Arsenal: moves to sign a deal of £50m for Raphinha from Leeds

Arsenal are set to make a £50million bid for Leeds winger, Raphinha, according to the UK Times.

The Gunners are ready to fight off Barcelona and rivals, Tottenham Hotspur to sign the Brazil international.
Barca had been heavily linked with a move for Raphinha, but that deal now looks unlikely to happen.

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has been very impressed by the player’s performances for Leeds, netting eleven goals and providing three assists in the Premier League last season.

If he joins Arsenal, then it could see Bukayo Saka switch to the left flank, with Nicolas Pepe a candidate to leave the club.

Raphinha has progressed well since joining Leeds from Rennes in 2020. He was previously at Sporting Lisbon and Vitoria.

Samuel Eto bags 22-month jail term over £3.8m tax fraud

President of the Cameroon Football Federation, Samuel Eto’o, has been sentenced to 22-month in jail.

His former agent, Jose Maria Mesalles, who he referred to as a father, was also handed a one year jail term.

But since neither of them has a criminal record, they will not serve time in prison.
They were given suspended prison sentences for tax fraud of 3.8 million euros between 2006 and 2009.

The former Barcelona ace, in a statement, has admitted and accepted responsibility for the offence and also promised to pay the fines.
He, however, placed the blame on Mesalles, who he viewed as a father at the time of the offences.

“It was my father who took care of the child I was then,” Eto’o said according to Marca.

“I’m going to pay but I’ve always done what my father told me I had to do,” he said.
The former African Footballer of the Year went ahead to slam a lawsuit against Mesalles, accusing him of fraud and misappropriation of his assets.

The matter is still in the investigative phase.
Mesalles refused to testify in court during the case when both men were punished, with prosecutors asking the court to give them four years and six months sentence.

However, their sentences were reduced to only 22 months for Eto’o and one year for his former agent.

They will pay fines amounting to almost 2 million euros. Eto’o was handed four fines for each offence.

And the Cameroonian’s fines amounted to 1.8 million euros, while Mesalles will pay four fines totalling 905,155 euros. Eto’o fines came as a result of the former football star failing to declare income he made from the transfer of his image rights to Puma and Barcelona in his personal income tax return from 2006 to 2009. Instead, he taxed the image rights through two companies – one in Spain and one in Hungary – in order to avoid being taxed as heavily.

Man Utd: Erik ten Hag asks two players to leave Old Trafford

Manchester United boss, Erik ten Hag has told right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams they can find new clubs for themselves this summer.

Ten Hag has made it to the pair they won’t find playing time if they stay at Old Trafford.

Manchester Evening News reports that Ten Hag already has solid ideas over what his squad will look like next season and those two are not part of the plans.

Ten Hag watched from the stands in the final day of the season as former manager Ralf Rangnick started Diogo Dalot ahead of Wan-Bissaka in the rightback position.

According to the report, the Dutchman shares Rangnick’s view that Dolot is the more ‘modern’ full-back.

Wan-Bissaka defends very well but lacks the ability to join in the attack as a modern fullback.
The Manchester Evening News says the Dutchman has informed Wan-Bissaka that he’s “surplus to requirements.”

Transfer: Sun will shine on you – Bayern refuse to let angry Lewandowski join Barcelona

Bayern Munich have insisted that Robert striker, Lewandowski is going nowhere this summer.

This is despite the player sending messages to the Bavarians and the optimism from Barcelona about signing the player.

Former President of the club, Uli Hoeness, told Sport1 that Bayern Munich are relying on Lewandowski for next season.

He said that the Poland international is part of the new team being intensively worked on by Bayern Munich, adding that the player and his agent are angry because they cannot get what they wanted.

“The new team is being worked on intensively. If everything that was presented to me last week works out, we will have an attractive team next year with Lewandowski.

“Things didn’t go exactly the way he and his agent wanted. That’s why they are angry,” Hoeness said. He advised everyone involved in the transfer saga to be objective and not let issues escalate. “The sun will shine on Lewandowski and Bayern again.

Man Utd in on Antony deal, club officials due in Amsterdam

Manchester United are close to making their first signing of the summer transfer window with Antony likely to join Ajax, The Sun reports.

The Brazil international worked under Erik ten Hag at the Eredivisie outfit over the past two years, and he could now be reunited with the 52-year-old at Old Trafford.

United have been heavily linked with him this month, and it is now reported that the club’s officials are due in Amsterdam to finalise a deal worth £40million.

Antony had an impressive 2021/22 campaign for Ajax, registering 12 goals and 10 assists from just 32 appearances before being sidelined with an ankle problem.

The 22-year-old played exclusively from the right wing, and it could be a position United want to bolster despite the big-money signing of Jadon Sancho last summer.

The England star was recruited from Borussia Dortmund to find a solution for the position, but he seemed to struggle and was more effective from the left side of the attack.

There is a possibility that Erik ten Hag may stick with him on the left wing with the arrival of Antony. The left-footed winger would seamlessly adapt to the manager’s tactical set-up.

Lolo Ijeoma Njoku Obinwannem News Writer / June 20, 2022