Author: David Great

Chelsea are expected to offer England forward Cole Palmer, 22, a mega pay rise following his impressive first season and growing importance to the team. (Telegraph – subscription required) Tottenham are aiming to beat Fulham to the signature of Manchester United’s 27-year-old Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay. (Sun) Fulham want to bring in Brazil midfielder Andre, 23, from Fluminense as they look to replace 29-year-old Portugal international Joao Palhinha following his move to Bayern Munich. (Standard) West Ham are in talks to sign France midfielder N’Golo Kante, 33, from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad in a deal which could cost in the region of £20m. (Guardian) Brentford are expected to reduce…

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has projected that the external reserves could reduce slightly in 2024 on the back of debt service and other obligations. This was disclosed in the maiden edition of CBN 2024. Macroeconomic Outlook: Price Discovery for Economic Stabilisation, which was recently released. The outlook said, “The external reserves, which stood at $33.09bn in 2023 could reduce slightly in 2024. This is on the assumption of continued payments of outstanding foreign exchange forward obligations, matured foreign exchange swaps, and debt service. The expected improvement in crude oil earnings, together with recent reforms in the foreign exchange…

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has completed his move to Saudi Pro League side Al Qadisiah from French side Olympique Marseille. The former Arsenal, Barcelona, and Chelsea striker has been handed a two-year contract for a fee in the region of (€15M/year). Aubameyang only moved to Stade Velodrome last season, after being frozen out at Chelsea, but he impressed for the French side scoring 29 goals and 11 assists in 51 matches he featured in. In the Europa League, he was in blistering form however his 10 goals and three assists could not propel Marseille to the final following their defeat to eventual…

Brazil winger Savinho has joined Manchester City on a five-year contract, the Premier League champions said on Thursday. Savinho was on loan from French club Troyes at Spanish club Girona last season, scoring nine goals in 37 LaLiga appearances. “I’m so happy to be joining Manchester City… everyone knows they are the best team in the world right now,” he said in a statement. “I’m excited about the chance to work under Pep Guardiola, one of the greatest coaches ever, and someone I know will help me improve even more.” Savinho has played seven times for Brazil and scored his…

Borussia Dortmund on Thursday said they had signed Serhou Guirassy from Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart, ending their long pursuit of the Guinean striker. “Borussia Dortmund have strengthened their attack with the signing of 28-year-old Serhou Guirassy from VfB Stuttgart,” announced Dortmund on X. The agreement with the striker was delayed after Guirassy’s initial medical at Dortmund revealed an injury that required “further investigation”, according to the club. After additional tests, Dortmund established that a knock picked up by Guirassy in an international game towards the end of the season did “not need to be operated (on)”, the club said in a…

The Federal Government has vowed to enforce a law mandating the admission age for entry into universities and other tertiary institutions as 18 years. The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman revealed at the 2024 Policy Meeting on Admissions into Tertiary Institutions, organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, in Abuja on Thursday. The meeting was put in place to determine the modality and guidelines for admissions into tertiary institutions for the 2024 academic session. The minister directed JAMB to admit only students who have attained the age of 18 years into tertiary institutions in its 2024 admission process.…

President Joe Biden’s reelection bid was mired in fresh turmoil after news reports that top Democratic leaders had privately pushed him to end his campaign, while Donald Trump was set to accept the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday at his party’s national convention. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have all expressed deep concerns directly to Biden in recent days that he will not only lose the White House but also cost the party any chance of winning back the U.S. House of Representatives in the Nov. 5 election, according…

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have dropped one position in the latest FIFA world rankings, now placed 39th in the July rankings published by FIFA on Thursday. Despite this, the Super Eagles remains the 5th best team in Africa. Morocco continues to lead as the top team in Africa and has risen to 14th place in the world rankings. Following Morocco in Africa are Senegal, Egypt, and Ivory Coast, with Nigeria trailing in fifth place. On the global stage, Argentina holds the top spot, followed by France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia, and Italy rounding out the…

Former midfielder and coach of Argentina’s Olympic football team, Javier Mascherano has said he felt the video had been “taken out of context” as he sprang to the defence of Fernandez. “Argentines, if there’s one thing we’re not, it’s racists, far from that,” said Mascherano. “I know Enzo, he’s a great guy. He doesn’t have any problems like that,” Mascherano insisted “Often, as part of a celebration, you can take part of a video and take it out of context. “If there’s one thing we are as a country, it’s a totally inclusive country. People from all over the world…

FIFA said on Wednesday it was opening an investigation into racist chants by Argentina players after they won the Copa America. “FIFA is aware of a video circulating on social media and the incident is being looked into,” a spokesperson for world football’s governing body said. They added: “FIFA strongly condemns any form of discrimination by anyone including players, fans and officials.” The chants were heard during a live video posted on social media by Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from the team bus in the wake of the Copa victory over Colombia in Miami on Sunday. Some players,…