Sports
Napoli demand €160m for Osimhen
Napoli demand €160m for Osimhen
Napoli have reportedly put a €160m (£139.7m) valuation on Victor Osimhen ahead of this summer’s transfer window.
The 24-year-old has been in excellent form for his Italian club during the 2022-23 campaign, featuring on 35 occasions in all competitions, scoring 28 goals and registering five assists in the process.
Osimhen has played a leading role in Napoli’s Serie A success, netting 23 goals in the league this term, while he scored five times in the Champions League, as the Blues reached the quarter-finals.
The Nigeria international made the move to Naples from Lille in September 2020, and he has now represented his current side on 97 occasions, scoring 56 goals and registering 14 assists in the process.
Manchester United continue to be heavily linked with the attacker, while Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are also said to be keeping a close eye on the situation.
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Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis recently insisted that Osimhen would not be leaving the club this summer under any circumstances.
Privately, though, it had been thought that offers in the region of €150m (£131m) would be seriously considered by the Italian giants.
According to Il Mattino, Osimhen’s valuation is now €160m (£139.7m), which is likely to price him out of a move away from Luciano Spalletti’s side during the upcoming market.
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn recently hinted that his club would not be prepared to meet Napoli’s asking price for the Nigerian during this summer’s transfer window.
Napoli ‘raise asking price for Man United-linked Osimhen’
Osimhen himself also played down talk of a summer move when he was questioned in the aftermath of Napoli’s Serie A title success.
Man United will sign a big-money centre-forward in the upcoming market, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane still believed to be the club’s leading target in the final third of the field.
However, the Red Devils are said to be wary of being pulled into a long transfer saga involving the England captain and could therefore drop their interest to pursue alternative targets.
Benfica’s Goncalo Ramos is thought to be firmly on the club’s radar, with a recent report claiming that Erik ten Hag’s side are lining up a big-money offer.
Marcus Rashford is Man United’s leading goalscorer this season with 29, while Bruno Fernandes has 11, but they are the only players to manage double figures for the club in 2022-23.
Sports
2024 FIFA Best Awards: Lookman, Ekong, Oshoala, Onuachu, others shortlisted
2024 FIFA Best Awards: Lookman, Ekong, Oshoala, Onuachu, others shortlisted
Ademola Lookman and William Troost-Ekong have been shortlisted for best attacker and best defender categories, respectively, of the 2024 FIFA Best awards.
Four Nigerians have been nominated in multiple categories of the 2024 FIFA Best awards.
Ademola Lookman, Wiliam Troost-Ekong, Paul Onuachu and Asisat Oshoala were among the nominees announced by FIFA on Friday.
Lookman, who ranked 14th in the 2024 Ballon d’Or ceremony, was shortlisted in the Best Attacker category alongside Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal, Bukayo Saka, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others.
Troost-Ekong will compete in the Best Defender category against Dani Carvajal, Antonio Rüdiger, William Saliba, Achraf Hakimi, Manuel Akanji, Jonathan Tah and many more.
Onuachu was named among the best goals up for the Puskas Award for his sumptuous bicycle-kick strike in the colours of Trabzonspor against Konyaspor in the Turkish Super League in November 2023.
Oshoala was nominated for the newly introduced Marta Award for the best goal in women’s football. The 30-year-old’s acrobatic strike for Barcelona Femeni against Benfica in the women’s Champions League in November 2023 got the nod.
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Rodri and Vinicius will again go against each other for the men’s best player award. The duo were nominated alongside nine other players, including Jude Bellingham, Mbappe, Toni Kroos and Federico Valverde.
Rodri was crowned the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner in October, a decision that was met with mixed excitement and criticism from fans and footballers alike.
Votes for the 2024 FIFA Best awards will be weighted equally between fans and an expert panel. Fans can cast their votes on the FIFA website until 10 December 2024.
FULL LIST
The Best FIFA Women’s Player nominees
Aitana Bonmati (Spain), Barcelona
Barbra Banda (Zambia), Shanghai Shengli/Orlando Pride
Caroline Graham Hansen (Norway), Barcelona
Keira Walsh (England), Barcelona
Khadija Shaw (Jamaica), Manchester City
Lauren Hemp (England), Manchester City
Lindsey Horan (USA), Olympique Lyonnais
Lucy Bronze (England), Barcelona/Chelsea
Mallory Swanson (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Mariona Caldentey (Spain), Barcelona/Arsenal
Naomi Girma (USA), San Diego Wave
Ona Batlle (Spain), Barcelona
Salma Paralluelo (Spain), Barcelona
Sophia Smith (USA), Portland Thorns
Tabitha Chawinga (Malawi), Paris Saint-Germain/Olympique Lyonnais
Trinity Rodman (USA), Washington Spirit
The Best FIFA Men’s Player nominees
Dani Carvajal (Spain), Real Madrid
Erling Haaland (Norway), Manchester City
Federico Valverde (Uruguay), Real Madrid
Florian Wirtz (Germany), Bayer Leverkusen
Jude Bellingham (England), Real Madrid
Kylian Mbappe (France), Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid
Lamine Yamal (Spain), Barcelona
Lionel Messi (Argentina), Inter Miami
Rodri (Spain), Manchester City
Toni Kroos (Germany), Real Madrid (now retired)
Vinicius Jr (Brazil), Real Madrid
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach nominees
Arthur Elias (Brazil), Brazil
Elena Sadiku (Sweden), Celtic
Emma Hayes (England), Chelsea/USA
Futoshi Ikeda (Japan), Japan
Gareth Taylor (England), Manchester City
Jonatan Giraldez (Spain), Barcelona/Washington Spirit
Sandrine Soubeyrand (France), Paris FC
Sonia Bompastor (France), Olympique Lyonnais/Chelsea
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach nominees
Carlo Ancelotti (Italy), Real Madrid
Lionel Scaloni (Argentina), Argentina
Luis de la Fuente (Spain), Spain
Pep Guardiola (Spain), Manchester City
Xabi Alonso (Spain), Bayer Leverkusen
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper nominees
Alyssa Naeher (USA), Chicago Red Stars
Ann-Katrin Berger (Germany), Chelsea/NJ/NY Gotham
Ayaka Yamashita (Japan), INAC Kobe Leonessa/Manchester City
Cata Coll (Spain), Barcelona
Mary Earps (England), Manchester United/Paris Saint-Germain
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper nominees
Andriy Lunin (Ukraine), Real Madrid
David Raya (Spain), Arsenal
Ederson (Brazil), Manchester City
Emiliano Martinez (Argentina), Aston Villa
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy), Paris Saint-Germain
Mike Maignan (France), AC Milan
Unai Simon (Spain), Athletic Club
2024 FIFA Best Awards: Lookman, Ekong, Oshoala, Onuachu, others shortlisted
Sports
EUROPA: Osimhen stars in Galatasaray draw, Man Utd win over Bodo/Glimt
EUROPA: Osimhen stars in Galatasaray draw, Man Utd win over Bodo/Glimt
Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen starred and scored for Galatasaray in their 1-1 draw away to AZ Alkmaar in an Europa League tie on Thursday night.
Some reports say the goal was an own goal by Peer Koopmeiners.
But Osimhen has now scored three goals in four Europa League appearances for Galatasaray, and nine goals in 11 games in all competitions for Galatasaray.
Sven Mijnans opened scoring in the second minute for AZ Alkmaar before Osimhen help the visitors equalise in the 43rd minute after leaping to nod home a cross from the right.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United secured a back-to-back win as they defeated Bodo/Glimt 3-2.
The Red Devils opened scoring in the very first minute through Alejandro Garnacho but the visitors fought back through Hakon Evjen and Philip Zinckernagel before Rasmus Højlund equalised by halftime.
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Højlund then scored the winner five minutes into the second half as United make a winning Old Trafford start under new boss Ruben Amorim.
The result boosts United’s chances of a top-eight finish in the Europa League table and automatic qualification for the last 16 in March.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur played a 2-2 draw with AS Roma.
In other Europa League games, Real Sociedad thrashed Ajax 2-0; Nice lost 4-1 to Rangers; Braga thrashed Hoffenheim 3-0; Quarabag lost 4-1 to Lyon; and Anderlecht and Porto played 2-2.
EUROPA: Osimhen stars in Galatasaray draw, Man Utd win over Bodo/Glimt
Sports
Super Eagles drop eight spots in latest FIFA ranking
Super Eagles drop eight spots in latest FIFA ranking
The Super Eagles of Nigeria dropped eight places in the latest men’s ranking released by the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA).
FIFA published the most recent men’s rankings on its official website on Thursday.
The three-time African champions, who were previously placed 36th, are currently in 44th place.
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The Super Eagles have also slipped from fourth to fifth place in Africa.
The West Africans drew one and lost one of their two matches in November.
Morocco remained Africa’s top-ranked country, with Senegal, Algeria, and Egypt coming in second, third, and fourth.
Super Eagles drop eight spots in latest FIFA ranking
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