Updates from the transfer world

City opt against signing Paul Pogba

Manchester United now have a free run at Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba as Manchester City have decided against signing the Frenchman, according toThe Guardian.

United are now considering whether to firm up their interest in the France international, with Jose Mourinho a "long-term admirer" having previously attempted to sign him for Chelsea.

Pogba's agent, Mino Raiola, also represents Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who will sign a one-year deal with United, Sky sources understand.

Report suggests that Pogba is valued at £65m, with City boss Pep Guardiola preferring to focus on other targets.

De Boer is Southampton's choice

Southampton will move for ex-Ajax head coach Frank De Boer immediately Ronald Koeman's moves to Everton.

That's according to the Daily Express, who cite Dutch reports that claim Southampton have made "a serious attempt" to bring De Boer to the south coast.

Koeman sets his sight on the defence

Ronald Koeman will make strengthening Everton’s defence a priority when he’s confirmed as the club’s new manager, according to the Daily Mirror.

Burnley's Michael Keane and Brighton's Lewis Dunk are among his targets, while Southampton’s Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk is also mentioned.

Koeman is expected to be appointed as Roberto Martinez’s successor after Everton agreed a compensation fee with Southampton.

Spurs wants Franco Vazquez

Tottenham are in talks with Palermo for striker Franco Vazquez, according to the Serie A club’s president Maurizio Zamparini.

“It’s definitely more likely Vazquez will go to England – I’m asking for 25 million euros for him,” Zamparini told Corriere dello Sport.

“He could even do well with Leicester. Milan and Roma were interested [too].

“I’m in touch with Tottenham and I’ve asked them for 25 million euros, so let’s see.”

Rashford was Crewe-bound

From Man Utd U18s to the England squad, but it all could have been so different for man of the moment Marcus Rashford.

Rashford was the subject of a loan move from Sky Bet League One side Crewe Alexandra a week before he made his Man Utd debut, claims Crewe first-team coach James Collins.

Collins said: “I spoke to Warren Joyce [United U21 coach] earlier in the season about taking him on loan.

“Warren said we couldn’t because they needed him for their U21s. A week later he made his debut for the first team and the rest is history.”

Rashford made his United debut in the Europa League against FC Midtjylland, scoring twice.

Spurs close in on Janssen

Tottenham have held talks with Vincent Janssen after AZ Alkmaargave him permission to speak to them, sources have said.

It is understood the 21-year-old spent Tuesday in London listening to Tottenham's plans for the future and discussing a potential deal to move to White Hart Lane. 

There has not yet been any discussions between the clubs over a transfer fee, but reports in the Netherlands claim the Eredivisie club are asking for around £12m.

City close in Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is closing in on a move to Manchester City, according to reports.

The Borussia Dortmund striker, who hit 39 goals in 49 games this season, is one of the most in-demand players in Europe.

However, it is the Citizens who look to be closing in on the Gabonese international, with reports claiming he is in advanced talks with the Manchester club.

Borussia Monchengladbach sign Christoph Kramer from Leverkusen

Borussia Monchengladbach have signed Christoph Kramer from Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal.

Kramer, 25, spent two seasons on loan at Gladbach between 2013 and 2015 and has now returned to the club permanently after completing a medical on Wednesday.

Serie clubs line up for Leed's defender

Empoli have joined the race to sign Leeds’ Giuseppe Bellusci, according to a report.

The Leeds defender is thought to be keen on a move away from Elland Road this summer after falling out of favour with former manager Steve Evans and not getting a single minute in the final four games of the season.

There has been speculation that Atalanta, Torino, Bologna and Sampdoria were all interested in Bellusci’s signature 

I'll fight in Vegas if the opportunity comes - Joshua

Anthony Joshua has revealed his excitement at eventually making his Las Vegas debut.

The IBF heavyweight champion's immediate task will be to deal with his first challenger, Dominic Breazeale, on June 25.

Anthony Joshua and Dominic Breazeale look fiery ahead of their bout. Sky image

Joshua's 16 knockouts have all been on British soil, with his last five at London's O2 Arena, but he claims fans are clamouring for him to head Stateside.

He exclusively told said during her interview that: "The two things I hear: when are you fighting Tyson Fury? And when are going to Vegas?

"When I look at Ricky Hatton, he was unbelievable taking thousands and thousands of people over to America.

                           When I look at Ricky Hatton, he was unbelievable taking thousands and                                                    thousands of people over to America - Joshua.

"So if the opportunity comes, and it works for everyone, 100 percent [I will fight in Vegas].

"This isn't about country versus country, this is about being global and being worldwide. So we're just trying to make everyone aware of what we're doing."

Source - Skysports

Crystal 0 - 0 Everton. Match report

Joel Robles produced an inspired performance as 10-man Everton held on for a 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace in Wednesday's Premier League encounter at Selhurst Park.

Alan Pardew's men created numerous chances to open the scoring, with Dwight Gayle and Jason Puncheon in particular coming close, but they failed to beat the Everton shot stopper as he held out for his third clean sheet of the campaign.
Ross Barkley hit the crossbar but Everton's attacking intent was stifled when James McCarthy was dismissed soon after, having collected his second yellow card.
The draw takes Palace further clear of the relegation zone. They are now 11 points above 18th-placed Sunderland with five matches, having been unbeaten in three matches and earned their first league win of 2016 against Norwich City on Saturday.

Pardew opted for the pace of Dwight Gayle over Connor Wickham and Emmanuel Adebayor in attack, and another of Palace's quick attackers, Yannick Bolasie, was the first to bring a save out of Joel.
Wilfried Zaha set up Gayle in a dangerous position shortly after as the hosts continued to push for the opener, only for the attacker to fire wide under pressure from John Stones. 
Palace keeper Wayne Hennessey was called into action for the first time midway through the first half when Seamus Coleman volleyed straight at him after a fine cross from Leighton Baines. 
Everton grew into the match and Arouna Kone’s powerful shot from 20 yards went narrowly over the crossbar, before Hennessey pulled off a sublime save to deny Romelu Lukaku from close range. 
Gayle's acrobatic overhead kick went just wide at the far post, before Barkley was unfortunate not to break the deadlock in the 48th minute, beating Hennessey with his curled shot from the edge of the box, only to see his fine attempt hit the crossbar.
Everton's chances were dealt a blow three minutes later when referee Mike Jones showed McCarthy his second yellow card after bringing down Bolasie in midfield.

Puncheon should have opened the scoring after some good work from Mile Jedinak, but Joel produced a superb save, and the Everton goalkeeper denied Joel Ward after Palace kept the move alive.
Yohan Cabaye curled wide as Palace began to press home their numerical advantage, but they found Joel too tough to beat and Puncheon, Saturday's match-winner, saw another powerful effort saved.
Substitute Adebayor could have won it for Palace with a late header, but he could not hit the target as Pardew's men were denied the chance to reach 40 points for the season.
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew: "Before the Norwich game I'd have taken four points from the two games but in the circumstances we should have won it.
"It's hard to break through when the other team are sitting and we still created three or four good chances - nine times out of 10, they're goals. I'm still pleased with the performance, just slightly frustrated we didn't get all three points."
Everton manager Roberto Martinez: "It's more than a decent point. It's always tough to come here and cope with direct play and balls into the box and to do that with 10 men is an incredible performance. To be so disciplined and solid is so impressive, and we created as many chances as them."
"It's an incredible level of satisfaction to have a team with that much resilience. It was a great clean sheet. We know how to play with 10 men and that came across - we kept the ball well and we managed the game well and that's something we haven't done enough this season."

Hamilton looks to stop rot in China

Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton faces a severe test of his mental strength in China this weekend as he tries to halt Nico Rosberg's blistering start to the season.

The Briton, who is chasing a third successive victory in Shanghai, denies his Mercedes teammate has struck a psychological blow by winning the first two races, insisting the early skirmishes count for little with 19 grands prix left in a championship with more rounds than ever.
But Hamilton has failed to win since securing his third world championship in Texas last October, while German rival Rosberg, who has opened up a 17-point lead over his fierce rival, has now won the past five races dating back to last year.

Lewis Hamilton

"I couldn't care less if he's won the last five," sniffed Hamilton, who was rammed by the Williams of Valtteri Bottas at the first corner before finishing third behind Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari in Bahrain two weeks ago, despite starting on pole for the second race in a row.
"Anything can happen."
The 31-year-old knows, however, that failure to stop the rot in China could add weight to suggestions that he has lost a little of his edge since winning his third world title, a success he celebrated by partying long and hard.
Hamilton is still searching for the swashbuckling form that swept him to victory last year when he dominated in Shanghai, prompting a tantrum from Rosberg.
Worryingly also, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has warned that the clutch problems that have sabotaged Hamilton's starts, setting him back in the first two races, might not be fixed in time for China.

CHINA CRISIS?
Despite his problems, Hamilton is unlikely to suffer a crisis of confidence – nor will he be enlisting the help of sports psychologists as he attempts a fifth win in China, after recently dismissing the practice of hiring driver coaches as a "bunch of crap".
However, he will be anxious to avoid the kind of controversy he courted in Shanghai last year when he sprayed champagne in the face of a Formula One hostess, triggering outrage on social media.
Rosberg will be buzzing after a superb drive at Bahrain's desert circuit, and the German will know that victory in Shanghai could put real pressure on Hamilton.
Raikkonen showed genuine pace in Bahrain but Ferrari will be concerned about reliability after Sebastian Vettel's engine blew on the warm-up lap, the second successive race they have suffered mechanical failure.
American newcomers Haas will be looking to build on their impressive start to the season after Romain Grosjean's fifth place last time out, while Fernando Alonso hopes to be passed fit to return for McLaren after his horror crash in Australia.
Cash-strapped Sauber have secured a sponsorship advance from their Swedish backers to pay staff salaries and take their place on the grid in China, a reminder of the financial demands on F1 outfits.
Meanwhile, rebellious teams have forced the sport's governing body to revert to the 2015 qualifying format after the fiasco caused by the new system in Australia and Bahrain.
The Chinese race will see a return to last year's qualifying system after the experiment with 'progressive elimination', where cars were steadily knocked out, often left fans staring glumly at an empty track.

Djokovic upsetted at the Monte Carlo Masters.

MONACO (AP) Defending champion Novak Djokovic was stunned by 55th-ranked Jiri Vesely 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
It was his first loss in a completed match since November. He retired from a match in February with eye infections.

The top-ranked Djokovic saved a match point when he was serving against Vesely in the ninth game. But the Czech, who had never beaten a top-10 player, sealed the win on his second match point in the next game.
It was Djokovic’s first loss in a Masters-level event since August. Since then he’d won nine of 10 events, including two grand slams, four Masters titles, and the ATP Finals.
Earlier, eight-time Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal dropped serve twice and still beat Aljaz Bedene of Britain 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.

Conor McGregor defends combat sports after MMA fighter's death

Conor McGregor was ringside on Saturday in Dublin as teammate Charlie Ward defeated Portugal's Joao Carvalho at a Total Extreme Fighting event.

McGregor leads the condolences session.

Two days later, Carvalho was dead at age 28, and McGregor joined the mixed martial arts world in trying to process the fatality while also defending the sport.
Carvalho said he felt strange about 20 minutes after Saturday's TKO loss. He was taken to a Dublin hospital, where doctors determined he needed emergency brain surgery. He remained in critical condition until dying Monday night, Carvalho's team announced.
Vitor Nobrega, on whose team Carvalho fought, called the death a "huge misfortune" and said in the Facebook post that Irish fight officials met all safety standards.


McGregor poured out his thoughts in a Facebook post on Tuesday, anticipating criticism and questions about MMA as he went.
"To see a young man doing what he loves, competing for a chance at a better life, and then to have it taken away is truly heartbreaking," McGregor wrote. "We are just men and women doing something we love in the hope of a better life for ourselves and our families. Nobody involved in combat sports of any kind wants to see this. It is such a rare occurrence that I don't know how to take this."
McGregor referenced British boxer Nick Blackwell being put in a medically induced coma for eight days following a fight last month before praising sports that can often come under fire for the positives they impart to competitors. "Combat sport is a crazy game and with the recent incident in boxing and now this in MMA, it is a sad time to be a fighter and a fight fan," McGregor wrote. "It is easy for those on the outside to criticize our way of living, but for the millions of people around the world who have had their lives, their health, their fitness and their mental strength all changed for the better through combat, this is truly a bitter pill to swallow. We have lost one of us."
McGregor, the UFC featherweight champion, is scheduled to fight next on July 9. His opponent in UFC 200: Nick Diaz, theAmerican who forced McGregor to submit on March 5 at UFC 196.

Road to Rio: NOC unveils Wakanow as Nigeria authorised reseller

The Nigeria Olympic Committee has announced tour and hospitality services provider, Wakanow, as the country’s sole authorised ticket provider for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The right empowers the tours firm to sell the Olympic tickets and also arrange approved and easy passage for Nigerians desirous to be in Brazil for the Games, which will hold from August 5 to 21.
At the ceremony held at the National Stadium in Lagos , the President, Nigeria Olympic Committee president, Habu Gumel, described the partnership as part of its programmes to ensure that Nigerians got smooth access to the tickets and every other thing linked with the games.
Gumel said the decision to reappoint Wakanow following their first deal for the London 2012 Olympics was based on the company’s performance and competence in the travels industry.
The NOC secretary general, Tunde Popoola, said the deal would enhance Nigeria’s participation at the 2016 Olympics because Wakanow had the capability to transport Nigerian fans to all the venues.
Wakanow’s Managing Director, Obinna Ekezie said his firm had acquired the experience to improve upon the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 World Cup experiences.
Ekezie said Wakanow has created a platform that would afford those who want to pay in installment to do so.