelsea must complete the signing of Gonzalo Higuain before midday on Friday in order to have him available to face Arsenal this weekend. Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is determined to be reunited with the striker who scored 38 goals for him at Napoli during the 2015-16 season. Juventus striker Higuain, who is currently on loan at AC Milan, is flying to London and is keen for the move to go through too. The move looks very likely to be completed this month but Chelsea face a race against time if they want him to be eligible to make his debut…
Maurizio Sarri has said he wants the club to seal a deal for Gonzalo Higuain, so that he can unleash the striker against Arsenal this weekend. The Blues reached an agreement with Juventus for Higuain after the Italian Super Cup on Wednesday night, with the 31-year-old set to complete a temporary move to Stamford Bridge until the summer. If Higuain meets targets set for him by Chelsea, including appearances and goals, it will automatically trigger a further one-year loan in the deal. The Blues are ready to unleash him to the world him in the coming hours and it’s expected…
Jordan Henderson thinks Mohamed Salah has a similar “mentality” to former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez. Salah is currently joint-top scorer in the Premier League alongside Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with 14 goals. The Egyptian, who also has seven assists this campaign, ended the 2017-18 season as the league’s top goalscorer on 32 goals, which is one more than Suarez scored in his most successful season at Anfield. Salah, who has helped Liverpool to top spot in the league, has been compared to the Barcelona forward over their similar playing styles. However, Henderson believes it is Salah’s mentality…
Mauricio Pochettino has said losing Harry Kane until March through injury has not affected Tottenham’s plans in the January transfer window. Kane sustained ligament damage to his left ankle in the closing moments of Spurs’ 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday after competing for a loose ball with Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones. The striker’s usual understudy, Heung-Min Son, is also unavailable for selection because he is representing South Korea in the Asian Cup, which has sparked talk Spurs will have to invest in January. Pochettino conceded it was “tough” hearing he would be without “one…
Paul Pogba wants Manchester United to prove they are a “big team” by continuing their perfect record under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. United have won all six matches since the Norwegian replaced Jose Mourinho asw caretaker manager at Old Trafford, including a 1-0 victory against Tottenham at Wembley last weekend. Pogba believes the next step on United’s mission to return to the top of the English game is to prove they can sustain the form they have showed. “It’s not easy but that makes a big team, when they carry on at the top level and keep winning for a long…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is open to selling Marouane Fellaini this month, with sources saying that Chinese Super League sides Beijing Gouan and Guangzhou R&F are targeting the Manchester United midfielder. Fellaini signed a two-year contract worth £100,000-a-week to stay at Old Trafford following the backing of former manager Jose Mourinho last summer. But the 31-year-old has clocked up just three minutes of first team action during Gunnar Solskjaer’s six-game reign as caretaker manager and the Norwegian is understood to be happy for United to sell Fellaini this month. Solskjaer revealed on Friday that Fellaini has a “long-term” calf injury, while…
Ousmane Dembele scored twice as Barcelona beat Levante 3-0 to progress to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey, advancing 4-2 on aggregate after last week’s surprise defeat in Valencia. Dembele, twice assisted by Lionel Messi, moved Barca ahead in the tie with two fortuitous finishes in the first half. Messi added Barca’s third after the break as the Catalans continued their bid for a fifth successive Spanish cup success. Ernesto Valverde could not have hoped for a more convincing performance from his players. They were 2-0 up at the break, but it could have been five or six. Barca…
Jose Mourinho has said he “fell in love” with Mohamed Salah before signing him for Chelsea, but that the Egypt international became a “lost kid in London” during his time at Stamford Bridge. Salah made 19 appearances for Chelsea after sealing an £11 million move from FC Basel in 2014 before moving to Fiorentina on loan in February 2015. Chelsea then sold Salah permanently to Roma in August 2016 before the forward returned to the Premier League with Liverpool at the start of the 2017-18 season. Salah has since gone on to become one of the biggest stars in the…
Olivier Giroud has said in an interview that he has found it “difficult” to adapt to not being Maurizio Sarri’s first-choice striker at Chelsea, but insisted that he will keep fighting to play regularly at Stamford Bridge. Giroud has started just two of Chelsea’s last eight Premier League matches, with Sarri increasingly deploying Eden Hazard as a false No. 9 over both him and Alvaro Morata, who has struggled to live up to expectations since joining for £58 million from Real Madrid in the summer of 2017. “It’s not me who decides the team, making the starting XI, but obviously…
Jose Mourinho has said his achievement in leading Manchester United to runners-up spot in the Premier League last season was one of the best in his career because “people don’t know what is going on behind the scenes.” Mourinho, speaking recently, went on to insist that he would return to management at the “top level” following his Old Trafford sacking last month. Sources said that the 55-year-old had been subject to a so-called gagging order by United, preventing him from speaking about the terms of, and background to, his dismissal as manager. But although the former Chelsea and Real Madrid…
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half goal secured a record eighth Italian Super Cup victory for Juventus as they beat AC Milan 1-0 in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Wednesday. The trophy, which was being contested outside of Italy for the 10th time, is traditionally a clash between the Italian league and cup winners, but Milan qualified as Coppa Italia runners-up after Juve clinched the domestic double last season. Striker Gonzalo Higuain was dropped to the Milan bench amid media rumours of an imminent move to Chelsea, with some pre-match reports suggesting he was struggling with a fever. Yet it was…
Moussa Dembele has completed his move to Chinese Super League club Guangzhou R&F, with sources saying that Tottenham have banked £9 milllion from the sale. Dembele, who joined Spurs from Fulham in 2012 and made 250 appearances for the club in all competitions, was entering the last six months of his contract so could have left for free in the summer. The 31-year-old’s last appearance for Spurs came against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League in November and ended after seven minutes as the midfielder was forced off with an injury. “The club always treated me fairly. I’ve always had…
Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta is under consideration for a role in Manchester United’s structural overhaul, sources have said. United have considering appointing a technical director since the summer as part of changes to the club’s hierarchy, and had hoped to secure the position before the January transfer window, with 47-year-old Italian Berta one of the names in the frame. Former manager Jose Mourinho was resistant to working with a technical director but since his departure in December the recruitment process has been expedited. An appointment could be made alongside the next permanent manager ahead of next season. Berta,…
Mario Balotelli is set to join Marseille from Nice. The Italy international, 28, has been at Ligue 1 side Nice since leaving Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016. Balotelli helped City win the Premier League in 2011-12 and had one season at Liverpool before spending a year on loan at AC Milan. He has not played since 4 December following a disagreement with coach Patrick Vieira. Balotelli’s contract with Nice expires at the end of the season. Balotelli, who has also played for Inter Milan in a 12-year career, scored 42 goals in 64 games in his first two…
Frank Lampard called his side’s FA Cup win at Southampton “magical” after the Championship side came from 2-0 down to win on penalties. Derby had a goal ruled out in the first half by VAR but rallied with two goals in six minutes to set up a fourth-round trip to Accrington. “It takes a lot to come back against Premier League opposition and show that fight,” Lampard said. “They made me proud.” Craig Bryson thought he had put the Rams ahead in the first half but had his goal overturned for offside – a decision which former England captain Alan…
Luke Shaw’s romantic evening with girlfriend Anouska Santos took a turn for the worse on Tuesday when he was given a parking ticket for leaving his £100,000 Range Rover in an unauthorized zone. The Manchester United defender was spotted arriving at The Ivy restaurant in a hoodie and hat as he tried to escape the bitter cold weather. But, after leaving the restaurant, Shaw returned to his car to find a £60 fine waiting for him after leaving his vehicle on double yellow lines while he ate. Shaw and Santos arrived at the glamorous restaurant in Manchester’s city centre around…
Fred has found his opportunities limited this season but the 25-year-old has no plans to leave Manchester United, said Gilberto Silva. Manchester United midfielder Fred will not leave Old Trafford and is determined to fight for his future following the sacking of manager Jose Mourinho, according to his agent, Gilberto Silva. United reportedly spent £52 million (€57m/$65m) to lure Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk in June but the Brazil international found playing time limited under former boss Mourinho. Fred has only made eight Premier League appearances – six as a starter – and 12 in all competitions since joining United, leading…
Paul Pogba has said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s arrival as interim manager at Manchester United has not only sparked his return to form but also put a smile back on his face. The 26-year-old – an integral figure in France’s World Cup triumph last year – has shown the sort of form that United paid a club record £89 million (US$114.5 million) in 2016 since Solskjaer arrived last month to replace the sacked Jose Mourinho. Pogba’s relationship with the volatile Mourinho had been pretty much toxic all season – having already degenerated in the previous campaign – and he found himself…