Glasgow Rangers have had their fair share of gaffes and successes in the transfer market over the years, as they have failed to get the best out of players and unearthed gems in recent transfer windows, writes www.footballfancast.com.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has only had two windows in charge at Ibrox, but may already feel like he has brought in a star or two in Antonio Colak and Rabbi Matondo, whilst the likes of Ben Davies, Malik Tillman, and Ridvan Yilmaz, among others, still have more to offer.

His predecessor, Steven Gerrard, enjoyed a host of successful windows during his time at Rangers, as he snapped up the likes of Ryan Kent, Calvin Bassey, and Ianis Hagi.

Another diamond the current Aston Villa boss unearthed was central midfielder, Joe Aribo, who he signed from Charlton in the summer of 2019. He was out of contract with the League One outfit but Rangers had to pay a compensation fee of £300k due to his age.

At the time of the move, Gerrard claimed that the dynamo had interest from Premier League and Championship clubs in England, which means that the Gers fought hard to win the race for his signature.

The midfielder did not take long to settle into life at Ibrox, as he made 49 appearances in all competitions during his first year at the club, including 27 in the Premiership.

He then played 42 matches, with 30 coming in the Scottish top-flight, in the 2020/21 campaign as Rangers won the title under Gerrard.

Ezri Konsa previously claimed that the ex-Liverpool midfielder played a huge role in Aribo’s development, saying: “Having Gerrard as his manager at Rangers, that has made him go up another level.

“Joe’s style is unique. When I was with him at Charlton, he did remind me for a while of a left-footed Yaya Toure. But you don’t get a lot of midfielders like Joe, there aren’t many around.

“Like Toure, for a tall guy he’s got such great feet. But that languid style he’s got is actually fairly unique in the game.”

The English manager left Glasgow in November of the 2021/22 season, but Aribo’s form did not falter as he adapted to van Bronckhorst’s style of play and remained a key member of the squad.

He ended the campaign with a whopping 57 appearances in all competitions as the Dutch head coach continually relied upon him throughout the year. Aribo scored nine goals and provided ten assists from midfield as he caught the eye on the pitch which meant that he ended his third season at Rangers with 26 goals and 25 assists in 148 matches in total.

The Nigerian phenomenon was rarely injured and was a consistent performer for Gerrard and van Bronckhorst over those three years, which earned him a move to Southampton in the summer just gone for a fee rising to £10m.

Rangers got three years of excellent service from Aribo on the pitch and then raked in a whopping £9.7 million profit on the initial £300k they paid for him, which means that it was a masterclass of a deal from a footballing and financial perspective.

Reigning African, Commonwealth and World 100m hurdles champion, Tobi Amusan and World and Olympic long jump medalist, Ese Brume were the only Nigerian athletes who participated in the 13-leg 2022 Diamond League series which climaxed with the final in Zurich in September.

The two were among 1084 athletes from 88 countries who competed in the money spinning competiton according to the statistics released by World Athletics on its website.

Reigning African, Commonwealth and World 100m hurdles champion, Tobi Amusan and World and Olympic long jump medalist, Ese Brume were the only Nigerian athletes who participated in the 13-leg 2022 Diamond League series which climaxed with the final in Zurich in September.

The two were among 1084 athletes from 88 countries who competed in the money spinning competiton according to the statistics released by World Athletics on its website.

The petite Nigerian came second thrice viz in Doha, Qatar (May 13) behind then reigning World Record holder, USA’s Kendra Harrison; Stockholm, Sweden (June 30) and Lausanne, Switserland (August 26) behind reigning Olympic champion, Jasmine Camacho-Quinn.

The 25 year old’s 12.41 seconds African record run at the Paris leg was among the seven area records set in the competition.

Brume, on her part competed only twice in the four qualification meetings, coming second on both ocassions, first in Eugene, USA (May 27) and Stockholm, Sweden (June 30) behind Sweden’s Sagnia Khaddi and Great Britain’s Jazmin Sawyers respectively.

The 26 year old garnered nine points from the two meets to finish seventh in the qualification ranking and missed out on the final in Zurich where only six jumpers qualified to compete for the $30,000 top prize money on offer plus the Diamond League Trophy and a wild card to the 19th World Athletics Championships next year in Belgrade.

FILES) In this file photo taken on November 20, 2021 Serbia’s Novak Djokovic arrives for his first round singles match of the ATP Finals against Britain’s Cameron Norrie at the Pala Alpitour venue in Turin. – Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic’s legal battle to stay in Australia and chase a record 21st Grand Slam opened on January 10, 2022, but online access to media was delayed by a computer glitch, a court spokesman said.

Novak Djokovic is eager to play at the Australian Open but it’s up to him to “work out the situation” with the government, tournament chief Craig Tiley said Wednesday, while confirming Russians and Belarusians can compete as neutrals.

This year’s championship was overshadowed by an unvaccinated Djokovic being deported from Australia on the eve of the Grand Slam after a high-stakes legal battle over his visa status.

The nine-time champion from Serbia is currently serving a three-year ban from entering Australia.

It can be overturned at the discretion of the centre-left government, which is different to the conservative coalition in power when he was kicked out. But they have given no indication on whether they would consider this.

Tiley said he spent time with Djokovic recently and the Serbian wanted to return for the first major of the year in January in Melbourne.

“What we’re saying at this point is that Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation. And then we’ll follow any instruction after that,” Tiley told The Age newspaper at the tournament’s official launch.

“I did spend some time with Novak at the Laver Cup. We spoke generally. He said that he’d obviously love to come back to Australia but he knows it’s going to be an ultimate decision for the federal government.

“He’s accepted that position. It’s a private matter between them.”

Opposition politician Karen Andrews, who was home affairs minister when Djokovic was deported, told ABC radio he should not be given special treatment.

“It would be a slap in the face for those people in Australia who did the right thing, got vaccinated, did everything they needed to do if all of a sudden Novak Djokovic is allowed back into the country simply because he is a high-ranking tennis player with many millions of dollars,” Andrews said.

Tiley added that he anticipated no restrictions on players from countries involved in the Ukraine conflict, in contrast to Wimbledon this year, which banned them from competing.

“At this point, Russian and Belarusians will be eligible to play at the Australian Open,” he said.

“The only difference will be that they cannot represent Russia, cannot represent the flag of Russia, cannot participate in any activity such as the anthem of Russia and have to play as independent players.”

Organisers are targeting a record 900,000 spectators at the 2023 event, with one million fans the ultimate goal.

Tiley said the previous attendance record was an estimated 820,000 people, with ticket pre-sales already strong.

Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been ranked No.1 by The Ring magazine in the latest rankings while rival Tyson Fury misses out after he gave up his belt when he announced he was retired in August.

Joshua suffered his second consecutive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in September, which has put him out of the heavyweight world title picture for the first time in several years.

Meanwhile, Fury declared he had retired from the sport after his successful title defence against Dillian Whyte, but has now announced he will return on December in Cardiff.

Fury’s on-off retirement from the sport appears to be the reason he has been left out of the Ring Magazine rankings with the likes of Whyte and Luis Ortiz making the top 10 ahead of him in fifth and sixth respectively. Joshua tops the pile having recently fought for the title belt against Usyk, which was put on the line for their rematch after the ‘Gypsy King’ ditched the title.

The Ring Magazine belt is not a typical world title like the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO, but regarded as a prestigious trophy handed out only when the best fight the best

Although Fury has now confirmed suspicions that he’s not really retired after all, Ring have not yet decided to re-rank him. It appears this will not happen until he fights again on December 3.

Hosts Bendel Dynamos defeated Confluence Kings 24-14 on the second day of the National Division One Handball League in Benin, Edo State, to begin their quest for a place in the elite division.

Uyigue Enomwen propelled his side to a comfortable win over Confluence Kings, while the home fans played their part in an entertaining game.

In another game in the men’s category, Delta Force were no match for Correction Boys, despite an MVP performance from Obaro Ughojo, as they were beaten 22-15.

In the only match in the women’s category, star player Nesto Abigail could not save Mindscope Academy as they lost 27-21 to a Vera John-led Bayelsa Queens.

Match-Day three games will see Dynamos and Correction Boys faceoff in what promises to be an exciting tie in the men’s category, while new entrant Idah Pillars battle Delta Force.

In the women’s category, Abia Valliants have a chance of starting on a good note in their quest to get back to the Prudent Energy Handball Premier League, as they tackle Mindscope Academy.

Emmanuel Dennis’ horrific winless streak in the Premier League was extended to 12-straight games (11 defeats and a draw) following Nottingham Forest’s 1-1 draw at home against Aston Villa on Monday

The 24-year-old, who joined the Tricky Trees in a £20m switch in the summer, powered home a header on his full league debut since arriving at City Ground, against the Villains.

But his goal was canceled out by Ashley Young’s thunderous strike. However, Forest held firm to earn a draw and put an end to five straight Premier League defeats.

The goal earned Steve Cooper’s side a point as they currently have just five from their opening nine matches, after returning to the topflight for the first time in over two decades.

The Nigerian forward lost his last six games in the English topflight at Watford and has been on the losing side for Forest in all five of his six league appearances so far.

A defeat against the Villains would have edged him even closer to joining the Premier League’s biggest losers.

Norwich accounts for half the top 10, with the likes of Tim Krul, Max Aarons, Teemu Pukki, Kenny McLean and Adam Idah all suffering from the Canaries’ regular Premier League struggles.

Jack Grealish still holds the all-time record, with the England star suffering a barren run of 20 successive losses.

The £100m man’s unwanted feat began on his senior debut when he appeared as a substitute in a 4-0 defeat to his current team, Manchester City in May 2014.

Grealish’s losing streak was put on hold for years following Villa’s relegation two years later.

However, he found himself tasting defeat for the opening two topflight games at the start of the 2019/20 season upon their return, which took him past George McCartney’s previous 18-game run.

Meanwhile, Darren Bent told talkSPORT that Forest are being let down by star players – one of those being forward Dennis.

Cooper’s side have struggled at both ends of the pitch this season, scoring only seven goals with only Leicester – who sit 20th in the league – conceding more goals than Forest’s 22.

Dennis will hope to prove Bent wrong when his side travel to the Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

Nigeria international Cyriel Dessers is delighted to end his goals drought after scoring for Cremonese in the Italian Serie A against Napoli on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles striker netted his first goal, when he guided the ball past Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret shortly after the break on Sunday evening.

Dessers joined newly promoted Cremonese from Belgian side Genk for an undisclosed fee in the summer and has struggled to find the back of the net.

He had to wait for his ninth appearance before registering his first goal for the club, which turned out a mere consolation as Cremonese lost 4-1 to Napoli.

But Dessers was happy to have finally got off the mark in Italy as the former Heracles Almelo striker took to Twitter to express his joy.

First goal in Serie A, scoring under our curve was a great emotion. We continue to grow, to the next! Force Cremo,” Dessers wrote on his Twitter handle.

His fine form in the Belgian league last season earned him a call-up by Super Eagles coach José Santos Peseiro for the friendly against The Desert Foxes of Algeria in September.

Born in Belgium to a Belgian father and a Nigerian mother, Dessers chose to represent the Eagles at senior level and made his debut against Tunisia in an international friendly in Austria in October 2020.

Before joining Cremonese, Dessers hit the target three times in three games for KRC Genk in the Belgian league.

The 27-year-old also finished as the top scorer of the maiden Europa Conference League last season with 10 goals in 13 games.

The Nigerian Boxing Federation (NBF) has invited 30 boxers from across the country for a two-day trial, which begins today at the Brai Ayenote Boxing Gym, National Stadium, Lagos.

According to the Federation, the trials are aimed at selecting boxers that will represent Nigeria at the International Boxing Association (IBA) U-18 World Youth Championship billed to hold from November 14 to 26 at the Giudad Camilo Camp Arena, Spain.

According to NBF Secretary General, Dapo Akinyele, the 30 boxers (17 men and 13 women) were invited based on merit in accordance with their performance at the last National Youth Games.

NBF Vice President, Azania Omo-Agege Siena, who is also the vice president of Africa Boxing Confederation (ABC), said Nigeria’s participation in IBA programmes, especially at the youth level, such as the forthcoming championship, is significant as it will help in developing boxing in the country.

He disclosed that those, who excel at the end of the two-day trials, will be camped for further grooming ahead of the championship in Spain.

• Jighere is MVP as Airpop Alpha wins Mindgames Premier League 
Thrilled by scrabble’s growing awareness among youths and the country’s outstanding performance globally, chairman of Lekki Scrabble Club, Ebikeme Adowei, has urged government at all levels and the private sector to invest in the sport.

Adowei said the sport could be used to create employment for Nigerian youths, as it offers different championships within and outside the country.

Speaking on behalf of the teams that participated in the Mindgames Scrabble League (MSPL) at the grand finale of the tournament at NEBO Hall, NA Ordinance Barracks, Lagos, at the weekend, Adowie congratulated Airpop Alpha team for winning the league. He noted that his team, Lekki Bombers, which came second, as well as other teams’ involvement, showed that people can engage in a brain tasking and productive sport like scrabble throughout the year and get rewarded for their efforts if government and corporate Nigeria invests in its development.

“MGL has created a platform to empower people through participating in the sport they love.

“If more sponsors invest in scrabble competitions, it will provide jobs for the youths.

“The game of scrabble is brain tasking and also highly educative, which can add value to people’s intellectual well being. On behalf of other team members, I thank the organisers of the Mindgames Premier League for giving a new phase to the development of the sport in the country,” he said.

Also speaking on the sport, convener of the league, Lukman Owolabi, while commending the winners of the championship, Airpop, said that the Premier League, which is designed to keep players busy all through the year with financial benefits, has helped to create more awareness for the sport across the country.

“The Scrabble Premier League, which was introduced in 2019 as a team championship where top players organised themselves into groups to compete across selected cities in the country over four weekends, has helped to promote the game in Nigeria.

“With the Patrons Cup also added to the event to give individuals who don’t belong to any team opportunity to play in the championship, I believe there is more value in the tournament.

“People have to be engaged in scrabble all year round to be outstanding in the sport.

“Apart from scrabble, Mindgames is also focused on developing chess in Nigeria,” he said.

The former world number nine scrabble player also pleaded with corporate sponsors to involve their company in the Premier League.

Lagos, Benin and Abuja hosted games in the league’s A and B divisions.

Airpop Alpha got N1.5 million top prize, Lekki Bombers came second and got N800, 000 for their efforts, while Brainiacs earned N500, 000.

In Division B of the League, Southern Crowns emerged champions and gained immediate promotion to the elite division. Team Anagrammer came second, while Bayelsa Virtuosos won the third place.

Other monetary awards, trophies and medals were given to outstanding players and teams in the tourney, with former world champion, Wellington Jighere, who featured for Lekki Bombers in Division A winning the MVP award.

Timi Olaitan won the Patrons Cup, which was played at the same venue alongside the MGI League.