Sports
Garba, Amuneke, Manu Hail Ighalo’s Move To Man United
Notable Nigerian football aficionados including the trio of Garba Lawal, Manu Garba and Emmanuel Amuneke have described transfer deal of Odion Ighalo to Manchester United as a welcome development.
Ighalo, in the eventful hours of the January Transfer on Friday joined English Premier League giants from Chinese Super League side Shanghai Shenhua on a reported six-month loan deal with an option to buy at the end of the half-year period.
“Ighalo’s transfer to Manchester United is a fantastic move and a big challenge for him,” Lawal, a Trojan in his heyday with the Super Eagles said.
“It is the dream of any player to play for bigger clubs like Manchester United and this is one of the biggest clubs in the world; I’m happy for him.”
Garba, who scored one of the goals at France’98 World Cup and a member of the team that won historic Soccer Gold medal for Nigeria at Atlanta’96 Olympics, said Ighalo should be able to cope with the demands of playing in the EPL after his earlier spell with Watford.
“Manchester United is bigger platform than when he played for Watford and there is going to be pressure on him every game and every week but I believe he can cope because he has gotten the experience of playing in the EPL before with Watford.”
Similarly, Manu Garba, the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup winning coach with Golden Eaglets, said the Watford experience would serve Ighalo in good stead as he begins a new life at Old Trafford.
“The transfer is good news for Nigerian football and good for Ighalo because it shows his attacking prowess over the years,” explained the former El Kanemi captain.
“For a club as big as Manchester United to bring him in order to solve their goal scoring problem means that Ighalo’s scoring ability is not a fluke; and with this Man United would enjoy more support from Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, Ighalo in a series of post on his social media handles has dedicated his transfer to Manchester United to the memory of his beloved Mary Omoyebagbe Atole (nee Ighalo) who passed on 12th December 2019.
“This (transfer to Manchester United) is for you Omoyebagbe, love for you forever,” the former Udinese striker wrote after his deal was confirmed in the early hours of Saturday.
In the early hours of yesterday, the 30-year-old Ighalo further reminiscence about his late sister.
“I wish (sic) she was here to see all we prayed for but I know you are happy and smiling in heaven….I love you and miss you every day,” he penned.
Sporting have not received an offer for striker Viktor Gyokeres and there is no gentleman’s agreement for him to leave for £59million, says club president Frederico Varandas.
Sweden international Gyokeres, 27, has been heavily linked with Manchester United and Arsenal after scoring 97 goals in 102 matches during two seasons in Portugal.
He has a 100m euro (£85m) release clause in his contract.
It has been widely reported that, after staying at Sporting last summer, Gyokeres and Sporting agreed he could leave for 70m euros (£59m) this summer.
However, Varandas said the club’s only promise to Gyokeres was that they would not demand his full release clause.
“I can guarantee that Viktor Gyokeres will not leave for 60m euros plus 10m euros because I never promised that,” Varandas said.
“To this day Sporting has not had an offer for Gyokeres, neither today nor last season.”
Gyokeres spent three seasons with Coventry City in the Championship before joining Sporting under Ruben Amorim.
Manchester City director of football Hugo Viana was sporting director at Sporting last summer, when Gyokeres’ agent sought assurances about his leaving if a suitable offer arrived.
“One of the agent’s biggest concerns was whether we would demand the termination clause,” said Varandas.
“He wanted to guarantee certain things. And what was agreed? That Sporting would not demand a release clause now.
“For one reason: he was going to be 27 years old and no player leaves Portugal at 27 for 100m eurors or 90m euros.
“In that same meeting the agent wanted to anchor the exit to a value. I said this sentence: ‘It’s not worth us setting a value because I don’t know what will happen in a year’s time. I don’t know if it will be 40m euros, 60m euros or 80m euros. What I can guarantee is that I will not demand 100 million euros.’”
Concacaf President Victor Montagliani has criticised a proposal to expand the 2030 men’s World Cup to 64 teams.
The plans, put forward by South American governing body Conmebol, have also drawn opposition from Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The tournament will be hosted by Spain, Morocco and Portugal, after the opening matches are held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The 2026 World Cup, which will take place across the United States, Mexico and Canada, has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.
But Conmebol said it wanted to add more participants to mark the competition’s 100-year anniversary.
“I don’t believe expanding the men’s World Cup to 64 teams is the right move for the tournament itself and the broader football ecosystem, from national teams to club competitions, leagues, and players,” Montagliani told Tidesports source
“We haven’t even kicked off the new 48-team World Cup yet, so personally, I don’t think that expanding to 64 teams should even be on the table.”
Concacaf is the governing body of football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The decision to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams was taken in 2017 following a unanimous vote at a Fifa congress.
Fifa’s 75th congress will be held in Paraguay on 15 May, when Conmebol’s proposal could be discussed.
If the proposal is accepted, the 2030 edition would consist of 128 matches, double the number played under the 64-game format used from 1998 and 2022.
In March, Ceferin described the proposal as a “bad idea” while AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa said it would cause “chaos”.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams,” said Salman.
“But someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams. Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
Brazil qualified for the 2026 World Cup this week with a 1-0 win against Paraguay in South American qualifying to give Carlo Ancelotti his first win as manager.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jnr scored from close range in the second half, finishing after fine work from Manchester United-bound playmaker Matheus Cunha.
The victory, Ancelotti’s first after a 0-0 draw against Ecuador on his debut last week, means Brazil has now qualified for every edition of the World Cup.
“We needed to win and qualify for the World Cup,” said Vinicius Jr.
“Now the coach will have more time to work. Of course today wasn’t one of our best performances, but the important thing is always to win.
“Now it’s time to celebrate qualifying.”
Elsewhere, World Cup holders Argentina played out an entertaining 1-1 draw with Colombia in Buenos Aires.
Liverpool winger Luis Diaz opened the scoring with a fine individual goal, dancing through three defenders before finishing past Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Argentina was reduced to 10 men with 20 minutes remaining when Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez was sent off for a high-boot challenge on Colombia’s Kevin Castano.
But Lionel Messi’s side found an equaliser nine minutes from the end through Lyon’s Thiago Almada, leaving Colombia four points clear of seventh-placed Venezuela.
Ecuador, Argentina’s nearest challengers, booked their spot at next summer’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States after a 0-0 draw away at Peru.