TRANSFER ROUND UP FOR JANUARY 28th 2016

Done deals:

– Sampdoria have signed Andrea Ranocchia from Inter Milan on loan for the rest of the season.

– Sporting Lisbon have completed the loan signing of Sebastian Coates from Sunderland.

SIGNING: #afcb sign young goalkeeper Marius Adamonis on loan until the end of the season: https://t.co/GXFTR335W8 pic.twitter.com/amuJbBKjKZ

— AFC Bournemouth 🍒 (@afcbournemouth) January 28, 2016

– Bournemouth have announced the signing of Marius Adamonis on loan for the rest of the season.

– Rennes have announced the signing of striker Kermit Erasmus from Orlando Pirates.

– Reims have confirmed the loan signing of Thievy Bifouma on loan from Espanyol until the end of the season.

– Carpi have signed Jonathan de Guzman from Napoli until the end of the season.

Today’s report and rumours:

– According to reports, Norwich are awaiting a response from Chelsea regarding Patrick Bamford’s availability.

– Bordeaux President Jean Louis Tiraud has confirmed that the club has pulled out of the possibility of signing goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa.

– Javier Zanetti says Inter are “still working” to sign Sampdoria striker Eder

– Newcastle and Sunderland are reportedly competing to sign Leeds United defender Sol Bamba

Bafetimbi Gomis, photo credit http://www.swanseafc.pl

– Newcastle United will have to pay £7million to lure Bafetimbi Gomis from Swansea City, according to reports.

– According to reports, Villarreal are keen to resign Denis Cheryshev from Real Madrid.

– Gary Cahill will not be allowed to leave Chelsea during this transfer window, according to reports.

– Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has told L’Equipe that Seydou Doumbia will not be joining Marseille.

– West Ham United are reportedly ready to rival Norwich City for Inter defender Davide Santon.

– Atalanta captain German Denis says goodbye to fans ahead of a move to Independiente: “You don’t make history by yourself, thanks for everything.”

– Barcelona have made Juventus striker Paulo Dybala their main objective for the summer transfer window, according to reports in Spain

– Lyon have joined the race to sign Troyes attacking midfielder Jimmy Cabot, according to reports.

– Monaco are set to sign defender Jemerson from Atletico Mineiro, according to L’Equipe.

– Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies has labelled reports claiming defender Joel Matip has already agreed terms with Liverpool ”a hoax”

– Alexander Pato underwent his medical last night but the deal is being held up by complications over his loan fee, according to reports.

– Quique Sanchez Flores has confirmed Watford were interested in Andros Townsend, but couldn’t match Tottenham’s asking price.

Luis Enrique, credit fcbarcelona.com

– Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has hinted the Spanish champions could add to their squad before Monday’s transfer deadline.

– West Ham boss Slaven Bilic hopes to compete a loan deal for Emmanuel Emenike in the next couple of days.

– St Étienne have confirmed that they have reached a fee agreement with Norwegian side Rosenborg for the signing of highly-rated young defensive midfielder Ole Kristian Selnaes.

– Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski will reject interest from Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea to wait for a move to Real Madrid once the Spanish side’s transfer embargo is lifted at the end of next season, according to reports.

– Porto want £38million for Giannelli Imbula, double of what Stoke City have offered for the midfielder, according to reports

Emmanuel Adebayor joins Crystal Palace

– Alan Pardew has dismissed fears that he has gambled by signing Emmanuel Adebayor, revealing the controversial striker has signed a performance-based contract at Crystal Palace.

– Tottenham are close to agreeing a deal with Fulham for Moussa Dembélé, according to reports.

– Swansea City head coach Francesco Guiodlin has confirmed talks are ongoing with Chievo’s Alberto Paloschi and could be finalised over the next 48 hours.

– West Ham manager Slaven Bilic says “no money in the world” could persuade him to sell Dimitri Payet this month.

Andriy Yarmolenko
photo credit: Aleksandr Osipov
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode

– Arsenal have agreed a £23 million fee with Dynamo Kiev for Andriy Yarmolenko, according to reports in Ukraine.

– According to reports in Spain, Arsenal have been told to pay Real Madrid £25 million if they wish to sign Isco this month.

– Leicester City have turned their sights on Southampton striker Graziano Pelle, according to reports.

– Representatives from MLS side DC United spoke to Milan midfielder Antonio Nocerino today, according to reports.

– According to reports, Saido Berahino looks set to stay at West Bromwich Albion, with the Baggies not now likely to sell this month.

Football tit bits:

– Greg Dyke will stand down as chairman of the Football Association in the summer after deciding not to seek re-election at the end of his four-year term, amid a bruising battle over long overdue reform of the organisation.

– Swiss prosecutors say they have been given important evidence by a whistleblower in their investigation into FIFA and its suspended president Sepp Blatter.

Kevin De Bruyne

– Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is likely to be out for six weeks after injuring his right knee.

– Louis van Gaal has angrily dismissed reports that he offered to quit as Manchester United manager last
weekend.

Paul Ayorinde

2015 Nigerian Sports Award: Quadri Raises Stake For Sportsman Of The Year Award

One of the nominees for the Sports Man of the Year in this year’s Nigerian Sports Award, Aruna Quadri improved his chance of clinching the prestigious diadem after claiming the Portuguese Super Cup with his new club Sporting Lisbon.

QUADRI, a two-Time winner of the Ball Sports Award of the Nigerian Sports Award was in fine form when he marshaled the resurgence of the Lisbon-based team against his Former club, GD Toledos at the weekend.

For four years while at GD Toledos, Quadri single-handedly prevented Sporting from winning the Portuguese Super Cup but after pitching his tent with the Lisbon-based side, the 2014 ITTF Star Player was instrumental to the team’s reclaiming of the title at the weekend.

Aruna Quadri recieving his Nigeria Sports Awards 2014 Award

What looked like an homecoming for Quadri occurred when he led Sporting against GD Toledos in the Portuguese Super Cup.

From the five matches played, Quadri won two of them to give Sporting Lisbon a 4-1 win to reclaim the trophy to the Lisbon-based team.

According to Quadri, the win really meant a lot to Sporting as the fans celebrated throughout the night. “It was not easy playing against the team I had featured in for more than three seasons. But as a professional I must do my job to ensure that my team claims the victory. I am happy winning my first title with Sporting, which also has my compatriot, Bode Abiodun,” he said.

“We are hoping to win two more titles this season and we will continue to work harder to ensure that we claim the two titles. This victory has really increased my confidence to do more in the French league. At Toledos, I won three Super Cup titles and this is my fourth title and I hope it will gear me up for this week’s Polish Open,” he added.

Aruna Quadri

Meanwhile, Quadri will this week return to the ITTF World Tour in Warsaw, Poland after being seeded in number 25 among the 32 seeded players listed for the men singles event.

Quadri will start his campaign from the main draw of the men’s singles at the five-day tournament holding in Warsaw.

In the men’s doubles, the Nigerian will partner his continental archrival and friend, Egypt’s Omar Assar. Assar has also been seeded 21 in the men’s singles of the competition, which serves off on Wednesday October 21.

The 2015 Nigerian Sports Award event is schedule to hold on Friday, November 20, 2015 at the Marquee, Oceanview, Eko Hotel, Lagos.

Nigeria’s Quadri Inspires GD Toledos To Lift Portuguese Cup

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri helped GD Toledos to retain this year’s Portuguese table tennis Cup concluded at the weekend in Porto.

Quadri, who was bundled out in the quarterfinal of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Africa Senior Championship in Cairo, Egypt last month was in superb form at the two-day tournament without dropping a match.

Playing from the preliminary stage to the semifinal, Quadri supported by his Portuguese teammates showed class and this was reflected in their semifinal tie against Juncal, a match which they won 3-0.

However, they were faced with a Herculean task in the final as they were pitched against fans’ favourite, Sporting Lisbon.

Aruna Quadri with GD Toledos teammates after the Portuguese Cup title

As the biggest of their campaign in the tournament, Quadri team once again rose to the occasion despite dropping a game, they ensured that the cup remained with GD Toledos, as they won 3-1 to win the title for the third consecutive times.

An excited Quadri believes the success would surely spur him on for this week’s Kuwait Open.

“I feel so great winning the title again and team work materialized in delivering the Portuguese Cup once again. I have won the title thrice in a row and retaining the title again has increased my confidence for Qatar and Kuwait Opens.

I think this weekend matches in the Portuguese Cup has prepared for the next coming pro tours due to the fact that I played some tough matches,” he enthused.

Meanwhile, the defeat suffered in the men’s singles at the ITTF Africa Senior Championship held in Egypt has adversely affected the fortune of the ITTF Star Player in the February world rating released by the world table tennis ruling body at the weekend.

Aruna Quadri with GD Toledos teammates after the Portuguese Cup title

For bowing to Egypt’s Mohamed El-Beiali, Quadri dropped from 30 to 32 in the latest ranking while his conqueror improved in his rating from 195 to 179 in the world.

Also, for emerging as winner of the ITTF Africa Senior Championship, Egypt’s Omar Assar is ranked 43; a position which exceeds his previous best of 57 in July 2013.

The Oyo State-born athlete admitted that the slide in his world rating would help him to continue to work hard.

“My ranking going down is a wake-up call although I felt disappointed and at the same time I am happy that I gained more additional point to my ranking bonus points. It is a sign that I must work harder than before and I am finally happy that African is having two players in top 50 with Egypt’s Omar Assar now rated 43,” he said.

Aruna Quadri with GD Toledos teammates after the Portuguese Cup title

As the Kuwait Open, one of major series in the ITTF World Tours serves off on Wednesday February 11; Quadri will be campaigning from the qualifiers as the world’s top 16 will be competing from the main draw having been seeded by the organizers of the championship.

However, the 26-year-old Nigerian says he would be happy to exceed his previous outing at the tournament in Kuwait.

“I will be very happy if I can surpass my last year’s performance in the pro tour. I never qualified to the main draw in any major series of the ITTF World Tour and I will be glad if I can break that record in Kuwait and Germany Opens this year,” he added.

Quadri Leads GD Toledos To Lift Portuguese Super Cup

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri was the star attraction after the world number 73rd rated player inspired GD Toledos in their 3-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon in the final of the Portuguese table tennis league Super Cup.

A large number of fans watched the match played at Porto at the weekend but it was Quadri that lifted the trophy ahead of his compatriot, Bode Abiodun who could not feature in the encounter for Sporting.

Since moving to Portugal in 2010, Quadri has clinched two league titles, two Portuguese Cups and two Super Cups.

Quadri with teammates and club officials after winning the Portuguese Super Cup at the weekend in Porto.

Explaining how difficult it was for his team to overcome the Sporting side, Quadri said: “I must say the truth that beating Sporting to the title was not easy at all as they now have new faces in their line up. They have Portuguese international, Diogo Cavalho and Chinese-born Meng Xuan and this made them a bit stronger than last season. Although my compatriot, Bode Abiodun was in the team but he did not feature in the match.”

He added: “I am really happy and this is one of the finest moments for me so far in Portugal. I felt so great for doing it again for my club. It is the beginning of the season and I am so happy for the good start especially with the fact that I was able to win two matches in the encounter.”

The Nigeria Civil Defence Corps officer, however, plans to move to another European league next season.

“I must move to more stronger league by next year and it’s the best thing so far at this moment but I must concentrate on this present season before thinking of next season. I am presently ranked 73 in the world and I think with this ranking and God on my side, I stand a good chance of getting offers in top European leagues and I will be very happy if offers can come from Germany or France. I also know that for me to get good offer next season I really need to step up my game and keep the level going. I must continue playing Pro Tours so that clubs will continue to monitor my progress and from there better offers might come my way.

Latest Football Transfer Deals, Rumours, Titbits And Results

Here are the top football transfer deals, rumours, titbits and some european results as compiled by our man Paul Ayorinde.

you can follow Paul on twitter: @El_Pauleta on twitter and also follow @NewFanzone and we will follow you right back, lets keep the discussion going.

Gerard Deulofeu, photo credit uefa.com

Done Deals:

– Manchester United have reached an agreement with Sporting Lisbon to sign defender Marcos Rojo,subject to a medical and personal terms.

– Valencia have completed the signing of Bruno Zuculini from Manchester City on a season-long loan.

– Sporting Lisbon has announced the signing of winger Luis Nani from Manchester United on a season-long loan.

– Sevilla have completed the double singing of Ever Banega and Gerard Deulofeu.

– St Etienne have completed the signing of Kevin Theophile-Catherine from Cardiff city on a season-long loan deal

– Celtic have agreed terms with Russian club Rubin Kazan over a one-year deal for Ghana winger Mubarak Wakasso

– Benfica have completed the signing of Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar

Marcos Rojo

Today’s report and rumours:

– Liverpool remain keen on a deal for Monaco striker Radamel Falcao.

– Southampton are planning another bid for Tottenham winger Andros Townsend,having had a £10million offer rejected.

– According to reports,Barcelona are willing to let midfielder Alex Song leave on a season-long loan without receiving any fee.

– QPR are close to signing Chile winger Eduardo Vargas on season-long loan from Napoli

– Arsenal and Tottenham are interested in signing Shakhtar Donetsk winger Bernard on loan

– Napoli have turned down an approach for Gokhan Inler services from Bayern Munich

– Arsenal are closing in on Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot

– Tottenham are making progress in their pursuit of Memphis Depay after the Dutch Winger snubbed a new contract at PSV Eindhoven

– According to reports, Roma and Juventus are battling to sign Manchester city defender

– QPR has announced goalkeeper Julio Cesar has left them by Mutual Consent.

– Anderlecht are keen on signing Manchester City defender Dedryck Boyata

– Tottenham are willing to let Benoit Assou-Ekotto leave on a free transfer

– Norwich City are interested in signing striker Cameron Jerome and defender Carlos Cuellar

– Swansea have had an offer rejected for Montpellier midfielder Benjamin Stambouli

– According to reports, Rod Fanni’s move to Leicester city have broken down

– According to reports, Mehdi Benatia’s agent met with Roma officials today to improve his wages

– AC Milan are reportedly still in negotiation to buy Swiss international Blerim Dzemaili from Napoli

– West ham want to sign Corinthians striker Paolo Guerrero

– Werder Bremen are closing in on Fulham striker Bryan Ruiz.

– According to reports, Real Madrid have given Manchester United permission to talk with Angel Di Maria

– Aston Villa have made an approach for John Arne Riise who is currently a free agent

– Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu admits that Douglas Costa and Fernando may be sold this summer

– According to ESPN, Sami Khedira is eager to join Bayern Munich as Real Madrid attempt to offload the German midfielder this summer

– Former Manchester City striker Valjeri Bojinov is close to joining West ham on a free transfer

Football Tit bits:

– Colombia coach Jose Pekerman has signed a contract extension that will keep him with the team till 2018

– Corinthians midfielder Petros have been given a six-month ban for shoving a referee from behind during a match

– Crystal Palace are understood to be on the brink of appointing former Cardiff city boss Malky Mackay as their new manager.

– Luis Suarez has promised Barcelona fans he will never bite another player,as he was officially unveiled by the club today.

– Scotland Lowland league side Stirling University have made British football history by appointing a female coach Shelley Kerr. Former Arsenal ladies coach Kerr is just one of the four women in the UK to hola a UEFA Pro License.

– Norway Captain Brede Hangeland has retired from international football at age 33

Champions League – Qualification Results

19:45 Besiktas (Tur) 0 – 0 Arsenal (Eng)

19:45 FC Copenhagen (Den) 2 – 3 Bayer Leverkusen (Ger)

19:45 Napoli (Ita) 1 – 1 Ath Bilbao (Esp)

19:45 Salzburg (Aut) 2 – 1 Malmo FF (Swe)

19:45 Steaua Bucuresti (Rou) 1 – 0 Ludogorets (Bul)

Latest Football Transfer News

Our man Paul Ayorinde has compiled today’s current transfer news.

You can follow Paul on twitter @El_pauleta to continue the the discussion.

Eric Dier

Done Deals:
– Palermo have announced the signing of Moroccan defender Zouhair Feddal from Parma.

– Juventus have signed Romulo Souza on loan from Hellas Verona with an option to buy

– Liverpool has signed Atletico Madrid’s Javier Manquillo on a two-year loan deal

– QPR have signed Juventus right back Mauricio Isla on a season-long loan

– Tottenham have completed the signing of Endland U-21 defender Eric Dier from Sporting Lisbon for £4million

– Mathieu Valbuena has signed for Dynamo Moscow on a three year contract.

Today’s transfer Report and rumourss:

– Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger has confimed he is looking to bolster his defense line before the transfer window closes.

– Benfica are looking to sign Uruguayan full-back Jose Gimenez

– According to reports,Atletico Madrid have submitted a bid for Manchester United midfielder Shinji Kagawa

– According to reports, Monaco are close to signing Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez.

– Dynamo Kiev winger Younes Belhanda is reportedly close to joining Bekistas on a three year deal.

– West Brom manager Alan Irvine is keen on signing Parma winger Jonathan Biabiany

– After missing out on Romelu Lukaku, Wolfsburg are keen on signing Roma striker Mattia Destro.

– Borussia Monchengladbach are on the the verge of signing highly rated Paraguayan forward Jorge Benitez

– Aston Villa defender Antonio Luna is set to join Verona on loan.

– Juventus director general Giuseppe Marotta has reaveled they will only sell Arturo Vidal if he asks to leave.

– Manchester United’s £30m attempt to sign 26-year-old Colombian midfielder Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina is set to be hijacked by Barcelona.

– Liverpool’s hopes of signing PSG striker Ezequiel Lavezzi has hit a setback as the player would prefer a move to Italian champions Juventus.

– Manchester United are pressing ahead with plans to sign defender Thomas Vermaelen from Arsenal despite the fact he has a hamstring injury picked up playing for Belgium in the World Cup finals.

– West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says he is looking to sign a striker

– According to reports, Paris saint-Germain have agreed in principle a deal to sign Real Madrid winger Angel Di Maria

– Manchester United are ready to step up their interest in German international defender Mats Hummels

– Galatasaray President Unal Aysal has reaveled that the club have had an enquiry knocked back by Arsenal for Joel Campbell.

– Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has not ruled out the possibility of returning to Manchester United.

– Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says he has given up his attempt to sign QPR’s 27-year-old striker Loic Remy.

– Southampton’s Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc has emerged as an unlikely transfer target for German champions Bayern Munich.

– Manchester city manager Manuel Pellegrini has been told that £32million Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala will be his last signing this summer

Football tit bits:
– New Netherlands manager Guus Hiddink has called for Robin van Persie to grow up and settle his differences with former teammate Pierre van Hooijdonk.

– Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho says that the quality being displayed by his summer signing Diego Costa has surprised some of his new teammates.

– Radamel Falcao made his long-awaited return from injury as Monaco drew 2-2 with Valencia in the Emirates cup earlier today

– Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelloti says Louis van Gaal will find it “difficult” to turn Manchester United into Premier league title winners this season.

– Manchester United have defeated Real Madrid 3 goals to 1, United will now square-off against Liverpool on Monday.

Nigeria Sports Award Winner Quadri Retains Portuguese Title, Signs New Joola Kits’ Deal

Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri again added another crown to his retinue of laurels after leading G. D. Toledos to retain the Portuguese table tennis league for this season.

For his exceptional performance in recent times, Germany-based table tennis kits manufacturing company, Joola has signed a new two-year deal with the current African champion, which will expire in 2016.

Quadri, who has been in superlative form in recent time, inspired Toledos to a resounding victory over Sporting, which has his compatriot, Bode Abiodun.

Narrating what transpired on their way to winning the trophy, Quadri said: “We retained the Portuguese league trophy having also retained the Portuguese Cup in February.

On our way to final, we defeated CD Sao Roque of Madeira Island 3-0 both home and away before accounting for Sporting Lisbon over two-legs.

In the first leg, we narrowly escaped defeat away to Sporting.” Continuing, he said: “The doubles’ pair of Andre Silva and Diogo Silva defeated Sporting’ duo of Abiodun and Joao Seduvem in five tough sets, which ended 3 -2 in favour of my team.

Efforts to increase the lead by Diogo Silva against Diogo Chen, who is the strongest man of Sporting failed as the Chinese-born player won the encounter at 3-1 to level up the overall result.”

With his wealth of experience coupled with fantastic skills, Quadri won his matches to make his team’s victory certain.

The second leg also went their way, as Quadri became the hero of the match to salvage another 3-2 win for Toledos.

An excited Quadri said: “This season, we won all the three trophies at stake in Portugal and this includes the Portuguese Super Cup, Portuguese Cup and League Cup.

I lost just one match this season and won about 34 individual matches. It means that I won four titles this year including African Top 16 Cup.

“For me this is a good development especially as we are hoping for a good outing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland,” he added.

As for the Joola deal, the company would supply kits to Quadri as well support him to attend Pro Tours each year.

Quadri was named “Ball Sports Personality of the Year” at the Nigeria Sports Award held in Lagos on Tuesday 26th November 2013.

Aruna Quadri At The Nigeria Sports Awards 2013