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Gift Orban joins Hoffenheim after one year at Olympique Lyon

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Gift Orban, former Super Eagles invitee, has completed a move to Germany’s Hoffenheim from Olympique Lyon.

The German Bundesliga side announced the 22-year-old centre forward’s signature in a post on their X handle.

Orban signed a four-year deal and will wear jersey number 14 at his new club.

The move ends Orban’s torrid one-year spell at Lyon, in which he featured in 21 matches, scoring only five times.

He has only played five times this season, playing three Ligue 1 and two Europa League games, respectively.

The pacey striker has not been included in nine of the last 10 league matches for Lyon. Orban’s previous league appearance was on September 22, while he last played in a match for the former French League champions in the Europa League, coincidentally against his new club. The game ended 2-2, with Orban lasting 62 minutes before substitution.

Orban, who scored 32 goals in 52 matches for Genk before his move to Lyon, posted on his X that he handled his excitement about swapping France for Germany. He described his new home as “wonderful.”

“New year, new adventures! Excited to be part of This Wonderful Club Hoffenheim,” said Orban.

Andreas Schicker, Hoffenheim’s sporting director, was also excited about the player’s joining the club and believed his attacking skills would improve the struggling side.

“In Gift Orban, we have found exactly the fast striker with good depth that we were looking for. He has proven time and time again his goalscoring talent and his enjoyment of playing.

“We are therefore confident that he will bring our team greater offensive variability thanks to his abilities.”

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Haaland signs new 10-year deal with City — longest contract extension in EPL

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Erling Haaland has agreed to a new 10-year deal as a Manchester City player.

The club announced the deal in a statement on its website on Friday.

“Erling Haaland has signed a new 10-year Manchester City contract, keeping him at the Club until the summer of 2034,” the statement reads.

The length of the 24-year-old’s new deal is the longest contract extension in the English Premier League (EPL), surpassing Cole Palmer’s nine-year agreement with Chelsea.

Haaland moved to the Etihad in 2022 from Borussia Dortmund. The Norwegian scored 52 goals in all competitions in his debut season, including 36 in the EPL to win the league’s Golden Boot prize. He also broke the league record of goals scored by a player in a single season.

His goals led Man City to an impressive treble of trophies: EPL, FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

The striker has scored 111 goals in 126 games in his two-and-a-half season at the club.

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Benue audits Lobi’s finances, asks three former vice-chairmen to refund N2.4bn

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The Benue state government has asked three former Lobi Stars vice-chairmen to return N2.4 billion into the club’s coffer.

In a statement on Friday, Tersoo Kula, the press secretary to Hyacinth Alia, governor of Benue, said the revelation was included in a white paper report of a forensic audit investigation into Lobi’s finances inaugurated by the state government.

Alia launched a probe into the club’s funds in October 2024. The investigative committee studied the handover notes submitted by the outgoing board of the club and Lobi’s income.

The investigation report covers Lobi’s financial details from January 2020 to September 2024.

Kula said the audit report, released to the state government in November 2024, revealed that Lobi Stars generated N3,759,820,269 during the period under review.

However, he added that only N1,314,807,672 of the generated sum could be accounted for.

The statement then demanded the three immediate past vice-chairmen of Lobi Stars refund the deficit to the club’s account.

“The breakdown indicates that Mr Mike Idoko and others who worked with him are to refund the sum of two hundred and forty-three million, nine hundred and fifty-five thousand, and eighty-one naira, forty-four kobo (₦243,955,081.44) for the period of 2020-2021,” the statement reads.

“Mr. Emmanuel Taman and others who worked under him are to refund four hundred and thirty-four million, three hundred and eighteen thousand, nine hundred and sixty-four naira, twelve kobo (₦434,318,964.12) for 2021-2022.

“Mr. Dominic Iorfa and others are to refund the sum of six hundred and ninety-two million, four hundred and fifty-three thousand, nine hundred and twenty-seven naira, sixty kobo (₦692,453,927.60) for 2022-2023, and seven hundred and two million, eight hundred and seventy-five thousand naira (₦702,875,000) for 2023-2024, as well as three hundred and seventy-one million, four hundred and nine thousand, six hundred and twenty-three naira, seventy-six kobo (₦371,409,623.76) for 2024-2025.”

The committee also recommended that Lobi Stars be registered as a revenue-generating company and that funds from the club’s sponsors be deposited directly into the club’s account.

The panel also advocated for the club’s independence, stating that Benue’s sports ministry should no longer control or interfere in its day-to-day operations.

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Everton sack Sean Dyche, name club captain as interim player-manager

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Everton have sacked Sean Dyche as the club’s manager.

The Merseyside club announced the dismissal of the 53-year-old English manager in a statement on Thursday.

Everton also dismissed Ian Woan, Steve Stone, Mark Howard and Billy Mercer — members of Dyche’s crew.

The club said Seamus Coleman, the team’s captain, will temporarily take charge of first-team affairs alongside Leighton Baines, Everton’s U-18 head coach.

“The process to appoint a new manager is under way and an update will be provided in due course,” the statement reads.

Dyche leaves his post a few hours before Everton played Peterborough in the third round of the FA Cup.

On Saturday, Everton suffered their eighth league defeat of the season following a 1-0 league loss to Bournemouth. The result left the Toffees in 16th position, just one point from relegation places as Everton fights against the drop in consecutive seasons.

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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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