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Osimhen to sign Chelsea pre-contract agreement

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4 months ago

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Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, has agreed to leave Serie A champions, Napoli, for a move to Chelsea in the summer, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

According to TEAMtalk, the 25-year-old, who has a release clause of around £112m, will not be moving this month but is willing to sign a pre-agreement in January before making the switch to Chelsea official at the end of the season.

The report also states that the likes of Didier Drogba and John Obi Mikel have been in regular contact with Osimhen, hoping to persuade him to join Chelsea.

Chelsea have been keen to add a top centre-forward to their ranks for the majority of this season and have Osimhen at the top of their list.

The Blues are also keen on Ivan Toney, but his age and high asking price are seen as barriers to a move to Stamford Bridge.

TEAMtalk reports that the Nigeria international would welcome an approach from the London side and would be happy to agree a pre-agreement this month that would see him officially make the move in the summer.

The Napoli star man will not move this month and the pre-agreement is the only way that a deal will be agreed in this window.

Osimhen recently signed a new deal that secured Napoli a big fee, with a release clause of around £112m attached, a fee that Napoli will demand if they are to sanction a deal this month.

Multiple sources in Italy expect some movement to happen in the coming weeks and are convinced this is the last season they will see the forward in the famous light blue of the Serie A champions.

There is also building pressure on Chelsea to make their move as soon as possible, with the likelihood of a transfer battle in the summer as more clubs will be at the table for Osimhen’s signature.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side experienced a similar situation recently when they signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica last summer.

Osimhen would become one of the club’s highest-paid players in the summer should he complete the move. Chelsea boss Pochettino has been pushing the board to add more ready-made experience to his young squad and Osimhen will offer that.

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Iheanacho, Ndidi promoted back to EPL with Leicester City

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3 days ago

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April 27, 2024 3:14 pm

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Leicester City gained promotion back to the English Premier League (EPL) on Friday night.

The 2016 EPL champions were relegated last season. The Foxes’ promotion was confirmed following Queens Park Rangers’ 4-0 win over promotion-chasing, second-placed Leeds United.

Leeds United’s defeat means Leicester have an unassailable points haul that ensured they have picked up one of the two automatic promotion tickets.

The Midlands club earlier put their foot at the door with a 5-0 win over Southampton on Tuesday night in a match where Wilfred Ndidi, the Super Eagles of Nigeria midfielder, scored a goal.

Ndidi, who will return to the EPL with Kelechi Iheanacho, his international teammate, also congratulated the club via a post on X.

“Congratulations to me, the boys, the staff the club and the amazing fans.. 2 more to go!!! We back!! 😁,” the 27-year-old midfielder wrote.

Enzo Maresca’s team tops the championship table with 94 points and is well-placed to win an eighth championship title.

The King Power side have a four-point lead with two matches left in the 44-game season.

Leicester can now claim the championship title on Monday with a victory at Preston if third-placed Ipswich fail to beat Hull City on Saturday.

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No talks with Peseiro over Eagles return, says sports minister

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3 days ago

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April 27, 2024 10:31 am

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John Enoh, minister of sports development, says there is no ongoing negotiation to return Jose Peseiro as Super Eagles head coach.

On Thursday, there were reports that the minister had contacted Peseiro and was negotiating a potential return of the Portuguese to the helm of Nigeria’s men’s national team.

Reacting to the claims in a statement signed by Diana Mary-Nsan, his media aide, the minister described the reports as “entirely false” and “fabricated to create sensation”.

The statement added that Enoh “does not interfere or influence critical decisions of the federations” and “ensures that the federations meet the required expectations and standards in the discharge of their duties”.

Peseiro exited the Eagles role in February after leading the team to a silver medal-winning campaign at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is yet to announce a permanent replacement for the Portuguese since then.

The federation had called for public applications from interested and qualified candidates to fill the role, but little has been let out after.

On April 19, Enoh announced that a new coach would be named within the next two weeks.

Finidi George was the Eagles’ interim head coach for two international friendlies against Ghana and Mali in March.

Finidi led the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in his first game at the helm but lost 2-0 to Mali in the second game.

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Juventus ordered to pay Ronaldo €9.7m unpaid salaries

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2 weeks ago

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April 18, 2024 10:01 am

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Juventus must pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season, the Italian courts announced on Wednesday.

The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision.

The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions.

Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) and then the Saudi club Al Nassr, was claiming 19.5 million euros but the arbitration panel reduced that by 50 per cent.

Contacted by AFP, Juventus declined to comment, but said it would be issuing a statement “shortly”.

According to the rankings drawn up by the American business magazine Forbes, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with $136 million, including $46 million in wages.

Juventus, who are listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros in the 2022-23 financial year, which ran to the end of June, it announced in October.

No provision has been made in the accounts of Italian football’s most successful club, currently third in Serie A, for the payment of this wages backlog.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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