Unsettled Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is on the verge of joining Galatasaray after the former Italian champions and the player agreed on a loan move to the Turkish giants on Monday.
After his failed move to Chelsea, the 25-year-old still has a lifeline of moving out of Napoli as the Turkish transfer window closes on September 13.
Italian publication Corriere dello Sport reported the story on Monday, and some Nigerian sources close to the player, including Wazobia FM OAP, Buchi Laba, and Sulaiman Adebayo, also known as Pooja, shared updates as the deal moved rapidly.
Sky Sport Italia and RMC Sport also claimed that Napoli gave the all-clear to a dry loan—without an option to buy—as long as Galatasaray covered his full salary of nearly €11m per season.
The alternative would’ve been for the Turkish club to pay a fee for the loan but have the wages shared between them.
Napoli director of sport Giovanni Manna also told Sports Digitale in Turkey, “It is correct to say we are in talks with Galatasaray and we are close to an agreement.”
According to Pooja Media, both clubs also agreed that the player’s €130m release clause might be triggered by potential suitors from January 2025.
Osimhen was also said to be enthusiastic about the idea of joining Galatasaray after being faced with the prospect of having to sit in the stands until the transfer window opens in January.
Before the end of the summer transfer deadline last Friday, the EPL was Osimhen’s preferred destination, but the 25-year-old couldn’t compromise his wage demands, as Chelsea offered him just €4m per year plus €4m, which is attached to performance, compared to his €12m annual income at Napoli.
Napoli were also said to have agreed a €70m plus €10m in bonuses with Al-Ahli, with the player receiving €40m per-season wages and crucially also an affordable release clause for a return to Europe in the near future, but the Partenopei asked for an extra €5m, which irritated the Saudis.
After both deals failed, Napoli were adamant he would not be welcomed back into the squad, also because they insist it was the Nigeria international who declared months ago he no longer wanted to play for them.
He will be reunited with former Partenopei teammate Dries Mertens in Istanbul.
Although Osimhen had wanted a Champions League team, he will still be able to compete in the Europa League with Galatasaray, who are facing Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax in the tournament.
Nigerian football sensation Victor Osimhen has officially joined Turkish football giants Galatasaray SK, marking a new chapter in his illustrious career. The 25-year-old forward completed a loan transfer from Napoli, with Galatasaray covering his full wages, though the deal notably does not include an obligation to purchase.
Osimhen’s Arrival Sparks Excitement in Turkish Super League
Osimhen’s move to Galatasaray has electrified the Turkish football community. Fans of the Yellow and Reds have eagerly welcomed the 2023 CAF Player of the Year, whose arrival has been met with much fanfare. The Nigerian striker wasted no time in endearing himself to his new supporters, performing Galatasaray’s iconic ‘triplet’ celebration shortly after his arrival.
The ‘Triplet’ Celebration: A Symbol of Galatasaray’s Winning Spirit
In a video capturing the moment, Osimhen can be seen participating in the ‘triplet’ or ‘trio’ celebration, a time-honored tradition at Galatasaray. This gesture, often performed by both players and fans, symbolizes unity and victory, typically celebrated after goals, wins, or major titles. Osimhen’s seamless adoption of this tradition has already endeared him to Galatasaray supporters, who are optimistic about his impact on the team.
A New Beginning for Osimhen
Victor Osimhen’s journey to Galatasaray comes after a challenging period at Napoli, where a failed summer exit left his future in limbo. However, this move to the Turkish Super League offers the prolific striker a fresh start. With over 85 goal involvements during his four-year tenure at Napoli, according to FotMob, Osimhen is poised to bring his goal-scoring prowess to Galatasaray’s frontline, joining forces with fellow stars Mauro Icardi and Dries Mertens.
Anticipation Builds for Osimhen’s Debut
Galatasaray fans are eagerly awaiting Osimhen’s debut, expected to be in the upcoming home fixture against Rizespor. The club has already begun to tease his arrival on social media, sharing a striking image of Osimhen’s signature mask along with a powerful message to both fans and rivals. The Nigerian forward is set to spend the entire 2024/25 season with Galatasaray, barring any unforeseen transfer developments in the winter of 2025.
Victor Osimhen’s transfer to Galatasaray has not only strengthened the club’s attacking options but also brought a wave of excitement and hope among the fans. As he settles into life in Istanbul, the football world will be watching closely to see how this talented striker influences Galatasaray’s quest for success in the Turkish Super League and beyond.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has directed its members to resume work on Monday, following a seven-day nationwide warning strike embarked upon by its members over the abduction of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola.
The NARD President, Dr Dele Abdullahi said, “We are suspending the strike now. We will be meeting to review the progress the government has made in the next three weeks. “We are resuming on Monday, September 2, 2024, at 8 am. The engagement of the government has been a little bit better. But, we are hopeful that they will sustain this current line of action.”
NARD began a seven-day warning strike last Monday to press for the rescue of Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna. Popoola was kidnapped eight months ago. She was abducted on December 27, 2023, along with her husband and nephew. While her husband was released in March, Popoola and her nephew remain in captivity.
The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has advocated exclusive breastfeeding for newborns to increase health status and lower the risk of ovarian cancers for mothers. This is contained in a statement by the agency’s resident media consultant, Mr. Olusayo Akintola, on Sunday in Abuja.
Akintola said that NAFDAC Director-General, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, gave the charge during the celebration of the 2024 World Breastfeeding week in Lagos. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.” Adeyeye was represented by Mrs. Eva Edwards, Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. She said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommended early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of a baby’s birth until the first six months. According to her, after the six months of exclusive breastfeeding, it should be complemented with safe and appropriate foods, while breastfeeding continues for up to two years or beyond.
The director-general said breastfed babies had stronger immunity, face lower risk of suffering many childhood illnesses and infections. The NAFDAC boss added that the situation was also associated with longer-term health benefits, including higher Intelligence Quotient (IQ) for infants that were exclusively breastfed. She said that the World Breastfeeding week was celebrated annually to create awareness and generate support for improved breastfeeding practices for infants and young children. Adeyeye said that the theme of this year’s celebration highlighted the need to improve breastfeeding support to reduce health inequities with a special focus on breast feeding in times of emergencies and crises.
She said that the theme also highlighted the need to protect the right of mothers and babies to survive and thrive. She said that it was the collective responsibility of all to ensure that every mother received the support she needed to make breastfeeding a successful and fulfilling experience. The director-general decried lack of support for women to optimally breastfeed their babies.
She cited limited access to trained personnel, empathetic and respectful health advice, and counseling throughout the woman’s breastfeeding journey as part of the challenge. She revealed that the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey of 2018, showed that 97 per cent of children were breastfed in Nigeria at one point or the other. According to her, “Only 42 per cent of the children were breastfed within one hour of birth.” She further disclosed that the proportion of children 0-6 months who were exclusively breastfed is 29 per cent.
She expressed delight that both figures showed improvement in national exclusive breastfeeding figures from the previous 17 per cent. She, however, said that the figure still fell short of the WHO’s target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding rate to at least 50 per cent by the year 2025. “Mothers need support like food supplementation, from the health system, family members, community members, and from the work place. This support is critical to the success of breastfeeding,” she said.
She said that breastfeeding played significant role in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, which address ending hunger, improving nutrition and promoting health and wellbeing. She further disclosed that breastfeeding was one of the critical pathways to reducing under-five mortality, and is the baby’s first food system.
Some health practitioners say Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) require adequate funds, equipment and manpower resources to improve and expand their scope of service delivery. According to a Medical Imaging Scientist, Dr Livinus Abonyi, , it has become imperative to improve and expand the services rendered by PHCs in order to relieve the secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities. He further described the level and quality of healthcare currently being rendered by PHCs as ‘suboptimal.’ Abonyi, also the Head, Department of Radiography, University of Lagos, said that the PHCs ought to be rendering a wide range of healthcare services, but that were being limited due to shortage of manpower resources. He decried that the health sector lacked the needed trained community health workers to man the PHCs. To address the issue of shortage of manpower, Abonyi said that the government need to prioritise the health sector. To address this issue of lack of manpower, Abonyi said the government had to prioritise health and health issues. Abonyi, also decried the large population of patients that seek healthcare at secondary and tertiary health facilities, said that the situation has resulted to persistent lack of bed spaces in the health institutions. According to him, if the PHCs are functioning optimally, greater percentage of health cases would be handled at that level such that only about 30 per cent of the health cases would be referred to the secondary/tertiary health facilities. Dr Stephen Oluwaniyi, Head, Clinical Services, Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba, also spoke to newsmen and he called for adequate funding of the PHCs to enhance its performance and by extension improve the nation’s health system. Oluwaniyi, also a consultant psychiatrist, urged the State Governments to intensify efforts to be providing the primary healthcare commission with its quota of the stipulated budget allocation. He explained that the Federal Government had been trying to pay significant part of its share of the budget allocation, saying that the state governments were yet to make their contributions. He described PHCs as a vital instrument in health system because they drive disease prevention, which is the most important aspect of healthcare.
A woman has died and more than 120,000 were left without power after high winds and heavy rain hit southern Australia, authorities said on Monday.
There was widespread damage in the states of Victoria and Tasmania, while a 63-year-old woman was killed after a tree fell on a cabin at a holiday park on the border between Victoria and New South Wales, emergency services said.
“It’s a sad and tragic set of circumstances for the woman’s family and my thoughts and sympathy go out to her and the emergency services who responded to that incident,” Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan told a news conference.
At least 121,000 remained without power on Monday, Allan said, down from as many as 180,000 in the early hours of the morning.
Weather warnings remain in place for much of the state’s southeast coast, as winds of almost 150 km per hour (93 mph) lashed the state overnight.
A Victoria state government advisory on Monday told people to avoid coastal areas because of dangerous waves, unstable land in cliff areas, and flooding in low-lying areas.
The southern island state of Tasmania has also been hit by wild weather, with thousands left without power on Sunday.
“We’ve seen another wild night of weather across the state with extensive destruction,” Mick Lowe, executive director of Tasmania’s State Emergency Services, told a news conference on Monday.
Extreme weather events are common for many Australians.
The storms across the south of the country follow days of unseasonably high winter temperatures of almost 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in New South Wales’ capital Sydney.
Bruno Labbadia reversed his decision and will no longer assume the role of head coach for the Super Eagles.
The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, announced that the German will take charge of the Super Eagles as a replacement for Finidi George.
According to reports from Germany, the 58-year-old turned down the opportunity to manage the three-time African champions over inconclusive negotiations.
NFF reportedly failed to reach a contractual agreement with the former Germany international striker before making the announcement. NFF says tax issues were unresolved.
Labbadia was initially expected to take charge of the Super Eagles for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixtures against Benin Republic and Rwanda next month.
A list of 23 players has already been unveiled to prosecute the fixtures before the latest development.
The technical director of the NFF, Austin Eguavoen, could now take charge of the team for both games.
Labbadia has predecessors. Here they are:
Jesse Carver, England (1960)
Jesse Carver, England
He was initially announced to handle the Nigerian team in 1960. But at a council meeting of the NFA on Sunday 24 July 1960, it was decided that the earlier terms that the coach had given were no longer acceptable and hence, the offer was withdrawn. When Carver was interviewed in London he agreed to come on a 12-month contract. He later wrote the NFA that he would not be available for more than two months.
He also demanded for return tickets for two people. Carver no doubt had impressive credentials having coached top Italian clubs like SS Lazio, Roma, Torino and Juventus apart from his handling of English side, West Bromwich Albion for eight months in 1952.
Following Jesse Carver’s failure to accept Nigeria’s offer, Hungarian George Varda became an alternative. Carver died on 29 November 2003.
Othman Calder, Germany, 1974
Othman Calder
Othman Calder handled German sides, FC Cologne and FC Kaiserslautern II, among others before coming to Nigeria on 20 December 1974. But the German coach left mysteriously barely eight days after screening 37 players he met in camp. Among the players was Segun Odegbami who had his first call-up.
But according to the German, more than a third of the players he met in camp had past their peak and must be systematically replaced.
But that was not the reason for his sudden disappearance. The National Sports Commission (NSC) which employed him, rejected the ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ terms proposed by the coach.
The terms include a free of charge posh car which should be either a new Citreon DS or Mercedes 200 and specifically, a certain Mr. Ephraim Nwaoha as the driver.
Other terms were: tax free monthly salary of 6,000 Dutch Mark part of which must be paid upfront; free freighting of all personal household effects to Nigeria and return of such to Germany at the end of his tour of duty.
A rent free furnished flat or house at Ikoyi or Victoria Island and the accommodation must be acceptable to all members of his family.
In addition, in the interim period of securing the accommodation, his family should be housed free in a senior suite at the Federal Palace Hotel.
Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazilian (1995)
Carlos Alberto Torres
He was the former captain of the 1970 Brazil World Cup winning squad is the Brazilian coach Nigeria never had.
He was engaged in May 1995 just as the Super Eagles were heading to the US for the Gold Cup. He asked to just be allowed to observe the team and then take over after the US Gold Cup.
So, Amodu Shaibu continued as he had been employed barely a year earlier. Torres was with the team throughout the US Gold Cup competition but failed to return to Nigeria to sign his contract. He died on 25 October 2016.
Philippe Troussier, France (2005)
Philippe Troussier
Popularly called the “White Witchdoctor”, Troussier became the first Frenchman to ever handle the Nigerian national team as well as the first coach to have handled a team against Nigeria in World Cup qualification and came in the next edition to guide the Super Eagles.
Troussier handled Cote d’Ivoire in their failed attempt to upstage Nigeria in the 1994 World Cup qualifying series.
But midway into the 1998 edition he was engaged to take over from Amodu Shaibu. His contract with Nigeria was however not renewed after securing the France ’98 World Cup ticket.
He was to be engaged again in 2005. The the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) announced his engagement. But in apparent retaliation on how he was sacked in 1997, he turned down the offer just days to the signing of contract.
Paul Le Guen, Frenchman (2016)
Paul Le Guen
The Frenchman was gleefully announced as theSuper Eagles’ Technical Adviser on 18 July 2016. He was to be assisted by Salisu Yusuf. Le Guen had steered the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon to the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals.
He played for Brest, Nantes and Paris Saint Germain and won 17 caps for France, before coaching Rennes, Lyon, PSG (in France) and Glasgow Rangers (in Scotland). He also coached Oman.
He never showed up and German, Gernot Rohr was employed instead on 5 August 2016. Le Guen was quoted as saying that the security concerns in the Nigeria was the reason he turned down the job as he was not prepared to live in Nigeria.
Luis Diaz starred as Liverpool routed arch-rivals Manchester United 3-0 to extend their perfect start under new boss Arne Slot on Sunday.
Hired from Feyenoord to succeed Jurgen Klopp in the close season, Slot has overseen three successive wins in a flying start to the new era at Liverpool.
The Reds sit second in the Premier League, behind champions Manchester City on goals scored, after handing United an embarrassing loss that finished with thousands of empty seats at Old Trafford.
Diaz and Mohamed Salah were United’s chief tormentors as the Liverpool forwards tore Erik ten Hag’s side to pieces with their pace and predatory finishing.
Diaz put Liverpool ahead with a 35th-minute header from Salah’s cross after United midfielder Casemiro carelessly conceded possession.
Casemiro was guilty of surrendering the ball too easily again when Diaz converted another Salah assist with a cool finish seven minutes later.
Salah put the result beyond doubt in the 52nd minute, netting for the third time this season with a fierce strike from Dominik Szoboszlai’s pass.
The Egypt star has scored 10 goals in nine appearances at Old Trafford for Liverpool in all competitions.
Slot is the first permanent Liverpool manager to win his first league game against United since Bob Paisley in 1975.
The Dutchman is also the first manager to win each of his first three Premier League games without conceding a single goal since Sven-Goran Eriksson at Manchester City in 2007.
While Slot soaks up his dream start, United boss Erik ten Hag is under pressure after a woeful display that came hot on the heels of their 2-1 defeat at Brighton last weekend.
Ten Hag survived a close-season review of his job, which included United speaking to former Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel about potentially replacing him.
But while last season’s surprise FA Cup final win over Manchester City saved his job, he cannot afford another poor league campaign after finishing eighth in 2023/24
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen suffered their first Bundesliga defeat since May 2023 as a 3-2 loss at home to RB Leipzig on Saturday snapped their 35-match unbeaten run in the top flight.
In a volatile match which saw visiting coach Marco Rose sent to the stands in the first half, Leverkusen jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo.
But Kevin Kampl scored for Leipzig against the run of play just before half-time and Lois Openda levelled things up early in the second period.
Openda scored again with 10 minutes remaining to secure victory for Leipzig against last season’s unbeaten league and cup winners.
“We had the chance to finish the game, but the goals we conceded were far too easy,” said Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah.
“We defend as a team, but we fell asleep a few times and of course we’re going to be punished.”
The loss for Leverkusen ended a run of 43 domestic matches without defeat, a run spanning 463 days.
Xabi Alonso’s side, who have scored 17 goals in the 88th minute or later this year, pushed to keep their record alive, but could not find an equaliser this time.
“We knew it was going to be very hard to play here, Leverkusen play lethal football. We wanted to be courageous and get on the front foot,” said Kampl.
“We know we’ve also got quality up front. We were ice-cold today.”
Rose was sent to the stands after he was yellow-carded twice in quick succession in the first half for touchline outbursts after a foul on his player.
The Leipzig coach appeared to still be seething after Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface caught the head of Amadou Haidara while attempting a bicycle kick. He was upset Boniface escaped with a booking as Haidara needed to be replaced.
– Dortmund held at Bremen –
Earlier on Saturday, a toothless and ill-disciplined Borussia Dortmund were held to a 0-0 draw at Werder Bremen.
Dortmund dominated possession but failed to break through and played the final 17 minutes a man down after centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck was sent off.
They came into the game with Maximilian Beier as their one recognised striker, having sent Sebastien Haller out on loan to La Liga side Leganes late on Friday.
Summer signing Serhou Guirassy, brought in to replace Niclas Fuellkrug after the Germany striker left for West Ham, is still weeks away from a return from a knee injury.
Schlotterbeck picked up a second yellow for a challenge on Justin Njinmah, reducing his side to 10 men.
“Everything isn’t exactly great yet,” said Dortmund midfielder Pascal Gross. “The coach prepared us well but we need to do better at implementing it”.
Last season’s surprise runners-up Stuttgart again gave away points from a winning position, drawing 3-3 with Mainz after conceding an equaliser in stoppage time.
Strikes from Enzo Millot and Jamie Leweling inside the opening 15 minutes put Stuttgart in control.
The hosts however let Mainz back into the match when Millot gave away a clumsy penalty late in the first half which was converted by Nadiem Amiri.
Jonathan Burkardt, who won the penalty, headed Mainz level after 62 minutes.
Stuttgart – who led in their Bundesliga opener and in the Super Cup against Leverkusen before losing both — led again when Fabian Rieder scored a stunning free-kick with two minutes remaining.
Mainz’s Maxim Leitsch scored in the fourth minute of added time to snatch a point for the visitors.
“We actually played a pretty good game, but we undid it by making simple mistakes,” Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller told Sky.
Eintracht Frankfurt won their opening home game 3-1 against Hoffenheim.
Frankfurt forward Hugo Ekitike again impressed in the win, scoring the opener and laying on a perfect pass for Hugo Larsson’s second.
Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric, who scored a hat-trick in last week’s season opener, pulled one back for the visitors early in the second half but Egypt winger Omar Marmoush added another to seal the match.
Borussia Moenchengladbach won 2-0 at Bochum, while top-flight newcomers Holstein Kiel are still looking for their first Bundesliga point, going down 2-0 at home to Wolfsburg.
Enugu Rangers were held to a goalless draw by El Kanemi Warriors in their Nigeria Premier Football League opener at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium on Saturday.
The Flying Antelopes, who clinched their eighth league title just 68 days before the clash, found themselves frustrated by a resilient President Federation Cup winner in front of their home fans.
The match saw both teams creating chances but ultimately failing to find the back of the net.
El Kanemi, a newly promoted side, showed no signs of intimidation facing the Nigerian champions. In fact, they appeared to be the more dominant team for stretches of the game, forcing Rangers goalkeeper Japhet Opubo into making several crucial saves to keep his side in the contest.
Opubo’s heroics were particularly evident in denying the visitors a clear-cut opportunity after they had broken through the Rangers defence. His timely intervention saved the blushes of the home team and ensured they earned a point.
The match was a test of Rangers’ mettle as they aim to become the first team in a decade to clinch back-to-back NPFL titles, a feat last achieved by Kano Pillars between 2012 and 2014. However, their performance on the day suggested that the task would be a tall order.
Rangers coach Fidelis Ilechukwu, speaking before the match, acknowledged the enormity of the challenge facing his team this season.
“We will be competing on three fronts, so what I will say is that we will do well. We have to start building a team that will stand the test of time,” he told PUNCH Sports Extra.
For El Kanemi, this result will be seen as a positive start to life back in the top flight after spending a season in the Nigeria National League. Their coach, Aliyu Zubairu, had promised to give Rangers “a good fight,” and his team certainly delivered on that promise.
The match, broadcast live on StarTimes, the league’s official broadcast partner, was the only fixture of the opening weekend. The remaining nine matches of the first round are scheduled for next weekend, as the league organisers made good their promise to kick off the new season this Saturday.
This result sets the tone for what promises to be an intriguing NPFL season. Rangers will need to quickly find their rhythm if they are to mount a successful title defence, while El Kanemi have laid down a marker as more than mere participants in their return to the top flight.
As the season unfolds, all eyes will be on how both teams build on this opening day’s performance. For Rangers, the challenge will be to balance their domestic ambitions with their CAF Champions League campaign, where they face Angolan club Sagrade Espranca in the final round of the preliminary stage.
El Kanemi, meanwhile, will look to use this result as a springboard for a successful season, aiming to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the NPFL while also harbouring the ambition of retaining the Federation Cup title.
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