Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has claimed “positive” talks with star forward Alexis Sanchez over his future at the Emirates, despite reports the Chile international is set to leave this summer. Sanchez is set to enter the final year of his contract with the Gunners, and has so far resisted signing a new long-term deal reportedly worth in excess of £250,000 a week. Wenger stated in April he “deeply believed” the former Barcelona and Udinese man would extend his stay with the London club, and told reporters on Friday that he’s had encouraging talks with Sanchez via text. “Of course. There…
Author: David Folami
Jose Mourinho has said it is “possible” Zlatan Ibrahimovic will play for Manchester United again. The striker was not offered a new contract at the end of the season after suffering a knee ligament injury in a quarterfinal win against Anderlecht in the Europa League in April. However, the 35-year-old has remained in Manchester during his rehabilitation and is using United’s facilities at Carrington, as well as the club’s medical staff. Mourinho does not expect the Swede, who is not with the squad on the tour of the United States, to be fit until December. But the United manager has…
Serge Aurier, Hatem Ben Arfa and Grzegorz Krychowiak have all been left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s squad for this summer’s International Champions Cup in the United States. PSG flew to Miami on Saturday morning and none of the three players featured in the preflight photo. Les Parisiens have since confirmed that Aurier, Ben Arfa and Krychowiak have indeed been left in Paris, fuelling rumours that the trio — notably Ivory Coast international Aurier — are in line to leave the club this summer. Promising right-back and youth academy graduate Alec Georgen has also been left behind, as well as fellow…
Kyle Walker wants to win trophies after joining Manchester City from Tottenham in a deal that could be worth £50 million. Walker, 27, was confirmed as City’s third signing of the summer on Friday and he is keen to make up for eight trophy-less years in North London. “With the size of the club, we need to go on and pick up silverware, get trophies left, right and centre, and hopefully that can add to my CV because I haven’t won that many things so far in my career,” Walker told CityTV. “Tottenham was a great club, it helped me…
After weeks of difficult negotiations, Chelsea have finally secured the midfield signing Antonio Conte wanted. Tiemoue Bakayoko has completed a £40 million move from Monaco, paving the way for Nemanja Matic — who has been training alone since the Blues players returned to Cobham for preseason training on Monday — to be sold. Bakayoko’s price tag makes him the second-most-expensive signing in Chelsea’s history, surpassed only by the £50m deal that brought Fernando Torres to Stamford Bridge from Liverpool in January 2011 (though Alex Sandro will eclipse both if his reported £61m move from Juventus comes to pass). It is…
Arsene Wenger has said he expects Kylian Mbappe to remain at Monaco and confirmed Arsenal had not made a world-record bid for the teenage striker. Mbappe, 18, has been linked with Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City as well as Arsenal this summer after scoring 15 goals as Monaco won the Ligue 1 title and a further six as the club reached the semifinals of the Champions League. Wenger had shown interest in signing Mbappe but said it seemed unlikely that the player would move. “It looks like that,” Wenger told a postmatch news conference when asked if he…
One month after Beyonce welcomed a set of twins, the 35-year-old pop star has finally unveiled her bundles of joy – a boy and a girl. In an Instagram post on Friday, July 14, Beyonce also confirmed the names of her new additions. “Sir Carter and Rumi 1 month today,” she captioned the photo that showed the infants’ faces. Conspicuously missing in Beyonce’s official photo with the twins are her husband, Jay-Z, whose latest album – 4:44 – went platinum in one week of release, and Blue Ivy, their first daughter. The photo has already garnered over two million likes.
Manchester United are expecting another bid from Real Madrid for David De Gea this summer, sources have said. The Spanish giants have a long-running interest in the goalkeeper and are set to make a fresh offer after Gianluigi Donnarumma signed a new contact at AC Milan. Madrid had targeted the Italian teenager and Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois as they search for a replacement for Keylor Navas. However, after Donnarumma decided to stay at the San Siro, and with Chelsea refusing to negotiate over Courtois, the La Liga side have turned their attentions back to De Gea. The Spain international is under…
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has berated President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption war, saying it is only fighting the symptoms. Dogara said too much “emphasis” is placed on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) instead of preventive agencies like the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC). The speaker stated this on Thursday, July 13, when a delegation from the FRC visited him in Abuja. Dogara faulted the non-disclosure of interests accruing to Nigeria’s foreign reserve accounts which he said should be under the custody of agencies like FRC “for dissemination to the public when necessary”. According to him, Nigeria…
Nollywood Actor Yul Edochie is gunning for the Anambra state governor’s seat. The act took to social media today Friday, July 14, 2017, to make this known. He wrote alongside a political photo post of himself, “My name is Yul Edochie. And I’m running for Governor of Anambra State. 2017. #TheLastBusStop.” According to him, he has a plan for restructuring the life of his people by aspiring for a governorship seat. “We need a new brand of Leaders who will put the masses first. The older ones have failed us for too long… They have come to THE LAST BUS…
Musician and songwriter, Jaywon visited the students of Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care recently in celebration of his birthday. As part of his yearly activity, the star, full name Oluwajuwonlo Iledare, threw the students of Modupe Cole a party. On why he chose the home, Jaywon disclosed that he was further inspired by the chat of one of the students of the home who once told him “rather than throw a lavish party, why not come yearly in your own little way to celebrate with us” and ever since it has become a yearly tradition he goes there. According to…
Nollywood actress Ibinabo Fiberesima is elated with news of her son’s graduation. The actress took to Facebook on Thursday, July 13, 2017, to share the news with fans. Meanwhile, the former Actors Guild of Nigeria president is on the single’s market again. The actress and her former partner parted ways early last year but kept it off social media. Ibinabo herself while celebrating her new age made the revelation. In a message shared on Facebook to thank her fans for standing by her all through the years, Ibinabo talked about the pain of a “dissolution of a bond” she had…
The ederal Government headed by Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has contradicted the Minister’s comment that Nigeria cannot borrow anymore due to its rising debt profile. Adeosun had on Monday, July 10, said that the Federal Government cannot afford to any longer to fund its budget, adding that it should instead raise money internally. “We cannot borrow anymore, we just have to generate funds domestically to fund our budget, and mobilise revenue to fund the necessary budget increase,” Adeosun had said. But in a statement issued on Thursday, July 13, by the ministry’s Director of Information, Mr. Salisu Dambatta, the Minister’s comment…
The Nigerian military has denied claims of plotting a coup against Acting President Yemi Osinbajo amid allegations that it is trying to overthrow President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. The Director of Defence Information, Major General John Enenche, made the military position’s clear in a statement released on Thursday, July 14, 2017. The statement said the military is not planning to disrupt the country’s democracy, saying it was committed to the “best global practices of governance”. The statement read, “It is necessary to make clarifications on an ill motivated article published by the media by a group of ‘unnamed concerned military and…
The Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), in collaboration with the state Food Bank Commission, has distributed relief materials to more than 1,000 Bakassi returnees evicted from Cameroon. Mr John Inaku, the Director-General of SEMA, who distributed the relief materials to the beneficiaries on Friday at the Bakassi Council Secretariat, said that the items were provided for the returnees to ameliorate their suffering. Inaku said that the State Government was touched by their plight. “Gov. Benedict Ayade in his magnanimity, has provided for the victims all these food and non-food items and also urge them to remain calm.” “We…
Tiemoue Bakayoko will undergo a medical on Friday after travelling to London to finalise a £40 million move from Monaco to Chelsea, sources have told ESPN FC. The 22-year-old’s move to Stamford Bridge has been delayed for several weeks by the protracted nature of the talks between the two clubs, coupled with a lingering knee injury that has delayed his medical, but he is now set to be confirmed as Chelsea’s third signing of the summer. Antonio Conte had identified Bakayoko as a top target after watching him play a key role in Monaco’s spectacular Ligue 1 triumph and run…
Real Madrid have agreed a deal to sign Spain under-21 midfielder Dani Ceballos from Real Betis, the European champions have announced. A club statement read: “Real Madrid and Real Betis Balompie have agreed the transfer of the player Dani Ceballos, who will be connected to the [Bernabeu] club for the next six seasons. The player will be presented next Thursday July 20, at 13:00, in the VIP suite at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The next day, Friday 21, he will join up with the squad’s pre-season in the United States.” Ceballos, 20, burst to prominence after winning the Player of…
Leonardo Bonucci is on the brink of leaving Juventus to join AC Milan, with the defender’s agent saying that he is “working on” an exit for his client after widespread reports in Italy had said a deal was on the cards. Bonucci reported for preseason training with Juve on Thursday, while his representative Alessandro Lucci was spotted in Milan, where he told Sportitalia that he was “working on it” in reply to a question on whether the Italy international is set to leave Turin. Juve’s general manager Beppe Marotta was also in Milan on Thursday and it is reported he…
Guess who isn’t too thrilled about Uche Jumbo’s divorce rumours? Her husband, Kenney Rodriguez and he is having none of it. The Nollywood actress’s husband took to social media to apologise to his wife for the rumours which began recently, hinting that her marriage might be at an end. Rodriguez described the rumours as “negative inaccurate press,” while revealing that he has taken legal action against those peddling the speculations. He wrote, “I would like to publicly apologise to my wonderful wife Uche Jombo for the foolishness that has been speculating the internet. “I’ve already taken legal action, however, I…
D’banj is celebrating his dad on his new milestone of turning 70-years-old. The Koko master took to Instagram to share a few words, marking his dad’s birthday. He captioned a photo of himself and his dad, writing, “And to the Real Koko master, my perfect Role Model, my father Celebrating 70years of Grace. I Love you, Dad!Wow! that Bible big O!!” The music star has a lot going on for him this year, what with the birth of his son, Daniel The Third and the berth of his entertainment outfit, D Cream Records. Big congrats to him papa Daniel.