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Lukaku pays respect to Osimhen
Belgian striker, Romelu Lukaku has paid respect to Victor Osimhen as he declined the number 9 shirt that the Nigerian was wearing while still in Napoli.
When he was signed on by Napoli as a direct replacement for Osimhen, Lukaku rejected the opportunity to take Victor Osimhen’s no.9 shirt after joining Napoli, despite the club having told him that he was free to do so.
Osimhen was removed from Napoli’s Serie A squad at the start of the weekend after a move away from the club collapsed in spectacular fashion on deadline day.
A short-lived update on the Serie A website had Lukaku down as Napoli’s new number nine, but he then turned out against Parma wearing the no.11 instead.
Reports from Il Mattino and Tuttonapoli on Monday claim that Lukaku refused Napoli’s offer of taking the no.9 shirt as a show of respect for Osimhen. The feeling was that even though he is not part of the Serie A squad, the no.9 jersey still belongs to the Nigeria international.
Lukaku got off to a flying start in his Partenopei career, coming off the bench to score a 92nd minute equaliser against Parma, which gave Napoli a boost ahead of Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa’s 96th minute winner.
A source close to Wydad Casablanca told Reuters on Wednesday that the Moroccan club is not in talks to sign Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo from Al-Nassr.
Spanish outlet Marca reported that Wydad were hoping to sign five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo to lead their attack at the Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States and starts next month.
“It was just a friendly talk between Wydad’s president and an agent close to Ronaldo, without going beyond informal discussions,” a source told Reuters.
Ronaldo, 40, is the top scorer in the Saudi Pro League with 24 goals this season.
Wydad, the last African Champions in 2022, will face Manchester City on June 18 before taking on Juventus and Al-Ain in Group G of the Club World Cup.
-Reuters
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There are strong indications that Super Eagles and AC Milan winger, Samuel Chukwueze, could exit the Guiseppe Meazza this summer following interest from Turkish Super Lïg side, Besiktas JK.
The 25-year-old joined the Rossonerri from Villarreal in the summer of 2023 but has never really settled in at Milan as he’s largely been a bit part player at the San Siro.
The AFCON 2023 silver medal winner with Nigeria has played paltry 82 minutes since the new manager, Sergio Conceicao, took over as Milan’s head coach, worsening his story with the seven-time UEFA Champions League winners.
According to Europa Calcio, Chukwueze’s future seems increasingly distant from Milan. The player’s agents have suggested him to Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s side, Besiktas, who have immediately started contacts to bring him to the Turkish Süper Lig.
The 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner was linked with a move to Alex Iwobi’s Fulham in January, but time disparity in the transfer market didn’t allow the move to materialize.
Additionally, Milan’s technical director, Geoffrey Moncada, revealed his side were delighted the Super Eagles winger didn’t make a deadline-day transfer to Fulham.
The former Manchester United boss has given the green light to the deal, as he considers Chukwueze to be a valuable reinforcement in the attacking department.
The Turkish club are currently working on a loan-with-obligation-to-buy proposal, and are hopeful their strategy will convince Milan, who intend on recuperating the fees to secure Chukwueze from Villareal two years ago.
Chukwueze on the other hand, is seriously considering a move to Besiktas as he’s aware that he is not part of Milan’s long-term plans. With few opportunities under Sergio Conceicao, the former Villarreal player could accept the Turkish destination to re-establish himself.
Additionally, one of Chukwueze’s best friends, Victor Osimhen, has had nothing but good things to say about the Turkish Super Lig as he enjoys his loan spell with Galatasaray.
In conclusion, a move away from Milan would be a win-win situation for all parties, allowing the Rossoneri to free up space in the squad and for the player to regain the form which saw the Italian side snap him up initially.
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Man Utd sign two and lose 10 players as disastrous window for Ruben Amorim slams shut
In spite of their awful season, Manchester United have offloaded 10 players, including Marcus Rashford, on loan while making just two new signings as the winter transfer market closed on Monday night.
The once-great team now sits 13th on the log of the Premier League table and the graph tends to slope downward rather than looking upward as the season progresses.
Any thought of European football next season is more of a mirage. Some more signings would potentially have gone a long way to getting them back on track.
Attacking recruits in particular would have been very useful given United’s goalscoring troubles this season. But it is in defence where United chiefs have chosen to strengthen this time around.
They have signed Lecce defender, Patrick Dorgu who significantly is the first signing since Amorim’s arrival. Manchester United have paid £29.2million for his signature and he has signed a contract until 2030.
The Danish left-back was also joined by another young defender Ayden Heaven, who moved in from Premier League rivals, Arsenal.
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