Author: David Great

Manchester City’s Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva, 27, has told his agent that he wants to join Barcelona this summer. (Sport) Manchester United are looking to challenge Arsenal for the signing of Paulo Dybala, who is a free agent after his Juventus contract expired, while Napoli are also interested in the Argentina striker, 28. (La Repubblica, via Star) Fulham have agreed a £20m deal with Sporting Lisbon to make Portugal midfielder Joao Palhinha, 26, their first summer signing. (Sky Sports) Arsenal are scheduled to meet Ajax next week as the battle to sign their Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez intensifies, with Manchester United having made a bid for the 24-year-old. (Athletic) Manchester United have agreed a fee with Barcelona for Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 25, but…

The Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Ivory Coast in 2024, and not 2023, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe said on Sunday. The tournament was to be hosted in June-July 2023, which is the height of the rainy season in Ivory Coast. “We cannot take the risk,” the South African said in the Moroccan capital Rabat. With the World Cup in Qatar taking place in November and December this year, the decision has been taken to postpone the finals rather than bring them forward. It means the Nations Cup will be held in January and…

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to “urgently recover missing N105.7bn of public funds from ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to fund the country’s public tertiary institutions, improve the welfare of staff members, and ensure that the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) return to class without further delay.” SERAP said, “Pending the recovery of the missing public funds, we urge you to redirect some of the presidency’s budget of N3.6 billion on feeding and travels, and the N134 billion allocated to the National Assembly in the 2022 budget to meet the demands by…

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has begun training for a newly-established security outfit, Community Protection Guard (CPG) to tackle banditry and kidnaping in parts of the state. The announcement was contained in a statement by Malam Jamilu Birnin-Magaji, Press Secretary to the Governor in Gusau. The statement said the new outfit would give needed support to the conventional security agencies in their effort to end banditry and kidnapping that had ravaged the state. Matawalle said at the exercise, that his administration had resolved to tackle the state’s security challenges head-on by implementing new security measures. “The Governor said the…

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) says over 20 transformers have been attacked by vandals across the company’s franchise network within the South-East in the past three weeks. The head of corporate communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh, said in a statement on Sunday in Enugu that four of the suspected vandals had been apprehended. Ezeh, who narrated the ugly experience EEDC had been going through in the hands of vandals, reiterated the company’s resolve to continue working with critical stakeholders to ensure that the elements perpetrating the dastardly act were apprehended and brought to book. According to him, there is no…

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, says he wished to be known by his current name and not by his West African School Certificate which carries the name “Siddiq Abubakar.” According to documents displayed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Atiku did not provide information on his primary education. The 1965 West Africa School Certificate (WASC) result presented by him identified the student as Siddiq Abubakar. He also holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from Anglia Ruskin University in the United Kingdom. From the documents, SaharaReporters observed that Atiku earned a Master’s degree…

Blasts destroy homes damage buildings in Belgorod – governor Russian lawmaker says act of aggression needs severe response Separatists say Lysychansk ‘under control’ but not liberated Ukrainians say big battles, but Lysychansk not surrounded At least three people were killed and dozens of homes damaged by blasts in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said on Sunday, while Ukrainian forces hit a Russian military base in occupied southern Ukraine. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported a number of explosions in the city of nearly 400,000 some 40km (25 miles) north of the border with Ukraine.…

Scores of children believed to be kidnapped have been rescued in a church’s basement on Friday night in Valentino Area of Ondo town, Ondo West Local Government Area of Ondo State. According to information gathered, the kids were allegedly victims of a kidnapping syndicate and kept in the underground of the church. A source stated that the victims were over 50 when police saved them, adding that the pastor of the church and some members of the church had been detained by the police. In a widely shared video, the kids were seen being driven to the police station by…

New manager Erik ten Hag will urge Manchester United to replace Cristiano Ronaldo with Ajax’s Brazil forward Antony, 22, if the Portugal forward, 37, is allowed to leave this summer. (Sunday Mirror) Manchester United have bettered Arsenal’s bid for Lisandro Martinez, offering Ajax £38m for the Argentina centre-back, 24. (Mail on Sunday) Arsenal and Manchester United are also battling it out to sign Germany winger Serge Gnabry, 26, from Bayern Munich for £40m. The former Gunner is out of contract with Bayern next summer. (Star Sunday) Gnabry will be at the top of Manchester City’s wanted list if they sell…

Cristiano Ronaldo wants Manchester United to let him leave the club if they receive an appropriate offer for him this summer. The Portugal forward, 37, returned to Old Trafford from Juventus last summer. However, while he was United’s top scorer last season – and third in the Premier League – the overall campaign was seen as a big disappointment. United finished sixth in the Premier League so missed out on Champions League qualification. That means Ronaldo, who has a year left on his United contract plus an optional year, faces playing in the Europa League for the first time. Cristiano…