Sane seals €60m Bayern Munich move

The highly-rated forward, who had spent four seasons at the Etihad Stadium, has penned a five-year contract with the Bundesliga champions

Leroy Sane has completed a move to Bayern Munich from Manchester City that could be worth up to €60 million (£55m/$67m).

The 24-year-old winger, who had spent four seasons at the Etihad Stadium, has penned a five-year contract with the Bundesliga champions.

A switch to the Allianz Arena for Sane had been in the pipeline for some time, with Bayern first making their interest known during the summer of 2019.

An untimely injury scuppered those plans, with a serious knee problem picked up in a Community Shield clash with Liverpool.

Sane has, however, worked his way back to full fitness and will now be returning to his homeland to open the next chapter in his career.

He has told Bayern’s official website: “FC Bayern is a great club with big goals - and these goals suit me as well. I'm looking forward to the new challenge and can't wait to train with the team.

“I know Hansi Flick from the U21 national team, we had a very good relationship there. I want to win as many trophies as possible with FC Bayern, and the Champions League is the top priority.”

Bayern’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on acquiring the services of a top target: “We’re very happy to welcome Leroy Sane to FC Bayern.

“He is an outstanding player who has proven his qualities over the past few years, especially in the national team. Our goal is to gather the best German players at FC Bayern and the signing of Leroy emphasises this goal. I would like to congratulate Hasan Salihamidzic on successfully concluding the transfer.”

Salihamidzic added: “We’re delighted Leroy is to be a Bayern player. Leroy is a difference-maker and will strengthen our team with his quality.

“With Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman and Leroy, we’re now even better equipped at a very high level in the wide positions that are important for our game.

“I would like to thank Manchester City for the trusting and constructive negotiations. I would also like to thank our president and chairman of the supervisory board, Herbert Hainer, who supported us with this transfer right from the start under the difficult circumstances of coronavirus.”

Sane took in 135 appearances for City on the back of a 2016 transfer from Schalke, with 39 goals and 45 assists recorded across 135 appearances.

He helped the Blues to two Premier League titles, an FA Cup triumph and two League Cup successes.

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On parting with an exciting talent, former Bayern boss Pep Guardiola told City’s official website: “We wish Leroy all the best in this new chapter of his career.

“Leroy has been part of one of the most special periods in this club’s history and he leaves with the best wishes of everyone here at Manchester City.”

Director of Football Txiki Begiristain added: “From arriving as a fledgling young talent four years ago, we are proud of the contribution Leroy has made since joining Manchester City. He leaves with many friends and fond memories of his time at the Etihad.”

Source: Goalnews

Gossip: Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool and Everton tussle for Bayer Leverkusen star Leon Bailey

BAYER LEVERKUSEN forward Leon Bailey is reportedly pushing for a move to the Premier League and will have a host of clubs scouting him.

The winger has three years left on his current Leverkusen deal but is working with Raheem Sterling's agents, Colossal Sports Management, to enhance his chances of moving to England.

According to Sky Sports,  scouts from Manchester City, Liverpool, United and Everton will will travel to Germany over the weekend to watch Bailey as Leverkusen take on Bayern Munich in the DFB Cup Final in Berlin.

Bundesliga kings Bayern will know all about the 22-year-old, having come close to agreeing a £55million move for him two years ago.

Leverkusen had valued the Jamaican international at £60m but due to the coronavirus pandemic having an effect on the transfer market and financial stability of teams they have been forced to drop their price tag.

Bailey is now said to cost between £20m and £30m.

The pacey winger joined Leverkusen from Belgian side Genk for £12.5m in January 2017 and has gone on to score 19 goals in 89 Bundesliga matches, with five coming this season.

Bailey was eligible to play for England due to two of his grandparents holding British passports and manager Gareth Southgate was believed to have been keeping tabs on the player.

But the Bundesliga star instead chose to represent his native Jamaica and made his debut against Honduras in June 2019, going on to earn five more caps.

Arsenal could make shock move for Barcelona star Griezmann

ARSENAL are plotting to make an audacious move to land unsettled Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann, according to reports.

Boss Mikel Arteta is even willing to let star man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang or Matteo Guendouzi head to the Nou Camp to help seal the switch.

Griezmann has endured a difficult first campaign at Barca since his £107million move from Atletico Madrid last summer.

The 29-year-old has scored eight times in the league this season, his lowest tally since he played for Real Sociedad in the 2011/12 campaign.

Griezmann was also handed just two minutes of action against Atletico in Barca's last outing as they drew 2-2 to hamper their title hopes.

The player's brother hit out at the club on social media while furious Barca team-mates reportedly confronted manager Quique Setien after the game.

And the player's treatment from Setien could pave way for Arteta to make a sensational switch, according to the Express.

The Spaniard is in the market for a new striker as he prepares for life without Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Gabon ace Aubameyang is heading into the final year of his contract at the Emirates and has no plans to extend his stay.

His availability has already sparked interest from Barcelona who are also in for a new striker.

But Arteta could be willing to see if the club would entertain a swap deal they may also include hot-headed midfielder Guendouzi.

The Arsenal boss is willing to use the Frenchman as a makeweight to help land transfer targets on the cheap after losing patience with his performances on the pitch.

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Manchester United have made a tactical change with Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba is playing in a deeper role for Manchester United to partially protect their back four and to maximise Bruno Fernandes's pressing.

Pogba has started the last two Premier League games in a midfield axis with Nemanja Matic behind Fernandes in the No.10 role and the attacking trident of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Mason Greenwood ahead of them.

United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought Pogba on for his first appearance this calendar year at Tottenham, where he occupied a deep-lying midfield role yet effected the game by winning a second-half penalty that Fernandes converted.

Solskjaer named an unchanged league XI for the first time since December at Brighton, where United recorded a second successive 3-0 win in the league. Solskjaer touched upon his settled side's tactical approach after an 11th clean sheet in their last 15.

"We know that we're 11 men attacking and 11 men defending," Solskjaer said. "We defend from the front: Anthony, Bruno, Marcus, and Mason pressed Brighton. We know how difficult it is to play against Brighton and we stopped them getting a rhythm.

MANU have until September to sign Sancho

United have until the start of September to complete a deal for Jadon Sancho, according to reports in Germany.

Funke Sport report Borussia Dortmund will hold onto England winger Sancho if a deal isn’t completed before the start of the new league season in September.

The summer transfer window will remain open until October 5, but it is suggested Dortmund won’t entertain any player sales once the Bundesliga returns a month earlier.

MANU considering sending Baily out on loan with Valencia

The 26-year-old is a popular member of the Red Devils squad, and boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a huge fan of his talents.

But Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof are his preferred partnership, and there’s interest in bringing in another centre-back.

It is understood United want him to get some regular action, and that could mean him leaving on loan for first-team opportunities.

Spanish side Valencia have already made it clear they want Bailly for the entirety, if not part, or next season.

There has also been interest from clubs in Portugal, along with rumours of talks with Serie A sides over in Italy.

The centre-back has struggled to stay fit since his £30m move from Villarreal back in 2016, and failed to hold down a regular spot.

United triggered their two-year contract extension option back in January to stop him walking away on a free transfer this summer.

Malawi Records 41 New Cases of Covid-19, 2 Deaths

Malawi has recorded 41 new coronavirus cases and two new deaths, now the number of recorded cases is 1265 while the number of deaths has reached 16.

Chairperson of the Presidential Taskforce on Coronavirus John Phuka announced the new cases on Tuesday.

The two victims are a 42-year-old man who died at Bwaila Hospital in Lilongwe and a 34-year-old man who died at Mchinji Hospital.

Out of the new coronavirus cases recorded, 30 are contacts of confirmed cases. Twenty of the locally transmitted cases are from Mzuzu (including on health worker), four from Lilongwe, two from Mchinji, two from Phalombe and one each from Nsanje and Blantyre.

According to Phuka, the two imported cases recently returned from South Africa and are from Mangochi and Salima. The other nine cases are still under investigation.

Out of the 1265 Coronavirus cases recorded in Malawi, 639 are imported while 581 are locally transmitted. There have been 260 recoveries.

Malawi has conducted 14, 173 coronavirus tests in 37 testing sites.

Meanwhile, Phuka has urged all Malawians to wear masks when in crowded places and and has encouraged those found positive to self-isolate.

Woman witnesses her house being burnt to ashes after she’s accused of having sex with 2 dogs

A woman witnessed her house being burned to the ground after she was allegedly filmed having sex with two dogs.

Tiffany Riley, 40, from Youngstown, Ohio, has been accused of engaged in a sex act with two Shih Tzu dogs.

Police started investigating the allegations against her in February and on Tuesday she was charged with sexual conduct with an animal and cruelty to companion animals, the Sun reports.

The footage was said to be circulating online.

Riley’s house then burned down – and detectives are yet to find out whether it was an arson attack or an accident.

The dogs have been taken to an animal shelter.

She is currently on bond over the misdemeanor charges and her next court date is July 20.

Killer pleads guilty to 13 murders

Joseph DeAngelo, the man known as the Golden State Killer, has admitted to 13 murders in a deal with US prosecutors meant to spare him the death penalty.

DeAngelo, who was a Californian police officer during his crimes in the 1970s and 80s, was arrested in 2018 after his DNA was found via a genealogy website.

The hearing in Sacramento took place in a large university ballroom, to allow for victims and families to attend.

He also admitted to numerous rapes, burglaries and other crimes.

DeAngelo, 74, is expected to be sentenced to life in prison in August at a second court hearing, where people hurt by his crimes will be allowed to read victim impact statements.

The sentencing is expected to be the culmination of a crime investigation that began in the 1970s and attracted worldwide attention.

DeAngelo’s crimes stretched across the state of California and led to nicknames such as the Visalia Ransacker, the Diamond Knot Killer, the Original Night Stalker and the East Area Rapist. Officials only later realised the crimes were all the work of one man.

The former police officer, Vietnam War veteran and auto mechanic was arrested in April 2018 after police tracked him down by matching his DNA with a genealogy website.

Investigators created a family tree dating back to the 1800s in order to identify him as a suspect.

Detectives followed him and collected a piece of rubbish he had thrown away, finding the same DNA recovered from several crime scenes.

Since then he has been kept in isolation in a Sacramento jail.

Prosecutors from the six counties where his crimes were committed agreed to hold Monday’s hearing at the Sacramento State University auditorium, which can seat 2,000 people, to allow for social distancing.

A crime scene photo released by the FBI

During Monday’s hearing, DeAngelo and his lawyers wore plastic face shields to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

He was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair and used a cane.

Prosecutors noted his crimes had all taken place between 34 and 45 years ago and called the geographical scope “simply staggering”.

During the hearing, he was forced to say “guilty” to all his crimes and “I admit” to offences for which he had not been charged.

Sacramento County prosecutor Thien Ho said that after he was arrested in 2018, and left alone in an interrogation room, DeAngelo began speaking to himself, seeming to address a person within that he could not control.

“I did all that,” DeAngelo said, according to Mr Ho.

“I didn’t have the strength to push him out. He made me. He went with me. It was like in my head, I mean, he’s a part of me.

“I didn’t want to do those things. I pushed Jerry out and had a happy life. I did all those things. I destroyed all their lives. So now I’ve got to pay the price.”

However, prosecutors have expresses scepticism over whether DeAngelo’s words and actions are authentic, noting he once faked a heart attack after he was sacked from a job for shoplifting.

Fredokiss appears at High Court in Mzuzu

Well-known singer Fredokiss, real name Penjani Kalua appeared before the High Court in Mzuzu this morning.

Fredokiss together his two colleagues were arrested in Rumphi on June 23 by the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) soldiers for allegedly issuing cash handouts to voters during the fresh presidential election.

The case has since adjourned for 21 days to allow the state prepare its witnesses.

It is alleged that Fredokiss was dishing out cash to prospective voters to vote for the outgoing President Peter Mutharika.

But Kalua rejected the claims in a statement released on June 26, 2020.

“I am concerned with how the mainstream media reported the whole issue without facts from both police and myself. We were never arrested for distributing money and this is not inline with my beliefs, principles and values. Mine is a case of Mistaken identity.

“I felt you all deserve some information on what actually transpired,” wrote Kalua on his official facebook page.

AFCON moved to 2022

The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, has announced the postponement of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON to January 2022 citing the coronavirus pandemic.

The tournament had been scheduled to take place between January and February next year. The football governing body, however decided that the local version of the AFCON, the Championship of African Nations, CHAN, will take place in January 2021.

It had originally been slated to be played in April this year. Both competitions will be hosted by Cameroon.

In a March 2020 announcement suspending the 2020 CHAN, CAF Organizing after a meeting in Cameroon cited amongst others, the confinement of population in many countries, restrictions imposed on grouping of teams and officials and the closure of borders as well as disruptions in air links between many countries as factors.

At the time, the decision followed the postponement of the AFCON 2021 qualifiers by CAF. The African football governing body had earlier this year decided to maintain the organization of its competitions.

Decisions of CAF Executive Meeting – 30 June 2020

The committee decided as follows;

Total Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021

After consultation with stakeholders and taking into consideration the current global situation, the tournament has been rescheduled for January 2022. The date for the final tournament and the remaining matches of the qualifiers will be communicated in due course.

Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) Cameroon 2020

The final tournament has been postponed till January 2021 in Cameroon.

“The CAF Executive Committee is satisfied with t the Cameroonian authorities for their commitment towards the hosting of the two competitions. Cameroon is ready to host either competition and are within schedule,” CAF President Ahmad Ahmad said.

Interclubs 2019/20 season

The Total CAF Champions League and Total CAF Confederation Cup, will resume in September with a Final Four (4) format. Semi-Final matches will be played in a single match.

Total CAF Champions League = Venue for Final Four to be decided

Total CAF Confederation Cup = Morocco will host the Final Four

Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2020

Due to challenging conditions, the 2020 edition of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations has been cancelled.

Meanwhile, the CAF Women’s Champions League will be launched in 2021. The format and other details will be communicated in due course.

Zonal Qualifiers for U-20 & U-17 Africa Cup of Nations

A meeting with the Organising Competitions for Youth Football and the Zonal Unions has been proposed to finalize the arrangements for the zonal qualifiers. Meanwhile, the U-17 AFCON will take place in July 2021.

Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations 2020

Following the withdrawal of Uganda, a new hosting bid will be launched for the organization of the final tournament either in 2020 or 2021.

Headquarters Agreement

CAF President Ahmad Ahmad commended the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt under the leadership of His Excellency Abdel Fattah El Sisi, who appended his signature to the 10-year agreement on 24 June 2020.

With the new agreement, CAF and its officials will benefit from immunities and privileges granted to diplomatic missions in the territory of the Arab Republic of Egypt in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention.

CAF Ordinary General Assembly

The 42nd CAF Ordinary General Assembly has been rescheduled for December 2020 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As per the recommendations of the CAF Governance Committee, the Elective General Assembly will be held on 12 March 2021.

CAF Awards 2020

Cancellation of the 2020 edition. Major partners for the event, Pickalbatros Group, has re-affirmed their contractual commitment towards the next two (2) editions.

Financial Support to Member Associations

CAF has allocated an additional USD 16.2 Million to assist Member Associations to mitigate challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each Member Associations will be entitled to USD 300,000.

Appointment of Commercial Director

Confirmation of the appointment of Ali Aissaoui as Commercial Director. Prior to joining CAF, the Moroccan served as Business Development Manager of FC Barcelona.

Update on Transform CAF 2021

There has been giant stride in the execution of Transform CAF 2021 which was launched during the CAF Executive Committee in Doha, Qatar, last February. The CAF Administration will continue with the implementation of the major points towards achieving the targets of the project.

Malawi Govt Suspends Awarding of Contracts

Reports indicate that government has suspended awarding of contracts with immediate effect.

According to a press statement issued by the Chief Secretary to the Government Zangazanga Chikhosi, the development is to pave way for a quick audit to determine a number of issues.

According to Chikhosi, this will help government to understand the “including transparency and credibility of processes and procedures followed and decisions made.”

The development has been backed with the provision of Corrupt Practices Act (2004), the Public Audit Act (2003), the Public Finance Management Act (2003) and the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Act (2017).

According to Chikhosi, the development is aimed at ensuring a corruption-free and fair contract Management, and prudence in public financial management.

The statement further asked heads of ministries, departments and agencies at any institution wishing to award a contract must contact the Office of Chief Secretary.

26-year-old Nigerian Man beats girlfriend to death for denying him Sex

A 26-year-old Nigerian man identified as Shagbada Erigga has been arrested by police for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Happiness Winifred, after she refused to have sex with him.

Erigga was paraded in court on Tuesday, June 30th. It was heard that Erigga invited Happiness, a mother of three, to his home to spend the night with him on June 21.

They later got into a heated argument after she refused to have sex with him.

In retaliation, he punched her three times. She slumped and died and then he dumped her body inside a well.

The police began an investigation after one resident reported to police that he went to fetch water in the well in his compound on June 25 and discovered a floating body.

When interrogated, Shagbada confessed to the crime but said he “accidentally” killed Happiness.

“On that faithful day of the incident, we were showering together and I asked her the reason she has been denying me sex but she was raising her voice on me and I slapped her and to my surprise, she slapped me back and I gave her just three blows at the mouth and another one on her neck. Next thing I knew, she fell slumped and died.

“When I discovered that she had died, I quickly carried her corpse and threw her inside a well in my compound because I was afraid and I didn’t want people to suspect me that I was responsible for her death.

“But a few days later, her corpse was discovered by my neighbour who wanted to use the well and he reported the case to the police and I was arrested.

“I regret my actions. I didn’t have intentions to kill her. She used to be my girlfriend. She had told me that she is a runs girl, that she already had three kids and I said no problem, and I promised to take her as my wife before that misunderstanding came up between both of us,” Erigga said

Items recovered from him include one hand bag, one Andriod Phone, a pair of underwear, a pack of condoms, a key, and slippers.

He is yet to be sentenced.