Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has reportedly decided upon a new set of conditions for the growing list of interested parties hopeful of landing star striker Victor Osimhen in the summer transfer window after the Nigerian spent Tuesday morning conducting meetings with his agent in Paris.

The report claims that Osimhen had spent the last few hours in the French capital with his agent Roberto Calenda amidst strong interest from Ligue 1 heavyweights PSG.

According to Il Mattino, the Parisians are not the only ones eyeing a move for the recently crowned Serie A champion, however, as interest from Bayern Munich as well as links to the Premier League, namely to Manchester United and cash-rich Newcastle continue to make headlines.

In order to convince Napoli to part ways with one of their star assets, a potential Serie A record-breaking fee will likely be required.

According to Wednesday’s story in Il Mattino, De Laurentiis has increased the asking price for Osimhen to €160m in anticipation of a “bidding war” for the 28-goal centre-forward.

The ideal scenario for Napoli would be if Osimhen were to stay on board, which is still a possibility given that he has a contract valid until 2025 and that the club would like to offer him a new one on improved terms.

However, the paper writes that if he is to leave, then ADL would prefer him to make his move before the beginning of Napoli’s summer training camp in Trentino in July.

Plateau United have forfeited three points and three goals following the assault on match referee during their Nigeria Premier Football League matchday 17 encounter against Remo Stars last week.

The Peace Boys were also penalised by the Interim Management Committee for breach of security after the match.

The club will pay a fine of 2.5 million naira and also see the New Jos Stadium close for the Plateau United fans indefinitely.

The fine is expected to be paid within seven working days.

Plateau United is expected to accept the ruling of the IMC or elect to appear before a Disciplinary Panel.

The incident happened during the Sky Blues 2-1 win against Plateau United at the New Jos Stadium.

Burkina Faso head coach Brahima Traore has said teamwork will be the important ingredient that will see him through against the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria.

The Young Stallions are seeking a place in the semi-final at the 2023 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations.

Traore’s boys will face the Golden Eaglets in a West Africa derby at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers on Thursday.

“We go into the match with calmness but the enthusiasm to do well and achieve qualification to the World Cup,” the gaffer told a press conference on Wednesday.

“I have insisted with the players that we have to play together as a team and not individually. We want to achieve collectively as a team.”

The Golden Eaglets defeated the Burkinabes 2-1 the last time both teams met in the final of the WAFU B Championship in Ghana last year.

Traore has refused to dwell too much on that defeat and insisted that both teams have changed.

“Both teams have changed, and most of the players who played then are not in the teams. It will be a different match and definitely tougher,” the coach stated.

Nigeria’s head coach Nduka Ugbade says the team will be hugely motivated for their TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter final tie against Burkina Faso in Algiers on Thursday, as victory earns them a ticket to the FIFA World Cup.

The Golden Eaglets have won the World Cup five times and qualified for 12, and are looking to go back to the global showpiece.

“This match will be important for us as it will qualify us for the World Cup. Burkina faso has a really good team and we have played against them before and we experienced a very difficult match. We expect it to be the same in the quarter final,” Ugbade said.

The tactician adds; “My message before the match to the players is that these competitions are usually intense, and I told them we must have the will and play the match as it should, and stressed that winning makes us qualify for the World Cup.”

Ugbade’s side finished second in Group B, with the matches played in Constantine, and have recently relocated to Algiers where the quarter final duel will be played.

He says the players know what is required of them and is pleased with their state of mind ahead of the duel.

Meanwhile, defender Emmanuel Michael says the players are charged up and ready for what will be a difficult West African derby.

“We have prepared well for this match and we are ready for the tie. We want to give our best as a good result will qualify us for the World Cup and this is our ambition,” noted Michael.

Senegal skipper Amara Diouf broke Nigerian Victor Osimhen’s scoring record at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), his brace against South Africa in the quarter finals in Algiers on Wednesday evening taking his tally to five in the tournament.

The Senegalese number 10 surpassed the record of four goals set by Nigeria’s Osimhen at the 2015 tournament in Niger, with two more games to play.

Bearing in mind Osimhen’s current exploits at his Italian club Napoli, Diouf says he is delighted to follow in the footsteps of such a successful player.

“It is always the right path if you follow the examples set by the best players in the competition. This is a massive thing for me and I am really delighted to break the record. It means a lot to me and hopefully, I can also follow his path of success,” Diouf said.

The Generation Foot Academy prodigy was named man of the match for the third of Senegal’s four matches so far at the tournament, for his brace in the 5-0 win against the Amajimbos as well as his overall performance in the match.

“I am hugely honored to be named man of the match and more so for Senegal to win the game and qualify for the World Cup. It is a big achievement for us as players and it motivates us moving forward,” noted Diouf.

Senegal now switch their attention to the semis and are set to make the journey back to Constantine, where they played the final group stage match.

They will take on the winner between Nigeria and Burkina Faso at the semi-final stage of the tournament.

Zakaria Ouazane scored a goal in either half with Adam Chakir adding a late third as Morocco beat hosts Algeria 3-0 in the quarter finals of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), stunning a fully packed Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui in Constantine and send the Atlas Cubs to the FIFA World Cup.

Algeria enjoyed brilliant support with the Constantine fans filling the stadium to the rafters and raising their voices to deafening decibels, but it was a tactically disciplined Moroccan side that went off with victory and a place in the last four.

Ouazane broke the deadlock after 28 minutes when he headed into the bottom right after a cross from Ayman Ennair. The latter had done well to pickpocket Younes Badani of the ball on the right before curling in a cross for the lanky Ouazane to nod home.

Before the goal, it had been a tightly contested duel in the North African derby. Algeria had the only shot on target thus far, Shain Chetioui having a curling freekick fly straight to the keeper’s arms.

Morocco’s best chance before their goal was in the 20th minute when Chakir drove a shot from almost 35 yards out and it dinked inches over the bar.

After scoring, Morocco played with more confidence, keeping possession and moving up and down the field as a block. They were however almost caught on the counter in the 35th minute.

From a corner, the ball was cleared to Moselm Anatouf’s path, the latter heading it into the run of strike partner Ziad Mohamed.

However, Morocco keeper Taha Benrhozil was quick off his line, making his body big at the edge of the box and blocking the effort one on one.

At the stroke of halftime, Anatouf who had been kept quiet all game had a sniff at goal with a shot on the turn, but the keeper made a good save.

In the second half, Morocco needed just 12 minutes to double their tally, Abdel Hamid Maali sending Ouazane through with a peach of a ball, the latter running between the two central defenders to shoot low for his brace.

With two goals and a mountain to climb, Algeria tried to find new solutions and they pulled out midfielder Younes Benali for forward Djibril Bahlouli to spice up things upfront.

But, they couldn’t create much with their star man Anatouf kept in close guard by Abdelhamid AIt Boudlal whenever he moved.

Morocco put the icing on the cake and sent the stadium into pindrop silence with the third goal in the 86th minute, Chakir shooting brilliantly on the half volley from a cross on the right.

The goal killed off the Algerian fight as they saw no way of turning the game around with four minutes of regulation time and an additional five.

Senegal booked Africa’s first ticket to the FIFA World Cup after running riot to beat south Africa 5-0 in the quarter final of the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers on Wednesday evening.

A pair of first half own goals by each of South Africa’s central defenders followed up by Mamadou Sadio’s goal and skipper Amara Diouf’s brace saw the Teranga Cubs continue with their impressive performance in the competition.

This is the first time ever that Senegal have progressed beyond the group stages of the U17 AFCON. They have also qualified for the World Cup for the second time in their history, having done so in 2019.

Senegal scored three goals in seven minutes late in the first half to completely break down a spirited fight from South Africa.

Waylon Renecke was unfortunate to turn the ball into his own net in the 36th minute as he tried to cut out a headed ball just inside the six yard box.

Three minutes later, his central defense partner, skipper Benjamin Wallis, also put the ball into his own net as he tried to clear out after the keeper had spilled a freekick from Diouf.

Senegal made it 3-0 in the 43rd minute when Sadio scored with a brilliant half volley from the edge of the box after Abdou Aziz Fall had teed up the ball for him.

With a 3-0 cushion at halftime and a complete dominance that had seen South Africa fail to land a ball on target, the West Africans had the job half done.

In the second half, they needed just nine minutes to get their fourth, though it had to be given by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) which was being used at the tournament for the first time.

A run by Omar Sall on the left caught the South African backline off balance, the latter squaring for Diouf to slam home from inside the box. He had initially been flagged offside, but upon review, the VAR gave the goal.

In the 71st minute, Diouf who had enjoyed a brilliant performance capped it off with a brace when he headed home at the backpost after a brilliant cross from Ibrahima Diallo found his perfect run.

With a 5-0 cushion, South Africa’s fighting spirit was hugely dented, and Senegal eased through the remaining minutes with utter dominance to seal their place in the last four.