Category: Sports

Arsenal have submitted a third bid worth £105m for West Ham and England midfielder Declan Rice.

Treble winners Manchester City, who had a £90m offer for the 24-year-old rejected on Tuesday, will not match the Gunners’ bid.

Arsenal have also had two bids previously rejected after their offers fell short of the £100m West Ham want.

However, it is understood the Hammers do not believe the structure of the latest bid is right.

Rice’s current contract at the London Stadium expires in 2024 but has the option for a one-year extension until the summer of 2025.

If Arsenal’s bid of an initial £100m plus £5m in add-ons is successful, the initial fee would equal the British record Manchester City paid for midfielder Jack Grealish.

Earlier this month, England midfielder Jude Bellingham signed for Real Madrid for an initial £88.5m, although that deal could reach £115m if add-ons are activated.

Following the club’s Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina earlier this month, chairman David Sullivan said he was “99%” sure Rice would leave West Ham this summer.

Rice has scored 15 goals in 245 games for West Ham, having made his debut in the 2016-17 season after coming through the academy.

He has been capped 41 times by England, playing in all five of their matches at last winter’s World Cup.

The Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) has announced that its second-tier league, the NWFL Championship, will be held from July 7 to July 14, 2023.

In a statement by the Chief Operating Officer of the NWFL, Modupe Shabi, the tournament will be played simultaneously in the Sagamu and Ikenne areas of Ogun State.

“The upcoming championship comes almost a month after the Premiership Super Six was held in Asaba as the NWFL seeks to conclude the 2023 season calendar of the three tiers of the women’s league.

“The teams are expected to arrive on July 7 for the Draws and Pre-Match Meetings,” she said.

Shabi noted that 12 registered clubs will play in this year’s championship while two teams with the highest points will be promoted to the NWFL Premiership and two with the lowest points, relegated to NWFL Nationwide League.

The match venues for the tournament are Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne and FC Ebiede Stadium in Sagamu.

The Teams that will participate in the League are Prince Kazeem Eletu FC; Honey Badgers FC; Kwara Ladies FC; Ekiti Queens FC; Imo Striker Queens FC; Dreamstar Ladies; Sunshine Queens FC; Lakeside Football Academy; Delta Babes FC; Pelican Stars; Dannaz FC and Moje Queens.

Chelsea midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is close to joining Italian giants AC Milan.  

The 27-year-old, who has 10 England caps, has been at Stamford Bridge since he was a youth player and has also had loan spells at Crystal Palace and Fulham.

In his time at Chelsea, he has won two Premier League titles, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

A handful of players have left Chelsea this summer as the West London club looks to balance the books.

Chelsea are looking to trim their squad following Todd Boehley’s £600 million outlay on new recruits last season, and it’s already seen a number of players exit the club.

N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Kouilbaly have both left for the Saudi Pro League, with Edouard Mendy expected to follow, while there remain ongoing talks with Manchester United over the sale of Mason Mount.

Now midfielder Loftus-Cheek looks to have secured a move to Serie A, with Italian giants Milan.

According to journalists in Italy at calciomercato.com talks between the player and the Rossoneri are at an advanced stage in a £13 million deal for the midfield man.

Europa Conference League winners, West Ham United have rejected Manchester City’s £90 million bid for Declan Rice, according to The Telegraph, even as Arsenal are preparing to make an improved third bid for the prolific midfielder.

Rice is one of the most-coveted players on the market this summer with the England midfielder widely expected to leave the Hammers after guiding them to glory in the Europa Conference League.

Arsenal have identified Rice as their top target but have already had two bids rejected and City’s first offer – which comprised of a guaranteed £80m plus an extra £10m in add-ons – has also been turned down by West Ham.

Mail Sport reported on Monday that Arsenal is set to make an improved third offer for Rice within 48 hours as they counter the attempts of City’s proposal.

However, the forthcoming proposal will not be in direct response to the Treble-winners’ bid – although it will focus the club’s efforts to sign Rice, who is Mikel Arteta’s No 1 target.

City’s offer did beat Arsenal’s previous rejected bid of a guaranteed £75m plus an additional £15m in bonuses, but the Hammers are seeking at least £100m for their star man. Sources claim that the Gunners’ third offer will be closer to this valuation.

West Ham are hoping for this amount after seeing Jude Bellingham move to Real Madrid for a fee rising up to  £113m and also having agreed to Rice’s wish to depart this summer.

London club Chelsea have rejected a third bid from Manchester United.

As reported by multiple journalists on Friday evening, the Blues have demanded £58m ($73.7m) plus £7m ($8.9m) for Mount. 

The Telegraph among others, have also stated that the two clubs are set to meet in person imminently to hammer out a deal.

Mount’s prospective move to Old Trafford has been the transfer saga of the summer so far.

His contract expires at the end of the 2022-23 season and the Blues are acutely aware that they risk the England international walking for free if they do not sell him before the current window closes. Despite this, they are standing firm on their valuation thus far.

Mount is one of a long list of Chelsea players who are expected to depart Stamford Bridge over the coming weeks. N’Golo Kante has already signed for Al-Ittihad and he could be joined in the Saudi Pro League by Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Kai Havertz has also been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal while Conor Gallegher is being targeted by Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester City are in advanced talks with West Ham over a potential agreement for Declan Rice. That’s according to transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, who says a potential hijack is in the works.

The Gunners have identified Rice as their top target and are preparing a third bid after their opening two offers in the region of £90m were rejected by the Hammers. But City have joined the race and are expected to make their first bid soon as they look to beat Arsenal for Rice.

West Ham United captain Declan Rice appears to be leaning towards the latter.

Declan Rice is Arsenal’s top summer target and Mikel Arteta has been laying the groundwork for a transfer since February.

The England midfielder is expected to cost more than £100million. The Gunners have made two offers so far, both believed to be in the region of £90m.

West Ham knocked back both bids, which has granted Manchester City time to assess their options, and with Ilkay Gundogan moving to Barcelona, Pep Guardiola has reportedly decided he wants to sign Rice.

David Ornstein reported on Thursday that a bid from the Premier League, European and FA Cup champions was expected to be lodged later that day, yet no opening offer has been made, as of Saturday afternoon.

City’s interest has already caused a bit of a meltdown amongst Arsenal supporters on social media.

The FIFA Council has unanimously appointed the United States as the host of the new and expanded 32-team FIFA Club World Cup that is due to take place in 2025, at its meeting held by video conference from the Home of FIFA.

The host selection process took into consideration the infrastructure and service requirements, as well as broader strategic objectives for the tournament.

The decision was reached based on the United States’ position as a proven leader in staging global events and because it would allow FIFA to maximise synergies with the delivery of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to the benefit of both tournaments and the development of football in the North American region. As a next step, FIFA will engage with the relevant stakeholders to finalise the dates, venues and match schedule of this new tournament. 

“The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be the pinnacle of elite professional men’s club football, and with the required infrastructure in place together with a massive local interest, the United States is the ideal host to kick off this new, global tournament,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “With some of the world’s top clubs already qualified, fans from every continent will be bringing their passion and energy to the United States in two years’ time for this significant milestone in our mission to make football truly global.” 

The slot allocation per confederation and the key principles of access were already confirmed by the FIFA Council earlier this year.

To ensure additional consultation with all key stakeholders, in relation to the FIFA World Cup 2030™, which will mark the centenary of men’s football’s showpiece tournament, the FIFA Council agreed to postpone the formal launch of the bidding process. Therefore, the relevant Bidding Regulations will be presented for approval at the next FIFA Council meeting, due to take place in September/October 2023, with the bidding process to be officially launched thereafter. The expected appointment of the host(s) by the FIFA Congress will also move from Q3 2024 to Q4 2024.

The FIFA Council also approved the Overview of Hosting Requirements for the FIFA World Cup 2030™, which was prepared by the FIFA administration to allow all interested member associations to better understand the requirements for hosting the competition, including with regard to the required infrastructure, the legal framework that must be established and the environmental and social objectives that should be pursued.

The FIFA Council also approved the Regulations for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Preliminary Competition, which kicks off in September 2023. 

“With 48 teams participating in the next FIFA World Cup, the tournament will have an unprecedented impact on world football, especially as more nations will have the opportunity to secure their place to shine on the global stage,” said President Infantino.

Additionally, the FIFA Council confirmed that the 74th FIFA Congress, due to take place on 17 May 2024, will be hosted in Bangkok, Thailand.

The Council also appointed Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2023™, Colombia as the host of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2024™, the Dominican Republic as the host of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2024™ and Uzbekistan as the host of the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2024™. The time frame for the respective competitions will be confirmed in due course.

The dates of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2023™, which is due to take place in the United Arab Emirates, were moved from 16-26 November 2023 to 15–25 February 2024.

Manchester United have reportedly been made aware that Chelsea are willing to drop their asking price for Mason Mount to around £60 million ($77m).

The Red Devils remain keen on acquiring the England international playmaker during the summer transfer window – allowing them to add more creativity to the ranks at Old Trafford. It is claimed that personal terms have already been agreed on a long-term contract.

United has been reluctant to meet Chelsea’s demands so far, with a couple of approaches being knocked back, but Fabrizio Romano says the Blues are willing to compromise. They may be prepared to accept an offer of between £60m-£65m for Mount, with the West London outfit eager to generate funds following elaborate spending across the last two windows.

United will not be lodging “crazy bids” for Mount, but they may be tempted back to the negotiating table after learning that Premier League rivals are prepared to relax their stance when it comes to price tags may be tempted back to the negotiating table after learning that Premier League.

Mount, who is a home-grown product of Chelsea’s academy system, has taken in 195 appearances for the Blues – while earning 36 senior England caps at 24 years of age – and has made it clear to those at Stamford Bridge that he will not be signing a new contract, with there still a chance that he will run down his current deal and walk away as a free agent in 2024.

Manchester United are reportedly willing to sell Fred in the summer transfer window, with the Red Devils looking for £20 million ($26m) from any deal.

The Brazil international midfielder has been at Old Trafford since completing a £52m ($66m) switch from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018. A 12-month extension clause has been triggered in his contract through to 2024, but United are now open to offers.

The Telegraph reports that Fulham have registered their interest in Fred, with Marco Silva having been spotted taking in a lengthy post-game discussion with the South American following the Cottagers’ 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford on the final day of the 2022-23 campaign.

Fulham are reluctant to meet United’s asking price for the 30-year-old, but hope a compromise can be reached that suits all parties – with further discussions set to be held regarding the financial structure of a potential deal between two Premier League rivals.

Fred has previously said on his future plans: “I’ll talk to my staff, to the club, and see what is everyone’s decision. I want to be important, I want to help the team, so we’ll see. But I’ve always been and still am very happy at Manchester United.” The Red Devils are also reported to have put Scotland international midfielder Scott McTominay up for sale, although Erik ten Hag would be prepared to keep him on board as a back-up option if no sale is sanctioned.