Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio has played down suggestions Ivan Perisic is on the verge of a move to Manchester United, while Jose Mourinho has said he has “no idea” how the deal is progressing. Sources have told ESPN FC that Manchester United are still confident of landing Perisic and Sky Sports reported on Tuesday morning that an agreement for the Croatia winger is close. Inter forward Stevan Jovetic, meanwhile, is reported to be close to a move to Sevilla, where he spent time on loan last season, but Ausilio told Sportitalia: “Jovetic and Perisic are Inter players and,…
Author: David Folami
So far this is a summer in which Arsenal have done interesting things. There were eyebrows raised in May when Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, spoke about a “catalyst for change,” because he — much like Arsenal — has been fantastic at talking the talk but not walking the walk. However, credit has to be given for what they’ve done so far. They’ve smashed the club transfer record with the capture of Alexandre Lacazette from Lyon; they’ve brought in one of the Bundesliga players of the year in the shape of Bosnian Sead Kolasinac; appointed a new fitness guru to…
Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has said the club have not received any bids for Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez, 26, has been linked with a move to Roma in recent days, with Arsenal having also been touted as a potential destination after manager Arsene Wenger said he was a fan. But while the Algeria international said in May that he wanted to leave Leicester, Shakespeare says he is not aware of any interest in the player. “Riyad stated his position very clearly,” Shakespeare told a news conference. “Mine is really simple: while he is here — and we haven’t had any bids,…
AC Milan may have made 10 signings this summer already but they were well beaten by Borussia Dortmund in the first International Champions Cup clash in China on Tuesday. Milan lined up with new arrivals Ricardo Rodriguez and Franck Kessie in the XI, with Hakan Calhanoglu coming on as a substitute, and the Donnarumma brothers, Gianluigi and Antonio, benched. But Dortmund needed just 16 minutes to make the breakthrough as teenage sensation Christian Pulisic set up Nuri Sahin to score. Pulisic was then fouled by Gabriel Paletta in the box and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang — linked with a move to Chelsea…
Arsene Wenger has downplayed Alexis Sanchez’s comments that he wants Champions League football, and said that “a decision has been made” not to sell the Chile international. Sanchez told media back home in Chile this week that he wants to play in the Champions League, which many interpreted as a desire to leave Arsenal after they missed out on the competition for the first time since 1997. But Wenger — who has repeatedly said he will not sell the star forward even if he does not sign a new contract — was quick to dismiss the latest development in the…
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas says he is looking forward to winning many more trophies with the club in the future — and that the idea of being protected by coach Zinedine Zidane makes him laugh. Madrid have again been linked this summer with Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, a long-time target of club president Florentino Perez, with sources close to the Old Trafford outfit insisting recently that they expect a new offer for the Spain No. 1 in the coming weeks. The speculation has spiced things up ahead of the two clubs’ International Champions Cup meeting in Santa…
Borussia Dortmund have confirmed they are no longer open to selling AC Milan and Chelsea target Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this summer. Aubameyang, 28, was reported to be available for €70 million but sporting director Michael Zorc said after the 3-1 International Champions Cup win over AC Milan that the Gabon international is no longer on the market. “We consider the transfer window closed for him, because we otherwise would have run out of time [to find replacements],” Zorc told reporters. Kicker and WAZ reported that Dortmund — who had warned at the weekend that they had set a deadline to decide…
Chelsea have rewarded manager Antonio Conte with a new contract under improved terms for the two years remaining on his deal. The Italian coach, who penned a three-year deal on his appointment last summer, guided the Blues to the Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge. “I am very happy to have signed a new contract with Chelsea. We worked extremely hard in our first year to achieve something amazing, which I am very proud of. Now we must work even harder to stay at the top,” Conte said on the club’s official website. The new contract…
Nollywood actress Halima Abubakar is currently undergoing medical treatment for the complications she suffered from her Fibroid operation in India earlier this year. Despite all this, the actress is still positive about her current health status. In a Birthday post shared on her Instagram page to her friend and colleague, Uche Elendu, Abubakar says the devil can’t snatch her away from them. She wrote, “With all my strength I say happy belated birthday my love. You are a wonderful friend whom I don’t regret meeting. Thank you for showing me love and constantly checking up on me. Don’t worry boo,…
Wizkid is riding that expensive wave! The music star who is currently having a feud with Davido showed off his new bling on Snapchat. In a video shared on Tuesday, July 18, 2017, an excited Wizkid donning a King Sunny Ade shirt showed off his new diamond encrusted bling. “Sounds from the other side,” it read named after his recently released extended playlist. Meanwhile, Wizkid says he doesn’t care about anyone. In a recent Instagram post he wrote, “From today, I give no fucks. Welcome to my world.” It could be a jibe at long time off and on enemy,…
Popular singer R Kelly has denied allegations that he is holding several young women in an “abusive cult”. A report by BuzzFeed accused the singer of brainwashing women, who got close to him in an effort to boost their musical careers. The singer’s lawyer said they are currently working “diligently and forcibly to pursue his accusers and clear his name”. The singer’s lawyer, Linda Mensch, said in a statement: “Robert Kelly is both alarmed and disturbed at the recent revelations attributed to him. Mr Kelly unequivocally denies such allegations.” Recall that R Kelly has faced accusations of sexual misconduct in…
Actor, comedian and TV host, Okey Bakassi, has raised concerns over the alarming rate of drug abuse in the Nigerian entertainment industry. The comedian in a chat with Emma Ugolee on The Gist alongside African China and Sound Sultan said Nigerian celebrities consume and encourage drug use. “Conservatively 70% of Nigerian Celebrities are on some sort of substance today. They have gone ballistic. You hear a lot of names- SK, Kush, Loud, etc. the names come everyday and you’re struggling to keep up with the nomenclature of it.” Bakassi also admitted that he also indulged in the act when he…
Nigerian rapper, Vector, has come out to speak about the loss of his father, Mr Ogunmefun. According to him, he’s going to let God fill the hole his father left. He wrote, “Don’t expect me to post something contrary to what my dad would want. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t burn inside but well… he gave me to life to teach, break and rebuild with God at the top of it all. I feel the hole but I know it means a new chance to let God genuinely fill the hole. Thanks to everyone who has shown…
Nollywood actor Femi Adebayo has opened up on finding love and getting burnt by it. The movie star who has been separated and divorced from his first wife, Khadijat, for the last three years in a recent interview with Broadway Africa TV disclosed in his past love was very unfair to him. He said, “Love is a very relative term. What is Love to Mr Amight not be love to Mr B? Romantic love… to a reasonable extent love has been fair to me. If I actually look at my past love wasn’t fair to me but if I look…
The Kwara state government has subsidized farm input to farmers across the state to the tune of N360 million to enable massive food production this season as part of the N1b agriculture intervention scheme. The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Bamidele Adegoke disclosed this while presenting seedlings, pre-emergence and post-emergence kits to farmers under the aegis of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) on Monday, July 17, 2017, at the Kwara Agro Mall, Ilorin. He said the state government is also subsidizing the farm inputs which include land clearing and tractorization of about 2500 hectares of land in different parts…
The UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) has commended Acting President Yemi Osinbajo for his handling of the recent conflict in Bakassi Peninsula, which affected Nigerian fishermen. The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and Head of UNOWAS, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, spoke with the Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York. Chambas regretted the maltreatment and killings of about 97 Nigerians in the Peninsula by Cameroonian Gendarmes over failure to pay a N100,000 boat levy. “But let me commend the initiative of the Acting President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo,…
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has vowed to bring perpetrators of unprovoked attacks and molestation of its men to justice. The Corps Marshal, FRSC, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, made the vow in a statement issued by the Corps Public Education Officer, Mr Bisi Kazeem, on Tuesday in Abuja. This came on the heels of Saturday’s shooting of two FRSC officials in Abia by security operatives attached to the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chikwendu Kalu. Kazeem quoted the FRSC boss as saying that another official of the corps was unlawfully detained in a police facility after the shooting…
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has thrown his weight behind more enrollment of Nigerian children in schools, saying that the girl-child education should be encouraged. The Acting President made the remarks while he was hosting 20-year-old global education campaigner and UN Messenger of Peace, Malala Yousafzai on Monday, July 17, 2017, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria has some 10.5 million children out of school, with 60 percent of them being girls. Malala had charged the Nigerian government to “declare a state of emergency for education because the education of…
The Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of chairman and members of the State Civil Service Commission as submitted to it by Gov. Abiola Ajimobi. The house, presided over by Speaker Michael Adeyemo, also confirmed the appointment of the chairman and board members of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB). Mr Doja Oladele was confirmed as the commission Chairman, while Mr Festus Akinwale Ojebode, Dr Akeem Ahmadu, Messers Rafiu Oladeni and Isaac Alagbe, were approved as members. Also, the lawmakers approved the nomination of Mrs Aderonke Makanjuola as the Chairman of SUBEB, while Mrs Yemisi…
The Abia Police Command has arrested and detained two security operatives involved in Saturday’s shooting of two officials of Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Aba. The spokesman of the command, Mr Geofrey Ogbonna made the announcement on Monday in Umuahia in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He however declined to disclose the identities of the operatives. “The shooting did not involve the police alone: an officer from the department of State Security Service was also involved.” “The two persons have been arrested and are being detained. Investigation into the incident had commenced,” he said.…