Chelsea Happy With Mikel’s Performance In Rio

Chelsea had only good things to say about the assured performance of their star midfielder, John Obi Mikel who is captain of the Nigerian Under-23 team at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Chelsea who had earlier granted Mikel permission to play with Nigeria at the competition said on their official webpage, “The 29-year-old influenced proceedings throughout a tense second half, when the experience of a player with a complete trophy cabinet in English football proved vital to reassure and reinvigorate a team of largely Under-23s.“

“Mikel and his team-mates displayed growing cohesion and confidence in comparison to their remarkable 5-4 win against Japan last Thursday, which took place only a few hours after the squad touched down in Brazil following a logistical nightmare.”

Obi Mikel, 29, has started the first two matches played by Nigeria at the Olympic Games, and Nigeria are guaranteed top spot in Group B after their 1-0 win over Sweden.

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Five Young Premier League Talents To Watch

AFP Sports picks five young talents that could shine in the English Premier League this season:

MARCUS RASHFORD (MANCHESTER UNITED)

Everything so far has gone swimmingly well for the 18-year-old, one genuine success Louis van Gaal could point to in terms of bringing him into the side when pretty much all else didn't go right for the Dutchman. However, now the England forward -- who showed more spark and invention in a cameo appearance at the end of the Iceland Euro 2016 debacle than anyone else had done that evening -- faces two challenges. One is to maintain his progress, having lost that element of surprise, and another is to convince new manager Jose Mourinho that youth, not experience, can be more effective. 'The Special One' was at pains at his unveiling press conference to dismiss suggesstions he didn't favour youth. How Rashford fares under him may well reflect the truth of that statement.

RAMADAN SOBHI (STOKE CITY)

At £5 million (6m euros, $6.5m), Sobhi could prove to be one of the signings of the close season. The 19-year-old winger has been compared to one of Egypt's greatest players, Mohamed Aboutrika. He already has six full caps to his name and made his league debut for Egyptian giants Al Ahly aged 16. Played a huge role in Al Ahly winning the title last season under former Tottenham Hotspur boss Martin Jol. Another Egyptian great, Mido, has no concerns about him stepping up a few levels in the Premier League, although he preached patience. "The most important thing for me is he has the character, he has a big personality and is not scared of big occasions," Mido told the Stoke City website.

LEWIS COOK (BOURNEMOUTH)

For a 19-year-old, Cook arrives with a lot of playing experience having shone for fallen giants Leeds United over the past two seasons. The midfielder was named Football League Young Player of the Year last season -- previous winners include Dele Alli and Gareth Bale -- and knows what it is to win trophies having been a member of the England Under-17 side that won the European Championship in 2014. He is likely to get a fair bit of playing time and should come along nicely under the tutelage of Eddie Howe. Despite Bournemouth defying the odds and staying up last season, Cook may find a lot of responsibility falling on his young shoulders in what looks sure to a battle for survival this term. He did that admirably at Leeds but in a higher echelon it is asking a lot of such a young talent.

PIERRE-EMILE HOJBJERG (SOUTHAMPTON)

Southampton may have once again lost several established stars but in the 21-year-old Danish international midfielder they could have acquired a real gem -- certainly Saints think so in paying a reported £12.8 million ($16.6m, 15m euros) to Bayern Munich. Despite getting off to a good start with Pep Guardiola at Bayern they eventually fell out and he was loaned to firstly Augsburg -- where he flourished -- and then Schalke. Ostensibly a defensive midfielder, has also been used out wide. Faces a big task in replacing midfield enforcer Tottenham-bound Victor Wanyama but he will be determined to prove to Guardiola, now at Manchester City, that he made an error in banishing him when he was at Bayern.

BEN CHILWELL (LEICESTER CITY)

Claudio Ranieri has made superhuman efforts to persuade established stars such as Jamie Vardy to sign new contracts with mixed success. However, Chilwell's decision to sign a five-year deal could be equally as significant for the 19-year-old is a very highly regarded left-back. He has played for England up to Under-21 level and Ranieri ensured he got some regular first-team play by shrewdly loaning him out to Huddersfield Town last season before recalling him. Yet to make his Premier League debut but is an option to replace the 30-year-old Austrian Christian Fuchs in the first team.

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Three Nigerians Create Records At Rio Olympics

At least three Nigerian athletes in the ongoing Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games created records of sorts that will be cherished in a longtime to come.

The trio with records are two table tennis stars, Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri as well as Rower, Chierika Ukogu .

The 41 year-old Toriola had his 7th appearance in the current Games, equaling the table tennis record. This has made him the most capped African Olympian.

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri set another continental record after the 2014 ITTF star became the first African to reach the quarterfinals of men’s singles event at Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Ukogu on the other hand, qualified for top classification in the rowing event in Rio.

She is Nigeria’s first ever rower in the Olympics to have got that far, placing fifth in the third quarter final of the Women’s single sculls after clocking a time of 7:54.44 secs.

She will now participate in the semi finals C/D 1 event on Wednesday. This is the 23-year-old’s first ever appearance in the Olympics.

NAN

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BREAKING NEWS: It’s Official! Pogba Completes World-Record Move To Manchester United

Manchester United and Juventus have agreed a world-record deal for Paul Pogba, and will cost the Old Trafford club a £90million transfer fee and a further £20million in agent fees.

Both clubs shook hands on the deal over the weekend and the player flew into Manchester on Monday to undergo his medicals.

It is understood he will sign a five-year deal worth an initial £220,000-a-week and could make his debut this weekend against Bournemouth.

New manager, Jose Mourinho, has been desperate to land the France midfielder as his fourth summer signing, following the arrivals of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

Pogba left United on a free in 2011 and signed for Juventus, where he won four Serie A titles and two Coppa Italia trophies.

The 23-year-old made 178 appearances for the Italian champions and scored 34 goals.

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Dalung Apologises To Dream Team, Calls Them ‘True Heroes’

Solomon Dalung, Minister of Youth and Sports, has earlier today apologised to Nigeria’s players and officials of the Olympic football team over issues surrounding the contingent’s late arrival in Brazil.

Dalung apologised to the dream team after they defeated and progressed to the quarter-finals at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Rio 2016 with a 1-0 victory over Sweden.

His words “I want to apologise for all the circumstances that led to your late arrival here.

“I apologise because I am the head and as such I must take responsibility for anything that happen under my watch.

“I am happy you all have put the unfortunate incident behind you and have shown that you are true heroes by making the country proud with your qualification for the quarterfinals.

“This qualification is unique as you guys are the first team to do so in the football event. I want to assure you that we appreciate your efforts, and I want to say that it’s when a man faces challenges that his true ability is tested.

“I am sure we all have learnt our lessons and will take the lessons to heart going forward.”

Responding, team captain John Obi Mikel assured Dalung that the team will not lose focus, as their target is to win the gold medal.

The sports minister was in company of Adamu Emozozo, Nigerian ambassador to Brazil, and Chinyeaka Ohaa, permanent secretary in the ministry.

Dalung in a group picture with the team

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Breaking News: Inter Milan Sack Mancini

Roberto Mancini has been sacked as the manager of Inter Milan Football Club, after they were hammered 6-1 by Tottenham in a pre-season friendly last weekend.

The club’s owners decided to dismiss the Italian, with only two weeks before the start of the new Serie A season.

Mancini has been under pressure, after he failed to qualify Inter for this season’s Champions League, despite being on top of the table in late January.

“Inter would like to place on record its thanks to Roberto for the work carried out with the team since joining in November 2014,” said a club statement.

“Last season the club led Serie A until the Christmas break, ending the season in fourth place and qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

“We thank Roberto for the work and commitment he has shown the club over the past 20 months.”

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