Nigeria set to swoop Tammy Abraham away from England national team, say “we will not relent in our quest”

Nigeria are planning to prise Tammy Abraham away from the Three Lions, especially now that he has been snubbed once again by England.

The Chelsea striker is still qualified to play for both the Super Eagles of Nigeria having featured for England national team twice in friendly matches.

The 21-year-old was recently quoted by aclsports.com as saying: “Anything is still possible. I have not ruled it out completely, but we will see.”

SportingLife claim Nigeria representatives were at Stamford Bridge on the weekend as the Blues drew with Sheffield United.

Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick has revealed he’s already discussed the matter with Abraham.

Pinnick said: “We will not relent in our quest for good players to play for the country.

“But these kids are very independent-minded.

“We have been told to wait until April 2020, when he hopes to make a final decision on the matter.

“I told him he stood a better chance of playing regularly for Nigeria than with England.”

Chelsea injury woes deepen as Kovacic, Blues key loanee face spell on sidelines

Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic and loanee Davide Zappacosta are expected to spend some time on the sidelines after picking up injuries.

Zappacosta is facing 3-4 weeks out after suffering a calf injury, while Kovacic’s return date is not known yet after suffering an inflamed Achilles tendon in the draw with Sheffield United on Saturday .

The right-back pulled up during the warm-up before Roma’s 1-1 draw with Lazio in the Derby della Capitale on Sunday.

The Chelsea loanee underwent tests and it has now been confirmed that he picked up a second-degree calf injury.

According to Football Italia, the 27-year-old could miss as many as seven games, including two Europa League fixtures and a clash with Champions League qualifiers Atalanta.

He joined the Giallorossi from Chelsea on an initial six-month loan in August, with the option to extend for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, Kovacic has withdrawn from Croatia’s squad for upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers with Slovakia and Azerbaijan in a new injury blow for Frank Lampard.

Kovacic has started all but one of the Blues’ five outings this term, particularly impressing in their 3-2 victory away at Norwich last week.

The 25-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Stamford Bridge, was the only signing Lampard could make this summer due to a loophole in FIFA registration laws.

And that came as a relief to the Blues boss, who has been unable to turn to Ruben Loftus-Cheek yet because the English midfielder ruptured his Achilles tendon in May, report the Daily Star.

N’Golo Kante has been struggling with an ankle problem, too, and has missed Chelsea’s previous two games.

Yet Lampard is now facing somewhat of a crisis in the middle of the park, as Kovacic will be unable to compete for Croatia on international duty after sustaining an injury.

Juventus target Chelsea star as free transfer signing

Reports in England claim Juventus are targetting Willian as a possible free transfer signing next summer with his Chelsea deal set to expire.

As noted by The Sun earlier this summer, it had been suggested that the Brazilian was closing in on a new deal with the Blues, but the speculation was met with a negative reaction from many fans.

Goal Italy note, via the paper edition of Tuttosport, that the 31-year-old will be available on a free transfer at the end of the season as things stand, and Juventus have set their sights on him as a possible reinforcement for Maurizio Sarri.

The Italian giants have a reputation of some excellent signings without paying a transfer fee in recent years, with the likes Paul Pogba, Andrea Pirlo, Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey all being snapped up after their contracts elsewhere expired.

In turn, they seemingly have a positive track record when it comes to finding bargain solutions, and they may, according to Caughtoffside, well see Willian as another with the report adding that Fiorentina ace Federico Chiesa is perhaps the priority next summer.

Time will tell if that sparks Chelsea into action to get that touted new agreement in place before then to not only avoid an exit for the Brazilian international, but also to protect their own position by avoiding losing him for nothing next summer.

Official: Real Madrid sign Keylor Navas replacement

Real Madrid have signed Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola on loan to replace their former goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

The 26-year-old shotstopper, capped three times for France, is under contract with Paris Saint-Germain until 2023. The loan deal with Real Madrid does not include a purchase option.

Meanwhile, according to Marca, the France international has already been registered with La Liga.

Areola had been second choice in Paris last season behind Gianluigi Buffon, who has subsequently left the club this summer to rejoin Juventus.

However, the Parisians have been on the lookout for a new goalkeeper and have now signed Keylor Navas, so Areola has gone in the opposite direction on a season-long loan deal.

Areola, 26, has made 106 first-team appearances for PSG and has already spent a season in the Spanish top flight when he played for Villarreal in the 2015-16 campaign on a loan deal.

It is claimed that the deal will see Madrid receive a sum of money alongside the French goalkeeper in order to part company with Navas, who has been second choice behind Thibaut Courtois at the club.

Navas joined Madrid from Levante in the summer of 2014 and has won three Champions League titles with the club.

Photo Credit: Twitter @ en.psg.fr

Official: Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas joins PSG

Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Real Madrid in a deal worth €15m.

His previous agreement with the French club had been with former sporting director Henrique Antero, with his replacement Leonardo seeing negotiations slowed down.

Navas – who has penned a four year contract in Paris – had been behind Thibaut Courtois in the pecking order for the majority of last season while Luca Zidane, son of Zinedine, had also been selected ahead of the Costa Rican.

Zidane and Andriy Lunin have subsequently both left Los Blancos on loan deals, but Navas is not keen on spending another season playing second fiddle to the Belgian.

Benfica had been heavily linked to signing the shot-stopper and were said to be hopeful of including them in their talks to sign Madrid striker Raul de Tomas earlier this summer, but a move never materialised, report Football Espana.

Manchester United had also been linked to the goalkeeper but did not lodged a firm offer, while the English transfer window has already closed.

The 32-year-old had started just 11 La Liga matches last campaign although seven of them arrived since Zinedine Zidane returned in March, bringing hope that he could have more opportunities this season.