Sports
Man Utd, Chelsea Chase Dortmund’s Star
Manchester United lead Chelsea in the chase for Borussia Dortmund star Jadon Sancho.
The former Manchester City winger is a priority target for both Frank Lampard and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but it is understood United is currently front of the queue for the 20-year-old.
However, with the transfer window currently up in the air due to the suspension of leagues because of Covid-19, there is potential for the situation to change and it is understood that no agreement has yet been reached with any club for the sale of Sancho.
Dortmund is reportedly already planning for life without the England star, who has remained tight-lipped about his long-term future. He was quizzed about a potential return to the Premier League earlier this month but refused to be drawn on a transfer back to England.
It is understood Dortmund want €130 million (£115m/$143m) for Sancho and their chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has warned that they will not be willing to accept a cut-price offer for the winger.
“I can clearly say that despite the existential crisis [for football] even the richest clubs don’t have to believe they can go bargain hunting at Dortmund,” Watzke told our source. “We must not sell anyone below value.
“Even before the coronavirus outbreak, we said that we prefer that Jadon stays with us. At the end of the day, however, you always have to respect what the player wants.”
Boyhood Chelsea fan Sancho, who is close friends with Tammy Abraham and Callum Hudson-Odoi, left Manchester City in 2017 for Germany and has been a success in the Bundesliga, but disciplinary issues at the start of the year led to speculation the attacker could be on his way.
United were interested when Jose Mourinho was in charge back in 2017 but Sancho decided to make the move to Germany instead. City have the right to match any bid accepted by Dortmund for the winger but there is no clause in his contract that would stop him from joining United.
Both Chelsea and United are keen to strengthen their attacking line whenever the transfer window opens again.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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