Everton have signed striker Leandro Rodriguez from River Plate Montevideo for a reported fee of £500,000.  The 22-year-old Uruguayan has agreed a four-year contract which will keep him at Goodison Park until June 2019. Rodriguez, who has an Italian passport, scored 19 goals in 71 games for his hometown club and is an exciting talent says Toffees boss Roberto Martinez. “Leandro is one of those elite, talented youngsters who we like to bring in,” Martinez said. “I am not saying that to put pressure on the boy, but he is a player we can be very much excited about in the future.” Martinez thinks Rodriguez can make an immediate impact in Everton’s first team. “He probably won’t need time with the Under-21s because he has played enough games with his first team in Uruguay in a really competitive league,” said the Spaniard. “Hopefully we can provide a path where he can develop and enjoy his football. If he can do that, clearly that’s going to bring goals.”

Group A: Ajax, Celtic , Fenerbahce, Molde

Group B: Rubin Kazan, Liverpool, Bordeaux, FC Sion

Group C: Borussia Dortmund, Paok Thessaloniki, Krasnodar, Gabala

Group D; Napoli, Club Brugge, Legia Warsaw, Midtjyllland

Group E: Villarreal, Viktoria Plzen, Rapid Vienna, Dinamo Minsk

Group F: Marseille, Braga, Slovan Liberec, Groningen

Group G: Dnipropetrovsk, Lazio, St-Etienne, Rosenborg

Group H: Sporting Lisbon, Besiktas, Lokomotiv Moscow, Skenderbeu

Group I: Basel, Fiorentina, Lech Poznan, Belenenses

Group J: Tottenham, Anderlecht, Monaco, Qarabag

Group K: Schalke, Apoel Nicosia, Sparta Prague, Asteras Tripolis

Group L: Athletic Bilbao, AZ Alkmaar, Augsburg, Partizan Belgrade

Nigerian and Chelsea midfielder John  Mikel Obi is wanted by Besiktas. The Turkish giants have turned to the Nigerian after seeing a deal they had pursued for Liverpool’s Lucas Leiva fall through. Mikel joined Chelsea nine years ago from Norwegian side Lyn and is one of their longest-serving players. He could be given the green light to go with the Premier League champions still keen on an ambitious move for Juventus superstar Paul Pogba. Even if he stays he is very much a squad player at Stamford Bridge with the likes of Nemanja Matic and Ramires ahead of him. Besiktas are looking for reinforcements after being hit by injuries. They are understood to have had an agreement in place to sign Lucas before Liverpool pulled the plug. Speaking earlier this week, Besiktas president Fikret Orman said: “Liverpool do not want him to go. The transfer can only go ahead with their say, so there is nothing we can do right now.” Nigeria’s ex-international Daniel “The Bull” Amokachi once played for Besiktas.

My last hour on Fridays….. lolz.  Kermit my man.

Sunderland sign Sweden attacking midfielder Ola Toivonen on a season-long loan from Rennes. The 29-year-old began his career in his hometown with Degerfos IF before spells in Gothenburg and Malmo. A move to Dutch side PSV followed where he won the KNVB Cup and the Dutch Super Cup. He joined French side Rennes in January 2014 scoring 14 goals in 46 league appearances, and he also won over 40 caps for Sweden.

Tottenham have signed Bayer Leverkusen’s South Korea forward Son Heung-Min till 2020 subject to work permit & international clearance. The South Korea international will wear the number 7 shirt with ‘Son’ on his back. A consistent goal scorer during his time in Germany, Son made 78 apps & scored 20 times for Hamburg before joining Leverkusen in June 2013.  He made a total of 87 appearances & scored 29 times during his time at Leverkusen.

On this day in 2011,  Usain Bolt (pictured leaving and holding his head) was disqualified after false-starting in the final of the 100m at the World Championships in Daegu. His fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake (pictured here in lane 6) won the title. Bolt have since recovered from that major disappointment to win many gold medals including the 100m and 200m events at the ongoing world championship in Beijing, China.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of some of his administration’s most key officials Thursday set off a firestorm of condemnation, with critics characterising the nominations as overwhelmingly lopsided, lacking in gender balance and regional equity. Mr. Buhari named Babachir David Lawal, from Adamawa State, as Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Abba Kyari, from Borno, as his Chief of Staff. He appointed Hameed Ali, a retired colonel, as the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Customs Service, curiously finding no career customs official suitable for the post. He also named Kure Martin Abeshi as the Comptroller-General of Nigerian Immigration Service. Messrs. Ali and Abeshi are from Bauchi and Nasarawa states respectively. A former Senator, Ita Enang, from Akwa Ibom, was appointed senior special assistant to the president on Senate affairs, while Suleiman Kawu of Kano, who is a former House of Representatives member, was named the president’s senior special assistant on House of Representatives.

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