Gabonese footballer, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was seen in Milan, Italy, on Friday night as he was seemingly in no mood to stay in London for the Premier League match between Chelsea and Fulham after finding out he was kicked out of the Blues’ Champions League squad.
Aubameyang
Earlier in the day, it was discovered that his name was omitted from Chelsea’s Champions League squad for their upcoming last-16 tie against Borussia Dortmund.
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Chelsea’s coach, Graham Potter added January signings Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, and Joao Felix to the team, while new arrivals Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, and Noni Madueke didn’t make the cut.
While Aubameyang’s Chelsea teammates played against Fulham in a match that ended 0-0, he was spotted in Milan with his family, going by an image his brother posted to Instagram.
It is also unlikely that the 33-year-old footballer will get back in the team for their next fixture against West Ham on February 11.
Chelsea will return to European action on February 15 when they travel to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund. The London team finished top of Group E with 13 points, ahead of AC Milan, Red Bull Salzburg, and Dinamo Zagreb.
Argentine football star Lionel Messi has stated that despite a tense 2022 World Cup final, which Argentina eventually won, he still has a good relationship with French star Kylian Mbappe.
Messi and Mbappe
Argentine football star Lionel Messi has stated that despite a tense 2022 World Cup final, which Argentina eventually won, he still has a good relationship with French star Kylian Mbappe.
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When asked if he has discussed the final from Qatar with Mbappe, Messi said;
“Yes, we talked about the game, the celebrations how people had lived in Argentina in those days that I had been on vacation and the festivities we had. And nothing, nothing more, but good, really good.
“I was on the other side too, I had to lose a world final as well and I didn’t want to know anything about that, about what had happened. And nothing that had to do with the World Cup at that time, that’s why I don’t want to talk about it either. But the truth is that there is no problem with Kylian, quite the opposite.”
Ebenezer Akinsanmiro, an 18-year-old Nigerian midfielder, has completed his transfer from Remo Stars of the Nigerian Professional League to Inter Milan of Italy’s Seria A.
Ebenezer Akinsanmiro
Akinsanmiro who is an academy product of the club, signed a four-year deal with the Italian side. The transfer fee earned from the sale is yet to be declared.
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A statement released after the signing was completed read;
“Midfielder, Ebenezer Akinsanmiro has completed his move to Italian giant, Inter Milan from Remo Stars.
“The teenager who is an academy product of the club has signed a four-year deal.
“He was part of the team that helped Remo Stars gain promotion from the Nigeria National League to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in the 2020/2021 season.
“He also featured in the 2021/22 Nigeria Professional Football League.
“Most notably, Ebenezer featured for the academy team, Beyond Limits in The Creative Championship and Viareggio Cup World Football Tournament.”
Akinsanmiro now joins a list of Nigerians like Christian Obodo, Taiye Taiwo, Seyi Olajengbesi, Obinna Nsofor, and Ederson Echiejile who earned a rare move to top European Leagues from the Nigeria Professional League (NPFL).
Ahead of the January transfer deadline, it has been reported that Portuguese footballer Joao Cancelo will leave Manchester City on loan to join Bayern Munich for the rest of the season.
Joao Cancelo
Cancelo has been a key player for City in recent times, taking in 36 appearances for the Premier League champions last season while making the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in each of the last two campaigns.
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Some English media platforms reported that Manchester United and Bayern Munich are working out a short-term move with an option to buy him for €70 million (£61.6 million).
The 28-year-old spent three and a half years at the Etihad after joining the club from Juventus in 2019 for €65 million (£60 million).
Cancelo is now eager to leave to get first-team football after losing his place since the World Cup.
The Portugal international has only started three of City’s 10 games since the World Cup and has not featured since the Manchester derby defeat.
City’s shift in tactics, plus the emergence of teenager Rico Lewis, the ability of Nathan Ake to play left-back, and the fact manager Pep Guardiola has five central defenders in his squad means they believe they have enough cover to cope without him for the rest of the season.
Bayern has already lost left-back Lucas Hernandez for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury.
The club’s full-back Noussair Mazrouai was also sidelined recently, though they did sign the Netherlands international Daley Blind.
Bayern could also lose Benjamin Pavard this summer, with the France defender’s contract running out in 2024, all of which makes Cancelo a timely addition immediately and for the future.
If Cancelo seals a switch before the winter window closes on Tuesday, then he would be in line to make his debut for Bayern in either a DFB-Pokal clash with Mainz on Wednesday or a Bundesliga trip to Wolfsburg on Sunday.
Sean Dyche has been named as the new coach of Everton following the sack of Frank Lampard who left the team at the 19th spot on the Premier League table.
Sean Dyche
Dyche was appointed as coach of Everton on a two-and-a-half-year contract, and his main task would be to get the team out of the relegation zone.
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Speaking to the club’s website, Dyche said;
“It’s an honour to become Everton manager. My staff and I are ready and eager to help get this great club back on track.
“I know about Everton’s passionate fanbase and how precious this club is to them. We’re ready to work and ready to give them what they want. That starts with sweat on the shirt, effort and getting back to some of the basic principles of what Everton Football Club has stood for for a long time.”
Prior to his recent appointment, Dyche was in charge of Burnley for 10 years. He enjoyed a good spell with the club, taking them to the 2018-19 Europa League play-offs, and keeping them in the Premier League for six consecutive seasons.
Dyche was sacked by Burnley last season with eight games to go. He left the club in a relegation fight, which ultimately saw them drop down to the Championship.
Rudi Garcia, the coach of Al-Nassr, has blamed Cristiano Ronaldo for the club’s loss to Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Super Cup.
The club which signed Ronaldo in a record-breaking deal at the end of December, were defeated 3-1 in the semi-final of the Saudi Super Cup.
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Shortly after the match was concluded, the French coach was left to bemoan his side’s inability to make the most of their chances in the first-half, and he wasn’t afraid to criticise his new star man for missing a gilt-edged chance, either.
Garcia said:
“One of the things that changed the course of the match was Cristiano’s missed opportunity in the first half.
“I congratulate Al-Ittihad. They presented a much better first half than us, and we played a good second half, but unfortunately we were not able to adjust the result. It’s true that we regret losing the Super Cup, but we are still the first in the league.”
Garcia’s blunt verdict capped a miserable night for Ronaldo, who was taunted by Al-Ittihad fans chanting the name of his iconic rival Lionel Messi as he arrived the pitch.
Chelsea has reportedly accepted that selling Kai Havertz in 2023 will result in a significant loss.
Kai Havertz
Havertz, who is yet to set the Premier League alight since his September 2020 arrival, is being linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge. The German was signed from Bayer Leverkusen for a record transfer fee of £71 million.
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With Chelsea looking to raise funds through outgoing transfers to balance their books after a recent spending spree, there is talk that the Blues could offload Havertz for €60m this summer.
Sky Germany reported that while Bayern Munich has been ruled out as a potential destination, other clubs are ready to enter the race for the 23-year-old, including the likes of PSG, and Juventus.
Everton’s owner, Farhad Moshiri, has put the club up for sale just hours after sacking Frank Lampard due to a poor performance that has landed them in 19th place in the Premier League table.
Moshiri
Guardian reported that Moshiri who became the majority owner of the Merseyside club, having increased his shares to 94 percent last year, is hoping to secure at least £500million from the sale.
His decision to allegedly sell the club comes amid turmoil on and off the pitch, with the Toffees sacking Lampard after a run of defeats that left them joint-bottom at the foot of the Premier League table with just 15 points from 19 matches.
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Moshiri is said to be open to either a full or partial takeover of the club, with his decision coming after months of seeking external investment into Everton. It comes amid their plans to build a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, in a big-money project to move away from their long-time Goodison Park home.
Everton is said to have instructed Deloitte to handle the sale, which is the latest development in a chaotic week for the club following the dismissal of Lampard.
This is however coming barely a week after Moshiri rejected the possibility of a sale. The British-Iranian businessman told the club’s website last week;
“The club is not for sale but I have been talking to top investors to bridge a gap on the stadium. I can do it (the investing) myself but I want to bring top sport investors into Everton. We are close to having a deal done.”
However, since Moshiri’s comments a lot has changed, with Saturday’s loss worsening the club’s perilous league situation and with Lampard being removed as the manager.
Lampard’s sack means that Everton are on the lookout for their seventh permanent manager since Roberto Martinez left in May 2016.
Kylian Mbappe became the first player in Paris Saint-Germain history to score five goals in a single game, as the Ligue 1 champions defeated Pays de Cassel.
Kylian Mbappe. Photo Credit: GOAL
PSG defeated the amateur side 7-0 in the Coupe de France last 32 on Monday evening, thanks to Mbappe’s five goals. For the first time since arriving at the Parc des Princes for the tip to Cassel, the French superstar had been named captain.
He duly delivered a performance that marked a watershed moment in his career, propelling PSG into the last 16. They are attempting to win France’s premier cup competition for the first time since 2021 this year and put on a show at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis.
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Mbappe opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark when he fired in low to the bottom right corner from inside the box. Neymar doubled the visitors’ lead four minutes later, shooting high into the net from inside the six-yard box.
Mbappe laid on the assist for that goal and moments later he added his second of the evening. This time, he fired past Cassel keeper Romain Samson after being played in by Danilo Pereira.
The PSG skipper completed a first-half hat-trick five minutes before the break when he again fired into the bottom right corner. It took him just 11 minutes of the second half to grab his fourth of the net, with Neymar setting him up to score from close-range.
The Brazilian secured his second assist of the evening eight minutes later, setting up Carlos Soler to fire in. The midfielder turned provider himself late on, crossing in for Mbappe to score with a left-footed shot.
PSG will face bitter rivals Marseille in the last 16, with that game to be played in the week commencing 8 February. After breaking yet another record, Mbappe hailed his side for remaining professional despite their lowly opposition.
“We’re happy, we came here to qualify, to respect this team and that’s what we did today. It’s a football match, we’re going to prepare for it. We first think of the match against Reims. Afterwards, we will see for the match against Marseille,” he told beIN Sports.
Becoming the club’s first player to score five goals in one game is the latest PSG record Mbappe has broken. He has already become their record goalscorer in the European Cup and Champions League.
The 23-year-old is also the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer when only looking at the latter competitions. And he is now just four goals away from matching Edinson Cavani’s record for the most strikes for the club, having already racked up a breathtaking 196 goals.
Erling Haaland, a striker for Manchester City, broke a new record by scoring his fourth hat-trick of the year in a Premier League encounter against wolves.
Erling Harland
The Norwegian behemoth broke the record of Ruud van Nistelrooy who took 65 appearances to score four EPL hattricks. Haaland, meanwhile has taken just 19 matches to achieve that feat.
He also surpassed former Manchester United player Cristiano Ronaldo’s hattrick tally (3) and is on level terms with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah who also has 4 hattricks.
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City dominated the first half and deservedly took the lead after Haaland headed home from a pinpoint cross from Kevin De Bruyne in the 40th minute.
It was a matter of time until City got that crucial second goal, with Haaland converting from the spot following a foul on Ilkay Gundogan five minutes after the break. The Norwegian then quickly completed his treble to put the game to bed.
Erling Haaland
Haaland’s previous three hattricks in the league came against Manchester United (Home), Nottingham Forest (Home), and Crystal Palace (Home). The player is also one hattrick away from equalling most hattricks in a Premier League season, as Alan Shearer scored 5 in the 1995-96 season.
