Author: Olukayode Oke

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez for £25m plus add-ons. The Blues have been looking to add a goalkeeper to their squad following the sale of Edouard Mendy to Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. Sanchez, 25, will challenge Kepa Arrizabalaga for the number one spot. The Spaniard will be familiar to the coaching staff at Chelsea as goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts worked with him while at Brighton. Sanchez has been with the Seagulls since the age of 15, having joined their academy from Levante in 2013. After loan spells with Forest Green and Rochdale, he made his…

The Super Falcons started preparations for their Round of 16 fixture against the Lionesses of England at the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Thursday. The players were granted a two-day break following Monday’s 0-0 draw against Republic of Ireland. All 23 players took part in the session held at the Lion FC Stadium in Brisbane. The training was supervised by head coach Randy Waldrum. Defensive midfielder Deborah Abiodun is available for selection again after serving a mandatory two-match suspension. Abiodun was sent off in the closing minutes of Nigeria’s opening fixture against Canada. She missed the 3-2 victory…

The last sixteen of the ongoing 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand have been confirmed. This follows the completion of Thursday’s group stage fixtures. Morocco defeated Colombia 1-0, while South Korea drew 1-1 with Germany. This means that both Colombia and Morocco now joins other 14 countries including the likes of Nigeria, South Africa, Japan, Spain, Sweden, United States, England, Jamaica, Denmark , France, Australia, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland in the Round of 16 stages. The Round of 16 fixtures will take place on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Round of 16 fixtures: Switzerland vs…

Two-time champions Germany were sent crashing out of the Women’s World Cup group stages in the biggest shock of the tournament thanks to a draw with South Korea. It is the first time in Germany’s history they have failed to reach the knockout stages. One of the pre-tournament favourites, Germany knew they needed to better Morocco’s result against Colombia to progress in Group H, but that match finished 1-0 to Morocco. An early goal by South Korea’s Cho So-hyun shook the Euro 2022 finalists in Brisbane, but captain Alexandra Popp netted her fourth goal in three matches to equalise shortly before…

Morocco have reached the last 16 on their Women’s World Cup debut after beating Colombia – although the South Americans progress as Group H winners. Germany’s failure to beat South Korea means Morocco are into the knockout rounds as runners-up. Anissa Lahmari scored the only goal via a rebound after captain Ghizlane Chebbak’s penalty was saved. Morocco – who lost 6-0 to the Germans in their opener before successive wins – will face France in Adelaide next. Colombia, who earned two wins in their first two matches and finish above Morocco on goal difference, will play Jamaica in Melbourne earlier…

Romelu Lukaku has reportedly agreed to a three-year contract with Juventus, but the transfer depends on Dusan Vlahovic’s move to Chelsea. The Serie A giants are keen on signing the Belgian striker, but the transfer is contingent on Vlahovic’s departure from Juventus. According to Di Marzio, the two clubs are working to execute a swap deal which would see the two forwards heading in the opposite directions. Meanwhile, Lukaku has already agreed to personal terms with the Bianconeri and will sign a three-year deal, with an option for an additional year. Chelsea eye Vlahovic as a valuable acquisition to bolster their attacking options…

Paris Saint-Germain has removed forward, Kylian Mbappe from its website cover with the France captain being linked with a move to Real Madrid in the ongoing summer transfer window. The likes of Neymar, Lee Kang-In, Marquinhos, Lucas Hernandez, and Marco Verratti are the current players on PSG’s cover. Mbappe was left out of the PSG squad that is currently touring Japan and South Korea as part of their pre-season. Earlier this summer, Mbappe told PSG that he won’t be extending his contract beyond the 2023-2024 season. As a result, the Parisians are looking to sell the 24-year-old this summer to…

Boss Mauricio Pochettino hopes an injury suffered by striker Christopher Nkunku is not a “big issue” as Chelsea drew 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund to end their pre-season US tour undefeated. Mason Burstow scored a 90th-minute equaliser for Chelsea after Marius Wolf gave Dortmund the lead in Chicago. £52m signing Nkunku, 25, went off in the 22nd minute after appearing to injure his knee when he was tackled. The pitch at Chicago’s Soldier Field was in poor condition. Areas were patchy and worn after the stadium, home to the NFL’s Chicago Bears, was used for an Ed Sheeran concert attended by…

Defending Champions and Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigresses Wednesday survived the scare of not qualifying for the semi-finals of the ongoing Afrobasket championship in Rwanda against hard fighting Mozambique. The Mozambicans who qualified through a quarter-finals play-off against Cote d’Ivoire took an early lead, winning the first two quarters,18-16 and 15-13 to establish a four point lead in the first half at 33-29. Like the true champions they are, the Sarah Ogoke-led side fought back to pick the third quarter at 18-10 before subduing the southern Africans 12-9 in the last quarter to pick the semi-finals ticket at 59-52.…

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus has had minor knee surgery and will miss the start of the Premier League season. Jesus did not play in Wednesday’s pre-season win over Monaco and manager Mikel Arteta confirmed afterwards that the Brazil forward will be out “for a few weeks” after a “little procedure”. The 26-year-old’s injury is related to the knee problems he had last season, which also required surgery. “It’s a big blow because we had him back to his best,” said Arteta. Speaking after Arsenal beat Monaco 6-5 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium, the Gunners boss said Jesus had…

Manchester City have agreed a 90m euro fee (£77m) with RB Leipzig for Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol. The deal for the 21-year-old does not include add-ons, meaning the £80m Manchester United paid Leicester City for Harry Maguire in 2019 remains the British record for a defender. He has been a key player for Leipzig in the 87 games he played since signing from Dynamo Zagreb in 2021. It is expected Gvardiol will fly to England for a medical later this week The deal looked unlikely to be agreed last week Leipzig when insisted they would not sell for less than…

Villarreal captain, Dani Parejo has sent his best wishes to former teammate, Samuel Chukwueze. Chukwueze ended his five-year association with Villarreal last month, moving to Serie A giants, AC Milan on a five-year contract. The 24-year-old this week presented Parejo with a signed AC Milan jersey with his name on the back. Overwhelmed by the gesture, Parejo sent warm wishes to the Nigeria international on social media. “This year you will rock, “read the short message. Chukwueze is expected to make his debut for AC Milan in a pre-season friendly against Monza this week.