Nigerian-born Sunrise FC striker Samson Babuwa is on the verge of swapping his nationality to play for the Rwanda national team after taking the country’s top flight by storm with goals.

Babuwa has scored 15 goals in 24 matches, making him to be at the top of the scorers’ chart in the East African country’s league.

The goalhound is married to a Rwandan lady, and is reportedly in the process of acquiring Rwandan citizenship, which will make him eligible to play for the Amavubi.

And, the Rwandan football authorities are reportedly keen to add the Nigerian to their national team squad because of his goal scoring proficiency in the temporarily halted season owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Delta state born forward has been playing for Sunrise for 4 years, and the club are presently occupying the 7th postion on the log in the season with 31 points.

In an exclusive chat with footballflakes.net, Babuwa said: “I must be grateful to God almighty for the grace to be prolific in front of goal this season, a feat that has really endeared me to the fans and media.

“It’s been a productive season indeed, and the love and encomiums showered on me are bearing influence on my decision to switch allegiance to the East African nation.

“It is actually a project I would want to get involved in, though its more or less a speculation but hopefully in the coming days the lid would have been lifted with regards to my decision”.

The 26-year-old will be hoping that Vincent Mashami will invite him to the national camp as soon as he gets his papers right and the current suspension of international football ends.

By Gospel Lekams

Marseille boss Andre Villas-Boas says he will never manage in the Premier League again after his stints at Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane.

The former Tottenham and Chelsea manager doesn’t think the English top-flight suits his philosophy or style of football.

The 42-year-old, who is now in charge of French outfit Marseille, spent nine months at Stamford Bridge before being sacked in March 2012 with the Blues lying fifth in the table.

He went on to coach Tottenham, and, despite being hampered by a lack of his transfer targets in his first summer, in 2012, guided the White Hart Lane club to their then-best Premier League points tally.

Villas-Boas missed out on the top four on the final day of the season even with a new club record of 72 points.

He, however, eventually struggled to maintain the push at White Hart Lane as his second campaign was a poor one, and the club relieved him of his duties in December.

“I will not go back there. It is the championship with the most investment, the best players and teams,” Villas-Boas told Portuguese radio station Radio Renascenca.

“But, I like being in a league that includes different game philosophy. This is not the case in England.”

Photo Credit: Twitter @ Olympique de Marseille

UEFA has released €236.5m to its 55 member associations meet the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic in their respective countries..

The funds come from UEFA’s HatTrick assistance programme, set up in 2004 with the aim of supporting European football development.

The HatTrick funding is usually distributed to the national associations to cover running costs and to help develop specific and targeted areas of domestic football.

However, UEFA has decided to allow each association to set its own priorities in light of the negative impact of the coronavirus on football at all levels.

“Our sport is facing an unprecedented challenge brought about by the COVID-19 crisis,” UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin said in a statement.

“UEFA wants to help its members to respond in ways that are appropriate to their specific circumstances.

“As a result, we have agreed that up to €4.3m per association, paid for the remainder of this season and next, as well as part of the investment funding, can be used as our members see fit to rebuild the football community.

“I believe this is a responsible decision to help as much as we can; and I am proud of the unity that football is showing throughout this crisis.

“Without doubt, football will be at the heart of life returning to normal. When that time comes, football must be ready to answer that call.”

There are reports Chelsea have no “imminent” plans to sign Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho as they turn their attention to Manchester United traget Kai Havertz.

The 20-year-old winger is considered one of the hottest young prospects in Germany and is said to be interesting a number of elite teams.

The Blues are clearly keen to add some more creativity to their squad and have already spent £33m on the acquisition of Ajax star Hakim Ziyech.

Barcelona would be prepared to accept a significant loss on Coutinho with a fee between £50m-£70million reported to be enough to seal his signature.

But The Athletic points out that cost would still put Chelsea off as they’re not prepared to pay close to a club-record fee.

Instead, it is said Chelsea are far more interested in going after the highly-rated Kai Havertz, who they have been scouting on a regular basis.

Havertz, who came through the academy at Leverkusen, has scored six goals and created five assists in the Bundesliga this season, while he has also impressed in the Europa League, with three goals and two assists in just three games.

Photo Credit: Twitter @ Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Chelsea youngster Billy Gilmour has identified the advice given to him by the club’s manager Frank Lampard and his assistant Jody Morris as the reason for breaking into the the Blues first team.

The 18-year-old has joined several Blues academy graduates in forcing their way into the first team during Lampard’s reign at Stamford Bridge, most notably starring against Liverpool with a man-of-the-match performance.

Gilmour excelled once again when making his full Premier League debut in the 4-0 win against Everton, earning rave reviews from Manchester United legend Roy Keane, and the Scot has been tipped for a bright future at Stamford Bridge.

But the youngster admitted he thought he would be spending the season out on loan to gain some first-team experience and thanked Lampard for showing faith in his ability, report the Evening Standard.

“I went on pre-season with the first team and did well,” he told the club’s official website.

“I thought when we came back I’d be going on loan but the gaffer and Jody spoke to me and said they thought it was best for me to stay, play games with the Under-23s and train with the first team a lot more.

“I was happy with that, especially the chance to get more opportunities to train with the first team and express myself and show them what I’m about.”

Photo Credit: premierleague.com

There are reports Leicester City and Inter Milan are set for battle royale over Lille forward Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen has attracted interest from Brendan Rodgers’ scouts as well as Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton this season.

According to Sportsmail, Leicester City retain an interest in the Nigerian but fear he could be tempted by a move to Italy.

However, cash-conscious Lille are demanding around £60million for the 21-year-old Nigeria international while he also has strong interest from Italian sides Juventus and Inter Milan with the latter fearing they will lose Lautaro Martinez to Barcelona.

The Nerazzurri boss Antonio Conte has added Osimhen to the list of strikers to be considered if Martinez moves to the Catalan giants in the summer.

But Leicester want a versatile forward like the Super Eagles striker, with his quick feet and accurate shots, to compete with and ultimately succeed Jamie Vardy.

Youngster Osimhen has had an impressive season for the French side with 18 goals and six assists in 38 appearances across all competitions this season.

Reports in Italy claim Chelsea have made an “extremely aggressive” approach to sign Dries Mertens as Liverpool joined the race to sign the striker.

The Belgium international will be a free agent in the summer, as negotiations over an extension have seemingly ground to a halt after earlier progress.

Corriere dello Sport claim the Blues are “more determined than ever before” to sign the Belgian and have succeeded in “turning his head”.

Other reports have suggest Frank Lampard has already personally held talks with Napoli’s all-time record scorer.

Meanwhile, Tuttomercatoweb claim that Liverpool have also put forward an offer to sign Mertens as a free agent at the end of the season.

His versatility is crucial, able to play as a quick centre-forward or in a wider role.

Mertens turns 33 next month and scored 12 goals in 29 games for Napoli this term, including six in seven Champions League matches.

He had plenty of opportunity to show off against Liverpool, scoring two goals in three encounters.

Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa claims Antonio Conte is not a ‘top, top manager’ and ‘would never last a season at Real Madrid’ because of his man-management.

Costa won the Premier League under Conte in 2017, during the coach’s first season in charge of Chelsea.

However, their rapport broke down when the Inter boss informed the striker he was no longer needed by text message.

The 31-year-old maintains he has ‘no hard feelings’ towards the ex-Italy CT but is not a fan of his ‘very suspicious’ approach.

“We [Conte and I] had problems off the pitch, but I think he is a really good manager. I have no hard feelings towards Conte,” he told ESPN as cited by Football Italia.

“But to be a top, top manager, he needs to change the human side of his management.”

Conte was tipped to take over at Real Madrid after Julen Lopetegui’s dismissal two years ago…

“He is very suspicious. At a like, say, Real Madrid, he would never last a season.”

Costa returned to Atletico Madrid in January 2018 but has been linked with Serie A moves in recent weeks.

Chelsea have rejected the 10 per cent wage cut proposed by members of their squad amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Blues skipper Cesar Azpilicueta had suggested a 10 per cent cut in the players wages for four months as the club looks to offset the damaging losses caused by Covid-19.

The Premier League had suggested a 30 per cent cut in their proposal on a way forward.

An official statement on the club’s website said: “At this time, the men’s first team will not be contributing towards the club financially and instead the board have directed the team to focus their efforts on further supporting other charitable causes.

“As this crisis develops the club will continue to have conversations with the men’s first team regarding financial contributions to the club’s activities.”

Former Chelsea talisman Eden Hazard has revealed the role Didier Drogba played in his move to Stamford Bridge in 2012.

Hazard, then renowned as one of the most exciting young talents in world football, put pen to paper on a Chelsea contract in summer 2012 and turned down a host of elite European clubs in doing so.

There was one key architect in the move who until now had gone uncredited; that man was Didier Drogba… with a little help from ex-Arsenal forward Gervinho.

Speaking recently to Belgian media, amid football’s coronavirus lockdown, Hazard has outlined how the wheels were set in motion for his switch from Ligue 1 side Lille to Premier League titans Chelsea.

In conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws, Hazard revealed how Chelsea legend Drogba pulled together his contacts in order to act as a persuader, report the Sportsmail.

Knowing that Hazard played alongside Gervinho at Lille, Drogba was able to speak with the youngster via his Ivory Coast international team-mate.

Just one month prior, Drogba had been the talk of world football after having heroically led Chelsea to a first ever Champions League victory in Munich, scoring a both a late equaliser and converting the decisive penalty in the shootout.

Using his influence, Drogba spoke to Hazard over the phone while he was preparing to play a match.

“Suddenly Gervinho’s phone rang in the dressing room near Lille. It was Drogba on the line. He insisted that he tell me, ‘I need to talk to him'” Hazard revealed.

Drogba said to me, ‘You have to come to Chelsea.’

“At that moment I was still in doubt. Chelsea was not doing well in the Premier League. They wouldn’t play Champions League the following year. [But] After that final, the choice was made quickly.”

Hazard added: “I knew I would easily adapt. London, close to home, not too far from Lille. [Kevin] De Bruyne had played there, Romelu [Lukaku] was around. There were enough French speakers. I knew I would play enough. I was only sad that he, Drogba, decided to leave.”

After making his decision, Hazard delighted Chelsea fans around the globe with one short tweet on social media.

With part reference to Drogba’s heroics in Munich, Hazard revealed on Twitter: “I’m signing for the Champions League winner.”

Hazard went on to make 245 Premier League appearances with the Blues, scoring 85 times. In his 38 Champions League appearances for Chelsea, Hazard scored eight goals and contributed 11 assists.