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Transfer: We Want Players That Accept Our Conditions – Chelsea Manager, Maresca Speaks On Osimhen Deal

Enzo Maresca, the Chelsea manager, has said the club will only buy players who accept their conditions.

Maresca was speaking to the media about their failure to get a striker in the summer transfer window.

The Blues were in talks for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen until deadline day.

The transfer did not happen eventually, with multiple reports claiming Osimhen was not willing to accept a pay cut.

Maresca was only able to bring in Marc Guiu, a teenage striker from Barcelona and has Nicolas Jackson as his first-choice striker.

After the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Sunday, Maresca said: “We want players, but we wanted a player that we decide it has to be on our conditions.

“If a player is not here, then it was not.

“New striker in January? We will see.”

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Transfer: He’s In Pains – Ighalo Blasts Nigerians Over Osimhen’s Failed Napoli Exit

Odion Ighalo, a former Super Eagles striker, has hit out at Nigerians over their comments on social media, after Victor Osimhen failed to seal a move away from Napoli.

Osimhen has been frozen out at the Serie A club following the collapse of transfer talks with Chelsea.

The situation led to mixed reactions from fans on the Internet, with many criticizing the player and his entourage.

But Ighalo wrote on X on Sunday morning: “No human being is perfect and we have all made mistakes in life.

“But seeing comments about this young man from his own country people makes me really sad, without even knowing what happened.

“I spoke to him and I can feel the pain in his voice, the way he’s been treated, this young man play with heart and pains for his country.

“Hmmm it’s well, he will definitely be back stronger, we learn everyday in life. Happy New Month to y’all.”

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‘He decided not to play’ – Napoli confirm no plans to reintegrate Osimhen into squad

Napoli has confirmed that Victor Osimhen will not be returning to their first-team squad.

This follows the breakdown of transfer negotiations between interested clubs.

Napoli’s director, Mauro Manna, revealed that Osimhen decided not to play for the club anymore last year.

“Osimhen decided not to play for our club anymore last year,” Manna stated. “We tried to help, but the deal didn’t happen. The plan on both sides remains to part ways.”

Manager Antonio Conte echoed this sentiment, emphasizing that there are no plans to reintegrate Osimhen into the squad.

“No player will be reintegrated,” Conte asserted. “Those who are out of the project will remain out. We made our choices and work in one direction all together.”

GistReel Sport reported that Osimhen, who was expected to leave Napoli on Deadline Day, saw moves to both Chelsea and Al Ahli collapse at the last minute.

Chelsea delegates were reportedly in Naples until the final moments of the transfer window, but a deal could not be reached.

Meanwhile, Al Ahli opted to sign Ivan Toney from Brentford, despite initially agreeing to buy Osimhen.

With the transfer window now closed, Osimhen remains at Napoli, but his future with the club appears bleak.

The Nigerian striker no longer features on the club’s official website, and his shirt number has already been handed to new signing Romelu Lukaku.

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Eguavoen To Lead Super Eagles For Benin, Rwanda Fixtures After Labbadia’s Withdrawal

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Augustine Eguavoen, a former player and Technical Director of the Super Eagles, as the head coach for the team’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.

This decision comes in the wake of German coach Bruno LabBadia’s unexpected withdrawal from the role.

 

 

LabBadia, who was previously named as the successor to Finidi George earlier this week, reportedly declined the position due to unresolved issues with German tax laws.

The NFF disclosed late Friday via a statement on X that these tax concerns were the main obstacle to finalizing the agreement.

NFF President Ibrahim Gusau explained, “We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF will agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities. It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another money, between 32% to 40% of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage.

“The NFF and Mr. Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we made the announcement that he would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

“The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up. We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that.” 

The NFF has named a 23-player squad for the upcoming qualifiers, with Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, Nottingham Forest forward Taiwo Awoniyi, and stand-in captain William Troost-Ekong making their return after extended injury absences.

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2024/2025 Europa League Draw Confirmed (Full Fixtures)

This season’s Europa League draw has been completed.

Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho, will face his former club Manchester United.

Like the Champions League, UEFA has revamped this season’s competition, discarding the traditional group phase.

Instead, teams will play eight different opponents – four home and four away – in a league phase before the knockouts in early 2025.

Aside from a trip to face Mourinho’s new side, Fenerbahce, United and Spurs will both play Rangers.

The final of this season’s Europa League took place at San Mames, the home to Athletic Bilbao in Spain on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.

Full fixtures:

Manchester United: Rangers (h), Porto (a), PAOK (h), Fenerbahce (a), Bodo/Glimt (h), Victoria Plzen (a), Twente (h), FCSB (a)

Tottenham: Roma (h), Rangers (a), AZ Alkmaar (h), Ferencvaros (a), Qarabag (h), Galatasaray (a), Elfsborg (h), Hoffenheim (a)

Rangers: Tottenham (h), Manchester United (a), Lyon (h), Olympiacos (a), Union Saint-Gilloise (h), Malmo (a), FCSB (h), Nice (a)

Galatasaray: Tottenham (h), Ajax (a), PAOK (h), AZ Alkmaar (a), Kviv (h), Malmo (a), Elfsborg (h), RFS (a)

Athletic Club: Slavia Prague (h), Roma (a), AZ Alkmaar (h), Fenerbahce (a), Victoria Plzen (h), Elfsborg (h), Besiktas (a)

Fenerbahce – Manchester United (h), Slavia Prague (a), Lyon (h), AZ Alkmaar (a), Union SG (h), Midtjylland (a), Athletic Club (h), Twente (a)

Lyon: Lazio (h), Rangers (a), Olympiacos (h), Fenerbahce (a), Ludogorets (h), Qarabag (a), Besiktas (h), Hoffenheim (a)

Roma: Frankfurt (h), Tottenham (a), Braga (h), AZ Alkmaar (a), Kviv (h), Union Saint-Gilloise (a), Athletic Club (h), Elfsborg (a)

Frankfurt: Slavia Prague (h), Roma (a), Ferencvaros (h), Lyon (a), Victoria Plzen (h), Midtjylland (a), RFS (h), Besiktas

Porto: Manchester United (h), Lazio (a), Olympiacos (h), Macabi Tel-Aviv (a), Midtjylland (h), Bodo/Glimt (a), Hoffenheim (h), Anderlecht (a)

Ajax: Lazio (h), Slavia Prague (a), Macabi Tel-Aviv (h), Real Sociedad (a), Galatasaray (h), Qarabag (a), Besiktas (h), RFS (a)

Lazio: Porto (h), Ajax (a), Real Sociedad (h), Braga (a), Ludogorets (h), Kyiv (a), Nice (h), Twente (a)

Slavia Prague: Ajax (h), Frankfurt (a), Fenerbahce (h), PAOK (a), Malmo (h), Ludogorets (a), Anderlecht (h), Athletic Club (a)

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Transfer: Osimhen’s Move In Doubt With Chelsea Unwilling To Pay New Players Over £70,000

Chelsea are not prepared to offer contracts exceeding £70,000 per week to new players.

According to Sky Sports transfer chief, Kaveh Solhekol, the club is not interested in signing players who demand £200,000-a-week or £300,000-a-week contracts.

With Enzo Maresca looking to add a striker to his squad, Chelsea have been linked with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Ivan Toney of Brentford.

But it now appears the deal for Toney would be easier to do, as Osimhen is reluctant to take a pay cut.

According to Solhekol, “the average wage of their new signing is between £60,000-a-week and £70,000-a-week.

“That is the base wage before you add in bonuses.

“I think there is a feeling that Ivan Toney is willing to fit into that wage structure. Also, he’s coming from a club like Brentford who are not famed for paying massive wages.”

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Transfer: Osimhen Offered €120m to Leave Napoli

Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen could soon leave the club.
This comes after he was offered €120million contract to join Al Ahli.
According to Gianluca Di Marzio, the Saudi Arabian club are willing to pay Osimhen an annual salary of €30million for four years.
It is believed that negotiations are on between the two parties.
Officials from Al Ahli are expected to fly into Europe to meet wth Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, this week.
If the player says yes, the two clubs will try to agree on the transfer fee.
Osimhen has also been linked with Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, but the summer window is set to close by midnight on August 31.
However, the transfer window is open in Saudi Arabia until October 6.
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Cristiano Ronaldo Speaks On Becoming a Coach Whe He Retires

Al Nassr striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed what is next for him after football.
Many believe that he will likely become a manager when he retires from football.

However, responding to the question, five-time Ballon d’Or winner said transitioning to coaching will be difficult.

The 39-year-old who has played for top clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus and Manchester United is coming to the end of his career.
In an interview with NOW, Ronaldo has now admitted his future could be outside football.
“It’s very difficult to think that I will be a manager one day.
 
“In my mind, I’m not considering to be the head coach of any football team. I don’t even think about it.
 
“Probably I see my future doing things out of football.”
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EPL: Shut Up – Chelsea Striker, Nicolas Jackson Slams Mikel Obi Over Criticisms

Chelsea striker, Nicolas Jackson has replied club legend, John Mikel Obi.
He warned Obi to “shut up” following his criticisms against him.
Jackson took to his Instagram page to write Obi following their 6-2 win over Wolves.
The Chelsea forward, who scored just 98 seconds into the match, expressed his frustration with Obi after the Nigerian’s critical comments about him.
Jackson wrote, “Shut your mouth. Don’t talk sh**, we are killing ourselves for Africa,” adding heart, football, and world emojis, and tagging Mikel.
This response comes after Obi, who won multiple trophies including the Champions League with Chelsea, had criticised Jackson’s performance following Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City. Jackson missed several chances in that game.

Obi had noted, “We’ve played OK, we haven’t played perfect, but we’ve played OK. We created chances, we haven’t taken them. And just an example of how Jackson finishes.”

He continued, “You can see there, even though he was offside, he dribbles past one or two or three players and the way he shot the ball!”
Obi added, “I know I talk so much about him and sometimes I sound like I disrespect him. I don’t disrespect him. I think at Chelsea Football Club we need a top striker who can get us a goal. A bit like Haaland, 91 goals for City, that’s absolutely unbelievable.”
 
He concluded, “You need a striker who knows how to hit a ball back in the net and that’s what we don’t have.”
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Madueke Scores Hattrick Against Wolves to Help Chelsea Secure Huge Win

Noni Madueke was the star of the game against Wolverhampton Wanderers after netting a hattrick.
Recall that Chelsea beat Wolves 6-2 away in a frenetic Premier League clash at Molineux on Sunday.
Enzo Maresca’s side led twice in the first half with goals by Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer but both times Wolves deservedly hit back through Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen.
Wolves fell part after the break however, and Madueke took the game beyond them with three goals in 15 minutes, all of them assisted by the excellent Palmer.
Joao Felix came off the bench to mark his return to the club with his side’s sixth goal.

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