Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri to become Juventus manager

Chelsea have agreed a compensation package with Juventus for their Italian manger Maurizio Sarri to join the Seria A champions. Both clubs have been in negotiations to find a deal, and an agreement was finally reached on Thursday night for the 60 year old to move back to Italy, just under a year after his move to England.

A compensation pay of £5m is reported to have been agreed by both clubs, for the former Napoli manager to join the old lady.

Maurizio Sarri had a difficult time as Chelsea manager, he was at several times just days from the sack during his spell in the Premier League after suffering some damaging defeats during the season. He also courted criticism from the club's fans who never quite warm themselves to his tactics. But, he leaves Stamford Bridge after winning his first trophy as a manager, following the 4-1 win over Arsenal in the Europa League Final. He also led Chelsea to third place in the league, and a place in next season's Champions League.

The transfer ban imposed by FIFA on Chelsea have complicated the club's summer plans. Talisman Eden Hazard has joined Real Madrid, and pending a succesful outcome from the club's appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sports, it's transfer plans for the summer remains on hold.

Already, reports have linked former Chelsea midfielder and Derby County manager, Frank Lampard as the favourite for the job. He led the Championship club to the playoffs final in his first season as a manager. 

Eden Hazard: West Ham fans wrong about Real Madrid chants

Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard scored a brace against West Ham as the Maurizio Sarri side earned the maximum points they needed to move back into the top four.

Whereas Chelsea earned the bragging rights on the night on the field of play, it was the chants of  "he's off to Madrid" from West Ham fans that elicited post match questions to the Belgian captain, 

However, he sought to play down the chants from the West Ham fans, whose chants were aimed at their host. Claiming his focus is firmly on helping Chelsea to finish in the top four and to win the Europa League.

Speaking after the match, 

They're wrong," Hazard told the match host broadcaster.

"Now I'm just focused on Chelsea until the end of season. I want to finish in the top four and do well in the Europa League, and then we'll see."

The 28 year old has just one year left on his contract, and he has continually been linked with a move to Real Madrid. And he has so far not shown any indication of extending his stay at Stamford Bridge beyond 2020, which opens the door for a potential sale in the summer.

Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odio hands in transfer request

Chelsea starlet Callum Hudson-Odio has handed in a transfer request as he seeks to push through a move out of Stamford Bridge in the midst of strong interest from Bayern Munich who are the subject of £40m bid.

The Bavarians have publicly indicated their interest in the 18 year old Chelsea academy graduate.

The Chelsea hierarchy are keen to keep hold of him, and have reportedly offered a contract worth in the region of £80,000 a week, but a lack of a guaranteed playing time has become a sticking point.

He has made 14 appearances, five of which were starts this season.

With the signing of 20 year old winger Christian Pulisic for £58m from Borussia Dortmund, a player that features in a similar position, his path to first team football would further be blocked when the United States international joins in the club next season.

With 18 months left in his contract, Chelsea are in a much weaker position in any negotiation.

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata passes Atletico medical

Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata is set to sign an 18 months loan deal with Atletico Madrid after he passed his medical.

The 26 year old told Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri a month ago that he wanted to leave. He has failed to settle at Stamford Bridge and has struggled for form, scoring just 16 league goals in 47 Premier League appearances.

Speaking about his move in Spain, the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker hinted that he was already looking ahead to life outside London.

"The past is the past, and it cannot be changed, and I'm very proud of it,"  

"I am looking forward to everything being completed so I can start training with my team-mates. 

"I began my career at Atletico and the people who know where I come from and know my history know what this means for me."

The Spanish international was signed from Real Madrid for £60m in 2017. After hitting the ground running with a flurry of goals in his first three months in England, he suffered a dip in form after a hamstring injury and has subsequently suffered from a crisis of confidence.

Following the signing of Gonzalo Higuain on loan from Juventus last week, it was widely expected that he would leave West London to Madrid.

Arsenal v Man Utd teams: Ozil on the bench, Alexis starts

Arsenal are in action tonight against Man Utd in the 4th round of the FA Cup at the Emirates.

The main team news is that Mesut Ozil is on the bench. Cech returns in goal and Alex Iwobi starts for Arsenal. While, there are starts for Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku for Man United.

Full teams;

Arsenal: 

Cech, Maitland-Niles, Sokratis, Koscielny, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Torreira, Iwobi, Ramsey, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Substitutes: Leno, Mustafi, Monreal, Lichtsteiner, Elneny, Guendouzi, Ozil

Manchester United: 

Romero, Young, Lindelof, Bailly, Shaw, Herrera, Matci, Pogba, Lindgard, Lukaku, Alexis

Substitutes: Grant, Dalot, Jones, Fred, Mata, Martial, Rashford

Thierry Henry dismissed as Monaco manager

Thierry Henry has been dismissed from his job as Monaco manager after just three months of being in charge. 

The 41 year old had just two wins from 12 league matches, leaving the club deep in relegation trouble. They were eliminated from the French Cup by Ligue 2 side Metz this week.

In all, he managed five wins from 20 matches. And his time at the club were littered with rows with senior players.

Former manager Leonardo Jardim is the favourite to replace him.

Thierry Henry formed his reputation as a lethal forward during his eight year spell at Arsenal where he became the club's leading goalscorer.

He had worked as a pundit and lately as assistant manager to Belgium national team.

Victor Moses joins Fenerbahce from Chelsea

Former Nigeria international and Chelsea winger Victor Moses passed his medical in Istanbul ahead of a proposed loan move to Turkish giant Fenerbahce who are currently languishing in the relegation zone.

Victor Moses has been a virtual outcast under Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri. Featuring just five times, with just one start which was in the EFL Cup.

This is his seventh year at Stamford Bridge, but the fourth time he would be going out on loan after previous loan spells at Liverpool, Stoke and West Ham.

Since his move from Wigan to Chelsea in 2012, he has featured 128 times for the blues scoring 18 goals.

The 28 year old called time on his international career after the World Cup in Russia to concentrate on his club football. 

Instead, it has been a nightmare first half of the season at club level. Apart for some fleeting appearances, he has been left out completely from the squad all season. 

Chelsea confirm signing of Higuain

Chelsea have signed Juventus striker  Gonzalo Higuain on loan for the rest of the season. The 31 year cut short his loan spell at the San Siro with AC Milan to move to England.

He scored just six goals in 15 appearances for Milan, the last of which was over a month ago.

Chelsea have an option of extending the loan spell to the entirety of the 2019/2020 season if they pay a fee of €18m according to a statement by Juventus. 

There is also an option for Chelsea to buy him out right if they pay a fee of €36m at the end of this season.

The Argentine international reunites with Maurizio Sarri whom he played under at Napoli, a combination that gave the former his best season as  player with 36 league goals four seasons ago.

Speaking of his move to Stamford Bridge to the club's website, the former Real Madrid striker said;

When the opportunity to join Chelsea presented itself I had to take it," 

"It's a team I've always liked that has a lot of history, a wonderful stadium and they play in the Premier League, a league I've always wanted to play in.

"I now hope I can give back that trust Chelsea have shown me out on the pitch. I can't wait to start and I hope to adapt as soon as possible."

The future of Alvaro Morata is now expected to be clarified in the last week of the transfer window, with the striker to set to be sold or loaned out for the reminder of the season.

Mario Balotelli joins Marseille from Nice

Italian international Mario Balotelli has joined Marseille on a six month deal after he was released from his Nice contract.

The 28 year old was unveiled on Wednesday after he passed his medical.

In his time at Nice, he plundered 43 goals in 76 appearances in all competitions.

He had become an outcast in football terms, despite playing for some of the top clubs in Europe, including the two Milan clubs, winning the Champions League with Inter Milan in 2010, and playing a pivotal role for Italy as they got to the final of Euro 2012. Manchester City and Liverpool are some of the club's he has featured for.

He has been able to rebuilt his reputation as good scorer in France initially under the guidance of Lucien Favre, who is now manager at Borussia Dortmund. But Nice manager Patrick Vieira has decided to dispense of him after both had a row in December.

Barca confirm signing of £65m Ajax midfielder

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Ajax and Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong for a fee of £65m with the deal set to be completed in the summer when he joins the Catalan side.

The 21 year old has signed a five year contract for an initial £65m, with the fee expected to rise by another £9.5m in add-ons.

Besides being a midfielder, he can also play in defence. He was linked to other top European clubs such as Manchester City, PSG and Juventus. 

The La liga leaders have moved quickly to secure his signature to further cement its long association with Dutch footballers.

Since joining Ajax from Willen II in 2015, he has gone on to make 65 appearances for the Dutch giant in all competitions.

Standing at 5ft 11in, he has won five caps for the Netherlands.

Dele Alli adds to Spurs injury woes

Spurs midfielder Dele Alli has been ruled out until March after scans confirmed he had suffered a significant hamstring injury. 
He limped off in the win against Fulham on Sunday.

His injury compound an already desperate situation for Spurs after previous ankle injury to key striker Harry Kane.

It means the club's two main attacking forward are now out until at least March. While Son Heung Min remain with South Korea at the Asia Cup.

It means since the first semi final against Chelsea in the EFL Cup two weeks ago, Spurs have lost their two most important forward to injuries.

In a statement, the club confirmed the severity of the injury.

Following scans and clinical assessment, we can confirm that Dele Alli has suffered a hamstring strain, sustained during Sunday's match.

"Dele will now undergo a period of rehabilitation with our medical staff, with the expectation of returning to training in early March."

Reacting to hid injury, the England international tweeted this: "Gutted. I will do everything in my power to return as quick as possible. Thank you for all the messages."

Mikel Obi set for return to England after Boro medical

Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi is set for a return to England according to reports on Tuesday that he had a medical at the Riverside stadium with Championship side Middleborough.

The 31 year old two year contract at Chinese Super League side expired in December and both sides decided to part ways.

When confirmed, he is expected to add his technical qualities to a side that his built in the image of their manager for being obdurate.

Tony Pulis' side lie in the play-off places in fifth in the England second tier six points off the automatic promotion position.

It remains to be seen whether his return to England would serve as a catalyst for a return to the Super Eagles after he was left out of the entire squads that featured in the Afcon qualifiers since the World Cup in Russia.

Bendel Insurance set for first top flight home game in 12 years

League: NPFL Group AMatch: Bendel Insurance v Kwara United
Venue: Uniben Sports Complex, Benin City.
Time: 4pm

Bendel Insurance are set to play their first home game in the Nigeria Professional Football League NPFL in 12 years when they file out against Kwara United at the University of Benin Sports Complex on Wednesday.

The Benin Arsenal opened their campaign with a hard fought 1-1 draw against Remo Stars in Ijebu Ode last Sunday, after veteran striker Charles Omokaro added to the two goals he scored in the NNL play-offs by opening the club's account for the season.

Kwara United were the winners in a five goal thriller on Sunday against Enyimba in Ilorin as they came from behind twice to secure the three points.

Bendel Insurance traditional home ground the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is undergoing reconstruction so, their home matches will be played at the Uniben Sports Complex.

Hector Bellerin out till next season with ACL injury

Hector Bellerin has become the third long term injury victim at Arsenal this season after the club confirmed that he sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee. 

He is now expected to be out for at least nine months, and would not be back until next season. 
His injury adds to the defensive injuries that has been a feature of the club's season, with Rob Holding also a victim of an ACL injury a couple of months back.

Hector Bellerin had gone down in the 72nd minute crutching his left knee in Saturday's win over Chelsea, before he was carried off on a stretcher.

The club confirmed the fears of Unai Emery in a statement on Tuesday.

"Further to the injury sustained during our match against Chelsea on Saturday, we can confirm that Hector has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee," 

"Hector will undergo surgery to repair this in the coming days. The rehabilitation process is expected to take between six to nine months and therefore rules Hector out of action for the remainder of this season.

"Everyone at the club will now be working as hard as we can to ensure Hector is back on the pitch as soon as possible next season."

Prior to the injury, Bellerin has featured 19 times in the Premier League this season, 18 of which have come as starts.

In his absence, Maitland-Niles is now expected to feature more in the coming months, as veteran right back Stephan Lichtsteiner has struggled to adapt to the pace of the league.

Trent Alexander-Arnold adds to Liverpool injury list

Liverpool right back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled up to three weeks with a knee injury. The 20 year old injury is the latest setback to the club's title pursuit.

In what seem to have exacerbated his knee injury, he required painkillers to play through the 90 minutes in the hard fought win at Brighton,  

He is the only natural right back at the club after Nathaniel Clyne was sent on loan to Bournemouth, though James Milner and Fabiano could feature in that position.

Jurgen Klopp's side have a number of other injuries, as Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren are out. While midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum got a knock against Brighton and he is being assessed.

The Reds next four matches are against Crystal Palace, Leicester City, West Ham United and Bournemouth. Matches they are will still be expected to win at least on paper even with the injuries

Harry Kane ruled out for six weeks

Tottenham Hotspurs leading striker Harry Kane has been ruled out for six weeks with an ankle ligameny injury. The club announced on Tuesday. 

He is not expected to return until at least early March.

Mauricio Pochettino had expressed fears about the possibility of the England international being out for a considerable time after he limped off in the late stages of the Premier League defeat to Manchester United on Sunday.

Those fears have now being realised as the 25 year old is now expected to miss a major part of the season for his club. He is definitely out of the squad to face Chelsea in the second semi final of the Carabao Cup at Stamford Bridge next week. 

In a further setback for Spurs, Son Heung-min has joined up with South Korea for the Asia Cup tournament after he was granted permission to delay his arrival.

It means, Pochettino would have to rejig his side in the coming weeks as both players accounts for close to 30 goals this season in all competitions with Kane already on 14 goals in the Premier League.

Petr Cech to leave Arsenal

Arsenal and former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is to retire at the end of the season. The 36 year announced on Tuesday.

In a statement on social media; 

"This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of this season," He said

"Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved everything I set out to achieve. I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life holds for me off the pitch."

The former Czech republic international arrived from Rennes in 2004 to join Chelsea, and he was instrumental in goal as the Stamford Bridge outfit won three Premier League titles, but he lost his place to Thibaut Courtois in 2014, which resulted in a move to Arsenal in 2015.

His time at the Bridge fetched him four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, two league cups, a Champions League and Europa Cup. During his time at Arsenal, he won the FA Cup for the fifth time in 2017.

His departure means Arsenal would either decide to promote a goalkeeper from within its youth setup or go into the transfer market to get a replacement as Benard Leno was signed last summer in anticipation of such an announcement.

West Ham v Arsenal teams: No Ozil, starts for Lacazette and Aubameyang

Arsenal play West Ham United in the Premier League early kick off for the weekend. 
 
The major team news for Arsenal is that Mesut Ozil is not in the squad after his return from injury. While, Arnautovic starts despite being the subject of a £35m bid from a Chinese club. 

Full teams:

West Ham: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Diop, Cresswell, Noble, Rice, Antonio, Nasri, Anderson, Arnautovic

Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Mustafi, koscielny, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Iwobi, Aubameyang, Lacazette

Substitutes: Cech, Monreal, Ramsey, Bellerin, Lichtsteiner, Torreira, Nketiah

Lobi Stars open Champions League group stage with a win

Nigeria Professional League Champion, Lobi Stars of Makurdi began the CAF Champions League group stage with a win on Friday after coming from behind to beat Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa 2-1 on matchday one of Group A.

The Makurdi based side, who are playing their matches at the Nnamdi Azikwe stadium in Enugu, fell behind in the 38th minute through Laffor, but they pulled level on the stroke of half time from the penalty spot.

Nigeria's representative however, sealed all three points in the early moments of resumption of play when they scored through Martins in the 53rd minute. 

Their two goals were part of the four shots they had on target. A statistic that included 28 shots in total, 24 of which where off target.

With the opening three points, they are expected to start as joint group leaders after matchday one, but they would have to improve on their away form judging from the evidence of their display in the preliminaries, where they lost all their away games conceding four goals and scoring just one.

They travel next to Abidjan to face Asec Mimosas on matchday two, before a double header with Moroccan giant Wydad Casablanca. 

Chelsea's Cesc Fabregas joins Monaco

Monaco have announced that signing of Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas on a three and half year deal.

The 31 year old departs England after featuring in 501 games for both Chelsea and Arsenal.

The 2017 French Ligue 1 champion is not expected to pay any fees to Chelsea for the signing, but would pay bonuses based on the number of appearances he makes.

Speaking of his delight at joining the Municipality side, the former Barcelona midfielder said;

"I'm here to help the team, I'm looking forward to starting. I am very excited," 

While the club through its vice-president Vadim Vasilyev put the capture of a world class midfielder this way:

"We are very pleased to welcome Cesc Fabregas to AS Monaco, a world-class player and a great professional, whose arrival demonstrates the ambition of the club," 

"We are convinced that his experience at the highest level will bring a lot to our players on and off the field."

During his four and half years at Chelsea, a club he joined in 2014 from Barcelona, he had two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup to his name at Stamford Bridge. While his first spell at Arsenal fetched him an FA Cup won in 2005.