Osimhen awaits Chelsea’s offers amid PSG rumours

Super Eagles’ in-demand striker Victor Osimhen is reportedly  waiting for an offer  from  Chelsea  despite claims that  that the Napoli  has already  a deal for his move in the summer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Italian outlet La Repubblica, relayed by Calcio Napoli 24,  said yesterday  that   the 25-year-old has ended up in the middle of a battle between Chelsea and PSG for his signature.

The newspaper claimed that the French giants want to buy a centre-forward this year to cover for the loss of Kylian Mbappe and Osimhen is the man the man they have their eye on.

Contacts with Napoli have been underway for some time, with his asking price set at €120m, the valuation of his release clause.

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Chelsea are only willing to pay willing to pay €100m so PSG could stump them to the signing by offering up that extra €20m and further contacts between them and Napoli are expected in the next few days to speed up the operation.

This, though, feels like a classic move from Napoli and Aurelio De Laurentiis to try and convince Chelsea to hurry up and pay more.

Messi doubtful for Inter Miami-Orlando match due to injury

Lionel Messi will be evaluated ahead of Inter Miami’s clash with Orlando City on Wednesday after suffering a minor knee injury, assistant coach Javier Morales said, while Jordi Alba will be available for selection.

Messi picked up the injury in Miami’s 3-2 win over Montréal on Saturday. The Argentina forward was fouled by Montreal’s George Campbell in the 40th minute, forcing Messi to go down holding his knee, although he was cleared to play the remainder of the match.

“We are going to check Messi today, see how he feels today during the training session and then make a decision,” Morales said. “Yesterday, he did the bike and jogged a little bit and felt his knee a little bit but we’ll see how he is today.

“He suffered a hit to the knee on Saturday vs. Montréal, he continued playing through the end of the game and then iced it when finished. He trained with the players yesterday who did regenerative work, with the bicycle and a bit of jogging on the field.

“Now, like the rest of the players, we will evaluate them to see how they feel and who is ready,” Morales said. “Serhiy Kryvtsov, for example, felt a cramp. Yesterday, the players that started vs. Montréal did regenerative work at the gym. We’ll talk to them today, see how they feel and see what we do against Orlando City tomorrow.”

Messi, like most players who started the match against Montréal, did not feature in the first 15 minutes of training on Tuesday morning. And Miami later officially listed him as questionable for Wednesday’s game in the league’s player status report.

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But Morales said he has a “competitive” mentality when coming back from a knock.

“I have known Messi as a person for a year, he is such a competitive player,” Morales said. “Everything he plays in he wants to win. Everything he does, he tries to do his best. He came here to try and build this league and now he is getting ready for Copa América. Every time he plays, he’ll try to do his best. We’re very happy and pleased to have him with us.”

Morales said Miami will ask MLS to provide clarity on the two-minute sideline rule that forced Messi out of the match on Saturday.

Because of new MLS regulations, “If the referee stops play due to a potential player injury in which the player remains on the ground for more than 15 seconds and the medical staff enters the field of play, the player may be required to leave the field of play for two minutes.”

Messi exited the pitch in a crucial moment, after the foul inspired a free kick for Miami in a prime position for the player to score.

During his brief stint on the sideline, the player turned to the camera to express disdain while angrily shaking his head.

“Something we’ve talked about within the team is these MLS rules cannot be so black and white, and must be open to interpretation,” Morales said on Tuesday. “Especially with these, as they are being done on a testing basis because it’s not something that comes from FIFA. There must be an interpretation.

“In the case of Messi, we are losing 0-2 and there is a clash between two players,” he said. “You all know that Leo is the last person to waste time on the pitch, he is hurt and has to get out of the field. We don’t want to waste time, we’re losing. So that’s where the interpretation of the rule comes in.

“We know it’s on a trial basis, and we hope MLS can review and analyze these situations to have better resolutions in the future.”

Meanwhile, Alba joined several players on the field during Tuesday’s session open to the media.

The defender returns after a four-game spell on the sidelines after suffering a right-leg injury during the second half of the 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City on April 13. He is expected to feature against Orlando.

“Jordi is ready and back, and we’re happy to have him back,” Morales said.

Miami will head to Orlando as leaders of the Eastern Conference table with 27 points in 13 games and a 8-2-3 record.

Now, the Herons will attempt to earn their first victory at Inter&co. Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday night.

Messi doubtful for Inter Miami-Orlando match due to injury

Haaland double puts Man City on brink of historic title

Manchester City moved within one win of a historic fourth successive Premier League title with victory at Tottenham.

Erling Haaland’s second-half double settled a tight encounter in which Spurs’ hopes of a top-four finish ended, and sent Aston Villa into the Champions League for the first time next season.

Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions will lift the trophy again if they beat West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on Sunday (16:00 BST).

Spurs performed with great credit, despite knowing bitter rivals Arsenal would be the beneficiaries of a good result, and it took a superb display from City’s deputy goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to keep them at bay after he replaced Ederson, who took a heavy knock in a collision with Cristian Romero.

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Haaland broke the deadlock when he tapped in Kevin de Bruyne’s cross six minutes after the break, Ortega’s heroics then keeping City in front as he saved twice from Dejan Kulusevski before denying Son Heung-min when he was clean through.

City then broke clear in stoppage time to put themselves on the brink of glory, Haaland scoring his 38th goal of the season from the penalty spot after Jeremy Doku was fouled by Pedro Porro.

It sets the stage for Sunday’s season finale, with City now two points ahead of Arsenal and on a seemingly unstoppable surge to become the first club to win the Premier League four consecutive times.

Haaland double puts Man City on brink of historic title