Arsenal have agreed a £6.8m transfer fee with Belgian club KAS Eupen for Nigerian striker Henry Onyekuru. The Gunners have been in talks with the Belgian club since last week, having led a string of Premier League teams interested in Onyekuru. Personal terms have not yet been agreed with the player’s representatives, but he is an avid Arsenal fan and is understood to be keen on the move. The 19-year-old is the top scorer in the Jupiler League, notching his 20th goal on May 20, and has been of interest to Everton, Southampton, West Ham and West Brom. He is…
Author: David Folami
Another striker linked to United who has also already played for Mourinho is Lukaku. The Everton man has averaged more than 20 goals a season in the five campaigns he’s spent away from Chelsea, with Mourinho previously deeming him surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge. Lukaku has previously claimed he would be happy to play for Mourinho again and certainly is looking for a way out of Everton to compete in the Champions League. United would be able to offer him this now, thanks to their Europa League triumph. In signing him, the United manager might well have to admit…
Like Griezmann, Belotti also has a release clause of €85 million, but United are unlikely to want to pay that. The former came third in the last Ballon d’Or behind Ronaldo and Messi, and the latter has only had one good season, meaning United will be looking for some sort of parity when it comes to the transfer fee. For Belotti, United would be paying, in part, for his potential. Before last season, Belotti had never managed more than 12 goals a season and therefore Torino cannot justify demanding the release clause for him. If they do, United will look…
Atletico Madrid will be unable to sign new players until January 2018 after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday upheld their transfer ban, a move the club said caused “irreparable damage”. Atletico and city rivals Real Madrid were barred from registering new players for two transfer windows in January 2016 for irregularities in the signing of foreign players under 18. CAS said its appeal panel had upheld the Atletico ban, but reduced the fine from 900 000 Swiss francs (827 000 euros, $927 000) to 550 000 francs. Atletico “remains banned from registering players both nationally and…
Following reports that Manchester United are no longer pursuing Antoine Griezmann, instead making it a priority to sign a No. 9 to replace the injured Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Jose Mourinho has a large group of quality players at this position to choose from. Alvaro Morata Morata might well be the best man for the job. Still in the early days of his career, just 24, he would certainly provide value for money in terms of the years of his career he could go on to spend at Old Trafford. Morata, born in Madrid, was given his first-team debut at Real by…
New Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde believes more is to come from Lionel Messi as he spoke of his excitement at working closely with the Argentine, whom he called the best player he has ever seen. Messi finished top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues last season with 37 strikes in La Liga and produced a vintage performance as he helped fire Barca to a 3-1 victory over Alaves in the King’s Cup final last Saturday. Outgoing coach Luis Enrique spoke of his gratitude after that game of being able to enjoy Messi at the peak of his powers and Valverde…
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will hold talks to extend his stay at the Premier League club despite receiving offers from other clubs, the 35-year-old’s agent Mino Raiola has said. Ibrahimovic joined United on a year-long contract before the 2016-17 campaign and was vital to their League Cup and Europa League triumphs, scoring 28 goals in 46 appearances before sustaining a season-ending knee injury in April. “He wants to stay in England, he wants to stay at the top and if he sees that he can be a valuable asset for Manchester United, then why not Manchester United?” Raiola told…
Pep Guardiola has been challenged to win the treble by Manchester City’s ambitious owners as the Premier League club aim to bounce back from a disappointing campaign. Guardiola’s first season with City was a damp squib as they ended without a trophy after failing to push for the title and crashing out of the Champions League in the last 16. City also fell short in the FA and League Cups in a rare season of underachievement for Guardiola, who was a serial trophy winner during his spells in charge of Barcelona and Bayern Munich. However, City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak…
Manchester United have been rated as Europe’s most valuable club by a new report into the financial muscle of the continent’s top teams. The report by professional services firm KPMG looked at the finances of 39 clubs based on their popularity on social media channels, revenues for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons, and success in European competitions. The clubs were then ranked by enterprise value, an accounting measure used to assess how much it would cost to buy any given club or company as it includes a business’s total debt, with KPMG using its own formula to reach these valuations.…
Yaya Toure believes Manchester City can prove they are the number one team in Manchester if they finish the Premier League season above their old rivals United. A 0-0 draw against United in Thursday’s derby at the Etihad maintained City’s one-point advantage over Jose Mourinho’s side in the race for a top-four finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League. Victory for City against struggling Middlesbrough would help Toure’s team ensure they finish above United for the fifth time in six seasons. “Yes, of course, all the time we finish above them in the season, it shows City are doing…
Atletico Madrid’s France striker Antoine Griezmann played 63 games this season racking up 5,454 minutes on the pitch, making him the most used player in Europe, the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) said on Tuesday. Griezmann, thought to be close to a transfer to Manchester United, played all but two league games and racked up 12 Champions League matches combined with domestic cup and international appearances to top the heap of most minutes played. Leicester City’s Nigerian defender Wilfred Ndidi, with 61 games and 5 290 minutes was second, whilst another Atletico stalwart, Koke, came third with 62 games…
Former Manchester United defender Viv Anderson believes Jose Mourinho will look to return to the club’s traditional footballing values after securing a Champions League place in his first season in charge at Old Trafford. The 20-time English champions defeated Ajax Amsterdam in the final of the Europa League last week to secure direct entry into the group phase of next season’s Champions League, the first time the club has acquired automatic passage to that stage of the competition since the retirement of Alex Ferguson in 2013. Victory over the Dutch side brought a successful end to a challenging campaign that…
Midfielder Yaya Toure has signed a new one-year contract with Manchester City, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. Toure joined City from Barcelona in 2010 and has made 299 appearances in all competitions for the club, scoring 81 goals, but missed a chunk of the season after a public spat between his agent, Dimitri Seluk, and manager Pep Guardiola. Seluk criticised Guardiola for leaving his client out of City’s Champions League squad, resulting in Toure being frozen out by City at the start of September, only to be welcomed back a month later after issuing a public apology. “I’m…
There was a weary look and sound to Arsene Wenger throughout most of the past season that hinted at an Arsenal manager no longer capable of the dynamism needed to be the best. But after signing a new two-year deal with the Gunners, having won the backing of owner Stan Kroenke and the club hierarchy, the Frenchman is again sounding like a man with goals that match those of the club’s most avid supporters. “They are of course unlimited, our ambitions. We live in a very competitive world where you need the support of the owner as well. He’s highly…
Manchester United have cooled their interest in signing Atletico Madrid’s French forward Antoine Griezmann, according to British media reports on Thursday. Europa League winners United were reported to be plotting an approach for 26-year-old Griezmann. But several media outlets, including the BBC and Britain’s Press Association, said United were instead shifting their focus towards a more conventional centre-forward, citing an internal source. United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has sustained a long-term knee injury and is due to be out of contract at the end of the month. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Thursday upheld a transfer ban against Atletico…
Manchester United will be encouraged to make a summer move for Gareth Bale if he begins the Champions League final on the bench, according to reports in Spain. Real Madrid forward Bale has been a long-term target for United, who wanted to sign him before his world-record move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 and have been linked with him since. Bale has been a star for Real since, but has suffered injury problems this season with Isco putting in brilliant displays as his replacement. According to Barcelona-based website Mundo Deportivo, Isco’s form could see him start in Saturday’s final ahead…
Manchester United have reportedly made contact with Paris Saint-Germain over the signing of Lucas Moura in the summer. Sport Witness has been informed by several sources that the Red Devils are entered in negotiations with the 24-year-old who they nearly signed back in 2012 under Sir Alex Ferguson. Moura was being pursued by Europe’s elite after his brilliant performances for Sao Paolo, but United were unable to match the £40m offer tabled by the Parisiens. Now, they look likely to get their man with the Brazilian unable to nail down a regular starting spot and Jose Mourinho desperate for a…
Manchester United are interested in signing Ivan Perisic, Inter Milan sporting director Pierro Ausilio has told Mediaset, but the club have yet to make a formal approach for the winger. Perisic, 28, has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer, with Sky Sports claiming United are in talks with Inter over signing the Croatia international. However, Ausilio has said that Inter have yet to receive any bids for Perisic. “If by offer you mean an official communication, then we’ve not had anything yet,” he said. “The media are always there first but there’s nothing to it.…
Ander Herrera will snub any approach from Barcelona to lure him to the Nou Camp from Manchester United. Reports from the Catalan capital have suggested the 27-year-old is a priority for incoming manager Ernesto Valverde’s. Valverde, who Herrera cites as one of the biggest influences on his career, succeeds Luis Enrique and is charged with winning back La Liga from Real Madrid and dislodging them in the Champions League rankings. Real contest this Saturday’s final in Cardiff against Juventus. Valverde is understood to have identified Herrera as the dynamo in the engine room to provide the base for Lionel Messi,…
The Markafi faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has scored the Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progress Party (APC) government low as Nigerians celebrate this year’s Democracy day. In a statement by its publicity spokesman, Dayo Adeyeye, the PDP said the APC has left Nigerians with nothing to celebrate two years after taking over power. The PDP accused the APC of ‘suppressing and denying it’ the political space to provide credible opposition in the country. The PDP accused the APC of selectively fighting corruption adding that the ruling party has become a shield for corrupt politicians. “The Question is what has…