Russian club CSKA Moscow have rejected an improved offer from Premier League leaders Leicester City for Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa, BBC reports. Moscow turned down a new bid of $26.5m which was an improvement on the original offer of $21.6m. The 23-year-old is believed to be open to a move to Leicester. The Nigeria captain has also attracted the attention of other top Premier League teams and has a $32.5m buyout clause in his contract.
Germany’s Angelique Kerber stunned world number one Serena Williams in three sets to win her first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Kerber, seeded seventh, won a thrilling final 6-4 3-6 6-4 at Melbourne Park. The 28-year-old is the first German to win a major singles title since Steffi Graf at the 1999 French Open. Williams, 34, was beaten for just the fifth time in 26 Grand Slam finals, and the American missed the chance to tie Graf’s open-era record of 22 titles. Kerber, who saved a match point in her first-round win over Misaki Doi, will move up to number two in the world rankings.
World number two Andy Murray reached his fifth Australian Open final after an epic five-set battle with 13th seed Milos Raonic. Briton Murray was broken in the first game and his 25-year-old Canadian opponent went on to take the first and third sets. But the 28-year-old Scotsman prevailed 4-6 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-2 in a gruelling four-hour contest. Murray will now meet reigning champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final. “It was tough in that third set. In the tie-break he didn’t miss a single serve and it is frustrating when you don’t get a say in the points,” said Murray. “Over the match, I got a better read on his serve and that was crucial.”
Former Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic has announced his retirement from football. Vidic, 34, was signed by Sir Alex Ferguson for £7m in January 2006. In eight years at Old Trafford he won five Premier League titles, three League Cups, the Champions League and the Club World Cup. He left United for Inter Milan in July 2014, but the Serie A side cancelled his contract in January. Vidic said: “The time has come for me to hang up my boots,” he said. “The injuries I have had in the last few years have taken their toll.” “I would like to thank all the players I have played with, all the managers and staff I have worked with, and say a big ‘thank you’ to the fans for their support over the years.”
Tottenham have announced that Mousa Dembele has signed a new contract with the Club which will run until 2019.
French club Bordeaux confirms that they have agreed a fee with Sunderland for 24-year-old midfielder Wahbi Khazri.
Arsene Wenger confirmed today in a news conference ahead of an FA cup tie with Burnley that two of the stand-out players in the Nigeria under-17 team, Kelechi Nwakali and Samuel Chukwueze are close to signing for Arsenal.
Swansea City’s sale of goalkeeper Michel Vorm to Tottenham is currently the subject of a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing. Utrecht are taking action as the Dutch club claim they are owed a sell-on fee after the Dutchman joined Spurs in 2014 – a move which Swansea say was a free transfer. The club are represented at the hearing – which started in Switzerland at 10am Nigerian time and is expected to run for most of the day – by chairman Huw Jenkins.
Italian striker Alberto Paloschi is scheduled for a medical at Swansea City on Friday ahead of an £8m move from Chievo.
Manchester United have entered the race to sign CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa. The Nigerian captain has this month been linked with Premier League rivals Leicester, who are thought to have had rejected their £15.1million opening bid. CSKA are reportedly holding out for at least £18.9m for the pacey striker, who has 10 goals to his name this term. The Foxes are expected to up their bid before the January window expires, but now face competition from United for the 23-year-old’s services. The Red Devils have scored the least amount of goals out of the top eight teams in the Premier League this season and Louis van Gaal is desperate to add more fire power to his front line. While Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri has made no secret of his desire to sign a striker to boost his side’s title bid after loaning out Andrej Kramaric to Fiorentina. The Italian said: “It’s important to have two players for every position. Our strength is to play with high intensity. “It’s not possible to play with that intensity for all the season. So I would like another striker to give support to the other three. “Everyone is reinforcing now, taking players because they want to save their season or they want to win something. “We want to maintain this position. I know it’s difficult, but we must try. This is a strange league. The big teams are not at the top, but there is Leicester – unbelievable.”
The Golden Eaglets stormed Canada for the U-17 world cup in 1987. They played 1 – 1 draw against then USSR (Soviet Union) in their first game. They later defeated Bolivia 3 – 2 and lost 0 – 1 to Mexico in their second and final group games and emerged second in Group D behind USSR. They beat Australia 1 – 0 in the quarterfinals and defeated Italy 1 – 0 in the semifinals to set up a rematch against USSR in the final. The final game ended 1 – 1 after extra time but USSR won 4 – 2 on penalties.
The Golden Eaglets came second in the competition with Nigeria’s Philip Osondu emerging the tournaments’s Most Valuable Player and was presented with a Golden Ball. The commentator had screamed during the final match that “if Nigeria wins this match, I’m not gonna be surprised because they’ve got a bunch of talented players”. The great Pele watched with delight and said that with what he was seeing, an African team would win the world cup in no distant time. What went wrong afterwards?
Sunderland defender Sebastian Coates has joined Portugese side Sporting Lisbon on loan for the rest of the season. The 25-year old Uruguayan could make his debut in this weekend’s home game against Academica. Coates arrived at the Stadium of Light in 2014, on an initial loan deal from Liverpool, before making the switch to Wearside permanent last summer.
Watford are set to sign Spanish midfielder Mario Suarez from Fiorentina for a fee believed to be about £4m, reports BBC Three Counties Radio. The 28-year-old has only made 13 appearances side joining the Italian side from Atletico Madrid last July. He played 121 league games in five years at Atletico, scoring four goals. Suarez, capped three times by Spain, also worked with Hornets manager Quique Sanchez Flores when he was Atletico boss between 2009 and 2011.
Cristiano Ronaldo has added to his ever-growing property empire with a swanky hotel in a very luxurious district in Monte Carlo, according to reports. Oh, and he’s signed the deal with none other than Republican US presidency candidate Donald Trump. The Real Madrid player will have nothing to worry about once he quits the game (Ronaldo turns 31 this year, so he’s got a little while to go). His impressive portfolio already includes a €16 million apartment in New York’s Trump Tower and a mansion in Cheshire worth €6 million, amongst other assets. MARCA reported that his new Monte Carlo venture also includes Trump and Alessandro Proto under the name Proto Group.
Real Madrid have tried three times in the last five years to sign Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, according to a report in Spain. The ’Partido de las Doce’ programme on the Cadena COPE radio station claimed representatives of the capital club approached the Argentinian in 2011, 2013 and 2015, but were rebuffed on each occasion. Messi, who earlier this month won a fifth Ballon d’Or award for the best player on the planet, has been instrumental in Barcelona’s success in recent years, with the club claiming a Champions League, Primera Division and Copa del Rey treble last season. The report claimed the first approach in 2011 came at a time when Cristiano Ronaldo was being linked with a move to Manchester City. In June 2013 it was reported that a Real executive – on instruction from club president Florentino Perez – made a renewed attempt to sign him after they had lost out to Barcelona in the pursuit of Neymar and with Ronaldo still to commit to a new deal.
Novak Djokovic advanced to his sixth Australian Open final with a 6-1 6-2 3-6 6-3 victory over Roger Federer. The world number one dominated the first two sets with some superb hitting, then had to hold off a spirited Federer fightback. It is the third straight Grand Slam in which Djokovic has beaten the Swiss, prolonging Federer’s wait for an 18th major title. Djokovic will face Andy Murray or Canada’s Milos Raonic in the final. The Serb has beaten British number one Murray in the final on three previous occasions in the final, including last year’s four-set victory. “I played unbelievably in the first two sets but I needed to because Roger has been playing unbelievably and I knew he would be aggressive,” Djokovic said.
Sunderland have signed Ivory Coast defender Lamine Kone from French side Lorient for an undisclosed fee. The France-born 26-year-old has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Premier League strugglers. “He is big and strong, attributes you need to play in central defence in the Premier League,” Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce told the club’s website.The Black Cats have also signed keeper Steve Harper, striker Dame N’Doye and defender Jan Kirchhoff in January. Allardyce announced on 8 January that attempts to sign Kone had broken down. But with the deal now completed, Allardyce said: “Strengthening our defensive options was a priority for us and Lamine is a player that has impressed me when I’ve seen him play. “His arrival will give us healthy competition for places in a key position.”
Manchester City clawed back a first-leg deficit to beat Everton and set up a Capital One Cup final date with Liverpool after a thrilling game at the Etihad. Everton looked on course for Wembley when Ross Barkley’s brilliant run and 20-yard shot added to their 2-1 advantage from the first leg in the 18th minute – but manager Roberto Martinez was left nursing a burning sense of injustice after an enthralling encounter turned on a controversial decision. Fernandinho’s deflected shot put City level on the night before the break but Everton still had the edge. That was until City substitute Kevin de Bruyne, who was later taken off with a serious-looking knee injury, turned home Raheem Sterling’s cross with 20 minutes left. Everton could not recover their composure and City, who had earlier hit the woodwork through Sergio Aguero and David Silva, sealed their place in the final on 28 February when the Argentine headed De Bruyne’s cross beyond keeper Joel Robles. It meant joy for City and bitter disappoint tinged with fury for Martinez and Everton.
Former Chelsea and England left-back Ashley Cole has joined Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy. Cole, 35, will link up with former international team-mate Steven Gerrard after the defender’s contract with Roma was terminated by mutual consent. He joined the Italian Serie A side in July 2014 and made 16 appearances. “Whether you think it’s a risk or a gamble, these are the risks and gambles that you take,” said LA Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena. Capped 107 times, Cole has won three Premier Leagues, seven FA Cups, one Champions League and one Europa League.
Liverpool have put in an offer for Schalke defender Joel Matip, Sky reports. Matip, a German-born Cameroon international is out of contract at the end of the season but Schalke want him to sign a new deal. It reported that the player, who has scored three goals in the Bundesliga this season, has told his club he wants to leave. The 6ft 4in centre-back would be a strong addition to Jurgen Klopp’s defence, which has conceded 32 goals in 23 Premier League matches this season, the most of any club in the top 11. Liverpool may face a battle to secure his services with the Press Association reporting three weeks ago that at least two French clubs were also in the running for the 24-year-old.
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