French club, LOSC Lille have issued an official statement to wish former player, Victor Osimhen, the very best of luck after the Nigeria striker completed his move to Napoli. Napoli signed Osimhen from Lille in a €80million deal after the Italian side fended off competition from Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea to land the Nigerian international. The 21-year-old was in stellar form for the Ligue 1 side with the forward scoring 13 goals in 27 appearances as Lille finished the 2019-20 season in fourth place. Lille owner, Gerard Lopez revealed getting ‘multiple offers’ for the Super Eagles ace before manager, Christophe Galtier, confirmed last month that Osimhen will be moving on. Osimhen only signed for the French Ligue 1 club last year from Sporting Charleroi after impressing on loan at the B...
Inter chief executive Giuseppe ‘Beppe’ Marotta will try, as much as possible, to satisfy the demands that Manchester United have laid out for Alexis Sanchez according to a report from Italian news outlet FCInter1908.it. Talks with the Premier League club are from simple as the Red Devils have changed their mind regarding price and formula on man occasions already. Inter were initially only open to loaning him again but the report explains that the Nerazzurri club are now thinking about a permanent move for the Chilean international but do not wish to spend any more than €12-13 million on him. Marotta intends to offer such a figure well aware that he will be doing Manchester United a real favour by taking Sanchez’s huge wages of their wage bill. Inter will also need to find an agreement wit...
Juventus are still on course for this season’s Serie A title despite a blip in form, insists Adrien Rabiot, who says no “catastrophic” damage has been done. Maurizio Sarri’s side are currently sitting top of the Italian top-flight on 77 points, five ahead of second-placed Inter having played a game less. However, the Bianconeri have been fortunate to maintain their lead after a three-match winless run, which began with a 4-2 defeat against Milan at San Siro on July 7. Juve followed up that result with draws against Atalanta and Sassuolo, but Lazio failed to capitalise, losing their last three games to slip down to fourth in the standings. The reigning Italian champions are currently preparing to come up against Lazio in a crunch encounter at the Allianz Stadium on Monday, and Rabiot is con...
France, Italy and Germany are “ready to consider” sanctions on foreign powers violating an arms embargo in Libya, a joint statement by their leaders said Saturday. The statement did not directly name any foreign actors funneling arms to Libya but multiple powers have been sending fighters and weapons, fuelling a bloody proxy war that reflects wider geopolitical rifts and divisions in the Middle East and within NATO. While forces loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar are backed by Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, the UN-recognised unity government is fighting back with Turkey’s support. “We … urge all foreign actors to end their increasing interference and to fully respect the arms embargo established by the United Nations Security Council,” the statement said. “We are ready to consi...
Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen is ready to join Serie A club Napoli. The 21-year-old visited Napoli’s training facilities, plus head coach Gennaro Gatusso and president Aurelio De Laurentiis two weeks ago. Osimhen was however not too keen on linking up with the Partenopei due to racism issue in Italy. The former VFL Wolfsburg striker spoke with Senegal forward Kalidou Koulibaly who reassured him there is no racism issue in Italy. According to multiple reports, Napoli director Cristiano Guintoli met Lille president Gerard Lopez and Osimhen’s intermediaries for more face-to-face negotiations on Monday. He hopes to sweep aside the remaining doubts and convince Osimhen that this is the best step in his career. The cost of the transfer will be in the region of €50m plus Adam Ounas, which will b...
La Liga president Javier Tebas is hoping to resume the 2019-20 season on Thursday, June 11 with the Seville derby. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed on Saturday that the Spanish top flight had been given permission to resume behind closed doors from June 8 following the coronavirus-enforced hiatus in March. Previous reports had suggested the first match would be played on June 12, exactly three months after the suspension started, with Sevilla’s home match against bitter rivals Real Betis said to be the chosen match. While Tebas confirmed the derby to be his desired fixture, he revealed on Sunday that he is hoping to resume a day earlier, with kick-off to be set at 22:00 local time due to the intense heat in Andalusia’s capital. Speaking on the Partidazo show, Tebas said: “The...
Arturo Vidal has hit back at former Juventus team-mate Giorgio Chiellini, who said in his autobiography that the Chilean’s weakness was alcohol. Chiellini spent four seasons at Juve with Vidal, who is now at Barcelona, and said that although the midfielder was a “champion,” his fondness for partying held him back. “A footballer isn’t a devil or a saint. The distinction to be made is quite another. That is, between those who are real and those who are fake,” Chiellini wrote in an excerpt printed by SOS Fanta. “Someone like Vidal sometimes went out and drank more than they should’ve. Everyone knew it. It can be said that alcohol was a bit of a weakness for him. “However, that doesn’t put into question whether he is a champion or which type of person he is. Weaknesses are part of human nature...
Nigerian winger Victor Moses is delighted to be back in training with his Italian club Inter Milan. The former Nigerian international flown back to Italy last week after the Italian government agreed to allow teams to return to training as they prepare to restart the season. The 2019/2020 Italian Serie season and other sporting activities were suspended back in March, following the coronavirus pandemic which have ravaged the country. Teams were allowed to train the first time since March, but under strict conditions, in order to reduce the risk of the spread of the virus. It would be recalled that the Inter Milan hierarchy announced that none of their playing staffs tested positive for the dangerous virus. Meanwhile, it is unclear when the league will be allowed to return, but the Italian ...
Nigeria legend Sunday Oliseh has opened up on his experience with the Super Eagles which spanned nine years. The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder made 63 appearances for the West Africans before he was forced to retire from international duty in 2002. Oliseh was a key member of the Super Eagles team that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia under Dutch tactician Clemens Westerhof. He explained the tournament opened doors of opportunities for him as he secured a move to Italy to play for Reggiana, becoming the first Nigerian to feature in the Serie A. “The 1994 Afcon was very special for me. In fact, it was my first major tournament for Nigeria in Tunisia and we had some great talents in the squad at that time,” Oliseh told the Punch. “We were favourites heading into the tournam...