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Gary Neville has warned Manchester United they need a new centre-back more than they need Jadon Sancho after a horror show in their opening Premier League game.

The former United captain said the current side stand no chance of winning the Premier League with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof at the heart of their defence.

His brutal verdict was delivered as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team were beaten 3-1 by Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Saturday.

After finishing third in the Premier League last season following a 14-match unbeaten run in the competition, United began 2020-21 with high hopes of another lofty finish.

They want to bring Borussia Dortmund's exciting England winger Sancho to the club, but Neville says their priority should lie elsewhere.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: "You can talk about Jadon Sancho all you like, but until they get a centre-back in that can run and defend one on one, you're never going to win the league.

"They're not going to win the league with that centre-back pairing. They have to get a mobile, quick, dominant centre-back in alongside Lindelof or Maguire."

United were back on domestic duty five weeks after their 2019-20 Europa League trophy hopes were ended by a semi-final defeat to Sevilla.

Neville said United looked "knackered", "so leggy it's untrue" and "well short of Crystal Palace" in the fitness stakes.

Lindelof, the Sweden defender who is in his fourth season at United, was picked apart by Neville for his part in allowing Wilfried Zaha to scythe through and score his second goal and Palace's third.

"He's just not strong enough there, Lindelof," said Neville. "It's a 50-50; he's weak."

Neville questioned what United's response would be to their slow start, in light of many of their rivals making statement signings.

"The usual thing for Manchester United, on the back of something like this, is to react - go and sign a player or two to quell the Twitter and social media voice that will absolutely simmer and boil," Neville said.

"It's been simmering all week I think, particularly with Liverpool doing business today, Chelsea's done it in the last few weeks, [Gareth] Bale's going to Tottenham.

"Why are Manchester United not signing the players they need to bolster this squad - a talented squad?"

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has declared he could not allow Lionel Messi to leave the club and suggested congratulations were in order following the star's decision to stay put.

Messi handed in a shock transfer request last month but Barca refused to allow the Argentine to leave for free with a contractual dispute brewing. 

In an exclusive interview with Goal, Messi ultimately decided to stay at Camp Nou this season but did hit out at Bartomeu for breaking his work and not allowing him to leave as promised. 

The under-fire club boss, however, believes he simply couldn't allow their best player to leave and is hopeful Messi can still prove the difference for Ronald Koeman's side moving forward. 

“I won’t get into any conflict with him. He’s our captain and the leader of our team,” Bartomeu told Catalan television network TV3.

“I couldn’t let him leave the club, he is the best player of all time and the team needs him. Having Messi is a guarantee of success.

“We have seen him do his talking on the pitch and we have moved on from the saga. We should congratulate ourselves for getting Messi to stay with us and for how he has behaved in the last few days. The best player in the world should stay at our home."

Since opting to remain at Barcelona, Messi has shown positive signs and struck twice in a recent pre-season friendly win against Girona. 

Koeman's side have won three straight games in pre-season and while things are running somewhat smoothly on the pitch, Bartomeu is facing a crisis off it following a successful petition for a vote of no confidence. 

An official board decision on Bartomeu's immediate future is expected within the next two weeks but the president remains focused on the job at the hand for now. 

"The board and I will keep working to ensure we have the most competitive team possible," he said.

"We will speak again after validating the votes but right now no-one wants to quit. The club won’t stop and we will keep working, we have lots of issues to sort out."

Percy Tau played for the entire duration as Anderlecht cruised to a 4-2 win over Waasland-Beveren in a Belgian First Division A encounter on Saturday.

Tau made his fifth appearance for the Purple and White at the Freethielstadion but he could not add to his tally of two goals so far this season.

Goals from Adrien Trebel, Jeremy Doku, Yari Verschaeren and Lukas Nmecha secured maximum points for Vincent Kompany's men despite late efforts for Din Sula and Daan Heymans for the hosts.

During the encounter, Tau made the third highest number of key passes, behind Albert Lokonga (4) and Yari Verschaeren (3).

The 26-year-old also played a defensive role in the game and he made three tackles in total.

Saturday’s victory shot Anderlecht to third in the Belgian First Division A table, level on 12 points with second-placed Beerschot while they are six points behind leaders Sporting Charleroi.

After playing two games without scoring, Tau will be hoping to find the back of the net when Kompany's side welcome AS Eupen to Lotto Park on September 27.

His last goal was against KV Oostende where he helped his team secure a 2-2 draw on August 28.

Tau is in his third year in Belgium having spent the last two seasons on loan from Premier League outfit Brighton and Hove Albion.

Last season, the Bafana Bafana star helped Club Brugge win the First Division A title with a contribution of three goals in 18 appearances and he also made his debut appearance in the Uefa Champions League group stage against Real Madrid.

Arsenal duo Eddie Nketiah and Dani Ceballos issued the perfect response to their coming together last week as the pair secured a 2-1 win against West Ham on Saturday. 

Before the Gunners' first Premier League game of the season against Fulham, the pair were filmed clashing in the warm-up after both had been named on the bench. 

Both Nketiah and Ceballos had to be separated at the time but did seem to make amends by the end of the match, which Arsenal won 3-0, with a picture of the duo posted to social media. 

Any lingering doubts over the pair's relationship were then squashed on Saturday as Ceballos set up Nketiah to score the Gunners' winning goal in the 85th minute against the Hammers. 

After Alexandre Lacazette had opened the scoring for Mikel Arteta's side, West Ham looked set to claim a well-deserved point following an equaliser from Michail Antonio but Arsenal found a late winner courtesy of two players who were at odds this time last week.

"We had a bit of a coming together. The reaction was there. We made up an got on with it. It was nice for him to make the assist. It's all love now," Nketiah told Sky Sports post-match. 

"It was a great pass across, good vision. I tried to stay onside. It was an easy finish from there.

"I want to keep improving as a player. It's a great feeling to come on and score. West Ham made it very difficult. They came out very strongly in the second half."

Arteta was notably jubilant at full-time as the Gunners dug deep to secure another three points and continue their perfect start to the new season.

"I’m thrilled with the three points. I said before the game how difficult it would be with the way they play," Arteta told BBC Sport.

"We made it even more difficult in the first 15 minutes with the amount of balls we gave away and the open spaces we gave them to run into. I’m glad we found the right moment and kept competing and believing, with good momentum in the last 25 minutes.

"We created many other situations. But we gave too many opportunities to the opponent in the final third. There are still a lot of things we need to get better at.

"Eddie can do that every week. He’s hungry and has a great quality to score goals."

New Chelsea arrival Kai Havertz credits Michael Ballack with instilling in him a passion for the Blues, while revealing that away from the field he is likely to be found tinkling the ivories or tending to vulnerable donkeys.

Chelsea's £70 million ($90.42) signing from Bayer Leverkusen has arrived with quite the hype since making his move to the Premier League but he leads a grounded life away from the pitch.

Still just 21, Havertz is able to play the piano and holds further passions for fashion and nature. He has battled to educate himself amid a punishing football schedule after becoming the youngest player to breakthrough at Leverkusen at just 17 years old.

Havertz even missed a match against Atletico Madrid in 2017 due to school exams, which he took seriously thanks to his role models: his police officer father and lawyer mother.

Those book-smarts may serve Havertz well in what is an increasingly tactical sport but he wants to turn his focus to animal welfare away from the field - with a slightly unusual focus on donkeys.

"It's funny, I loved donkeys as a kid very much, I think my first year it was always my favourite animal," Havertz told reporters on a Zoom video link. "So it was always a dream for me to have one someday and now it's a good opportunity to help donkeys that are from the circus or things like that.

"It will be a big project for me in the next years. As I said I try to do my best to help as many animals as possible, they are very important for us and for the world. I try to do my best to help them have a better life.

"Of course, football is one of the most important things in my life as well, but my family and things like this that are supports, like the animals, is very important for me as well. I'm trying to do my best to help people, to help the animals.

"Of course, in the future, it will be a bigger thing for me to do things like that, but football, of course, is very important for me. But to be honest for me there are very many more important things in life than football, and I'm trying to do my best to help as much as I can."

Havertz was inspired to get into football through his grandfather Richard while growing up in the rural German village of Mariadorf. He was the chairman of the local side Alemannia Mariadorf which Havertz enrolled in as a boy before going into the Leverkusen academy.

However, his grandmother equally inspired him into taking up piano and Havertz went onto described how his passion for music grew: My brother started playing the guitar at a young age, and I wanted to do the same.

"That's the reason why I started the piano. My grandma had a piano at home so I was playing as a kid sometimes," he said. "For three years I just wanted to start playing the piano. And now whenever I want to play I play, and it makes me feel comfortable and it's fun."

Undoubtedly though, football is where Havertz excels and the Premier League only got a glimpse of it in his debut away at Brighton where Chelsea won 3-1.

Havertz had long attracted interest from Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but ended up at Chelsea, along with four other big signings in a £200m ($252m) transfer market splurge.

Indeed, Havertz says that he has always followed Chelsea closely and is glad to follow in fellow former Germany international and Leverkusen star Michael Ballack's footsteps.

"It's a dream come true, and now I have to work hard and do my best for the club," Havertz continued. "Michael Ballack was a very, very big player, he also played for Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

"He was also the hero of course when I was younger, and he played for Chelsea as well. I liked him as a player very much, he played in my position and he was a midfield player who wanted to score a lot of goals.

"I think, of course, I try to score goals as well, like him and he was always a very big player for me. But I've never spoken to him. I'm thankful to play in a club where he played as well. The coach has a big impact on my decision, but I think for me I've loved Chelsea my whole life.

"I always watched the team as a kid, so it was not a very tough decision for me. For me, it was always important that a club comes to me or my agent and says 'you are the player, we want you, we'll do everything for you, please come to us'.

"That was the first thing that came in mind when I decided for a new club. For me, Chelsea's a very big club and I'm very grateful and thankful to be here now. I'll try to do my best to make everybody happy.

"But of course in the last year we had some conversations with other clubs as well, I think that's normal, but in the end, Chelsea gave me everything. It's a big project here, I love to play with young players as well.

"Of course, it's a few games to play good football, but of course I'm looking forward to that as I'm only here seven days now. I think it will be good in the next few weeks and months."

Having only had a taste of what Havertz is about, Chelsea next face Liverpool where the German star will hope to make an impact in his first game at Stamford Bridge. It is a spectacle that Havertz can't wait to be part of, facing off against the world-famous manager Jurgen Klopp and his league champion side.

"When you watch football as a kid you always dream to play in a stadium like Stamford Bridge," he concluded before talking about Klopp and his side. "I think he's [Klopp] hungry and he wants to win more titles, and I think that's the reason why we have to play our best football on Sunday because it will be a very hard game for us.

"For them as well, because I think we have a very good team and maybe Monday was not our best game but the most important thing is to win the games and we did it on Monday and we'll try our best to win on Sunday as well."

Frank Lampard has revealed signing fellow Germany international Timo Werner helped him in his bid to sign the high-coveted Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen in a £70 million ($89m) deal.

Chelsea sought the opinion of Werner, who came in from RB Leipzig through his £47.5m ($61m) release clause over two months earlier, which helped kickstart a summer transfer spend of around £200m ($252m) on five significant signings.

Indeed, having introduced Werner into the squad to train, Lampard had a player he could use to give him feedback on what would be a major deal for the club. After a long round of talks, Chelsea finally got their man and Lampard appreciated the input of his new striker.

"I was able to have some conversations with Kai after the buying process happened, or whatever you want to call it," Lampard told reporters on a Zoom video link.

"I did as much watching of him as a player as I could, and by that time Timo had arrived at the club, and Timo and Kai are pretty close so I could obviously ask Timo a lot about him, them playing in the national team together. So we had very good background on him.

"But again I was very struck in those conversations with him about his humility, and how he is as a person which I love. I love the humility in players who come with the idea they just want to improve and become a success. And I know he has great talent. I've seen that in the first week that he's been here.

"I think it's important to be clear that before the Brighton game Kai Havertz had trained for four or five days and two or three of those were a build-up to a game so you can't work that hard.

"Fitness levels for Kai were difficult. They are only going to get better and get better quickly. I've seen lots of his talent and have no doubt the impact he will have as a Chelsea player."

After making their debuts against Brighton on Monday night, Havertz and Werner will both likely start against Liverpool on Sunday in the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp's side have made a major signing in bringing in Thiago from Bayern Munich in a £27m ($35m) deal . The midfielder excelled against Chelsea in the Champions League as the eventual European champions knocked out the Blues in a 7-1 rout over two legs.

The Spain international won't be available for Sunday's game but Lampard admits his admiration for the midfield maestro.

"Thiago's an incredible player, we saw first-hand his quality on the pitch, personality on the pitch and off the pitch," he added.

"The quotes from Hansi Flick this week talking about him on both fronts, and when you hear that from the manager who has just had such success with him at the centre of the team, I think it speaks for itself.

"I think he's an absolute world-class midfielder in the modern-day, and if he does come to the Premier League, he'll be a big plus for the Premier League, and a big plus for the team that he comes to."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has suggested that his Manchester United squad may need further investment after going down to a shock opening-day defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace. 

Wilfried Zaha netted a double against his old club to follow on from Andros Townsend's early opener and seal a 3-1 win for Roy Hodgson's visitors. 

United's only goal of the afternoon came via debutant Donny van de Beek, who finished coolly from close range to give his new employers a chance at 2-1 before Zaha swooped with his second strike. 

Van de Beek is to date the sole summer signing made by United, who saw interest for the likes of Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho rebuffed. 

And Solskjaer, while signalling United's lack of playing time prior to their first Premier League clash of 2020-21, admits that the club will have to keep searching for new talent before the transfer window closes in October.

"You can see we are short and they deserved the points," Solskjaer explained after the final whistle.

"[Palace] were sharper than us in challenges, tackles. We started off slowly and that had a knock-on effect for the rest of the game when they got the first goal.

"We had a long season last season and we didn't finish until August 16 and we have not had enough preparation time to be sharper. We've worked hard with the ones who've been here, there have been a few players away on internationals.

"I spoke to Roy [Hodgson] and he said they had four friendlies and this was their third competitive game, and it is a big difference to our one against Aston Villa last week.

"You have to make the most of the time you have got and we have already started playing catch-up, of course, and it showed. But we will improve quickly, hopefully quicker than we've seen today. Today was a performance that you don’t see very often from these players because these players are better than that.

"We can play so much better than today. If you look at the players we had on the pitch and on the bench and not here today, we have to look within first and look at ourselves and know we can perform better.

"But we are always looking to improve if there is something out there that is available at the right price. We always want to strengthen. But we can all look ourselves in the mirror instead."

Racing Santander defender Oluwatobiloba Olanrewaju now stands a bright chance of playing for Nigeria following the latest changes to eligibility rules proposed by Fifa, Goal can exclusively report.

The new rule will allow players to switch eligibility if they played at most three times for the first team – including tournaments and qualifying games, before turning 21, and at least three years earlier.

The 25-year-old had been initially called up to the Nigerian women's side twice, first in 2014 by then-handler Edwin Okon in the build to the Africa Women's Cup of Nations in Namibia.

The second was by erstwhile coach Thomas Dennerby in preparation for the 2019 Wafu Women's Cup in Cote d'Ivoire as part of the West Africans' build-up to that year's Women's World Cup.  

However, the Nigerian-born defender was later dropped from the list on the two occasions, having confirmed she had already turned out at international level for Equatorial Guinea. 

She was ruled out then as a player and could only switch nationalities if they had played in friendlies and not a single minute of any competitive match, which included qualifiers and tournaments.

In Goal's investigation, Olanrewaju featured twice for the Nzalang Nacional, with her first in a 2-2 draw at home against Cote d'Ivoire in the Africa Women's Cup of Nations qualifier on June 7, 2014.

Her second came in the first leg of the 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers against South Africa at Makhulong Stadium, Johannesburg, where the two teams played out a 0-0 draw on October 3, 2015.

Olanrewaju will now be eligible under these new requirements as she was 20 at the time when she represented Equatorial Guinea and has not played since then for the two-time African champions.

Tottenham have signed highly-rated left-back Sergio Reguilon, with Jose Mourinho securing a deal worth a reported £28 million ($36m) amid rival interest from Manchester United.

The Red Devils had been in discussions with the full-back but never reached the stage of making an official bid as they refused to entertain Madrid's request of including a buy-back clause.

The 23-year-old defender saw his stock rise considerably during the 2019-20 campaign as, having been restricted to just 22 competitive outings for Madrid, the decision was taken for him to spend a season on loan at Sevilla.

He quickly nailed down a regular role in their plans, becoming a full Spain international and Europa League winner along the way.

A collection of consistent and eye-catching performances saw Reguilon emerge as a top target for leading sides across the continent.

Sevilla had hoped that another agreement could be reached with La Liga rivals Real that allowed them to keep an emerging talent on their books.

Admiring glances were also shot in Reguilon’s direction from Old Trafford, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looking to bolster his ranks in Manchester.

United have, however, decided against pursuing a deal and will see a domestic foe benefit from the ability of a buccaneering full-back in 2020-21.

Spurs have already invested heavily in Matt Doherty during the current transfer window, with the Republic of Ireland international snapped up from Wolves.

He is being slotted in on the right of Mourinho’s defensive unit, with Reguilon now set to provide another fresh face on the left.

It could be that he forms a productive partnership with Gareth Bale down that flank, with Tottenham closing in on a second agreement with Real that will see them return a familiar face to north London in an initial season-long loan.

Yakou Meite found the back of the net while Ovie Ejaria shone as Reading secured a 2-0 victory over Barnsley in Saturday’s Championship game.

The Royals started the 2020-21 campaign on an impressive note, defeating Derby County and the African stars were on hand to help the side stretch their fine form.

Ejaria teamed up with the Madejski Stadium outfit permanently this summer from Liverpool after delivering convincing showings during his two loan spells with the club.

The Anglo-Nigerian has hit the ground running this season, scoring against Derby last time out and was handed a starting role against the Tykes

Meite, meanwhile, was afforded his first Championship appearance as a second-half substitute and delivered sizzling performances in the encounter.

Reading started the game impressively, forcing Barnsley to commit a number of fouls in the first half which led to them being reduced to 10 men.

Mads Juel Andersen received a caution in the 23rrd minute and shortly before the break, Michal Helik was sent off.

Reading made their numerical advantage count when the Ivory Coast international opened the scoring in the 67thh minute of the encounter.

Barnsley suffered another setback when they were further reduced to nine men after referee Tim Robinson gave Andersen his marching orders in the 68th minute.

Michael Olise then sealed the victory for the Madejski Stadium outfit eight minutes after the incident.

Ejaria, who featured for the entirety of the game, struck one shot, made one key pass and completed three dribbles while Nigeria international Sone Aluko played for seven minutes in the encounter.

Meite and Ejaria will hope to continue their eye-catching performances in their next league game against Cardiff City on September 26.

The Anglo-Nigerian has represented England at the U20 and U21 levels but he is still eligible to play for the Super Eagles.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) presidential aspirant Sam Nyamweya has termed the ongoing elections across the country as "a flawed exercise".

After two failed attempts, theFKF were finally given the green light to hold elections to elect new officials for the next four years by a local court, last Thursday.

And the Electoral Board led by chairperson Kentice Tikolo moved with speed to start the exercise, with county elections starting the process on Saturday.

However, Nyamweya, who was among the four presidential aspirants who did not present their papers to contest, claiming the exercise has already been rigged, has now described the whole process as “illegality and an exercise in futility.”

“The FKF County elections being carried out today [Saturday] September 19, 2020, is a charade, an exercise in futility and illegality,” Nyamweya said in a signed statement obtained by Goal.

“The whole exercise is riddled with illegalities, glaring electoral malpractices in total violation of the Sports Act 2013 and the constitution of Kenya 2010. Basic and universally acceptable tenets of free, fair and credible and democratic elections have been thrown out of the window and trampled underfoot.

“The FKF Electoral Board has too confirmed our worst fears that it is an appendage of the incumbent, serving the interest of the incumbent and presiding over a coronation exercise other than a credible election.

“As late as this morning the FKF Electoral Board has openly displayed their incompetence and outright bias by moving the venue of Nairobi West Branch from Pumwani to a facility owned by the outgoing NEC member for Nairobi and a member of team blue.

“Further FKF Electoral Board failed to carry out fresh nominations exercise of all the candidates and instead handed over team blue candidates nominations tickets without paying the required nomination fees and going through the nomination process.”

The statement continued: “We are being treated to a circus where we have candidates on the ballot box having not satisfied the criteria for nomination. This alone renders the whole exercise illegal, null, and void.

“The FKF Electoral board has to the advantage of team blue locked out from the voter register thousands of FKF Sub Branch teams that actively participated in FKF organised competitions by so doing denying this member clubs of FKF the opportunity to participate in the Elections. This is a violation of Fifa Statutes and the FKF constitution.

“In view of the foregoing, the only remedy available is for Fifa and the Government of Kenya to put in place a Normalisation Committee that among other things will carry out free, fair, and credible FKF elections.”

The elections will start with the County exercise set for September 19 across the country before the national elections are scheduled for October 17.

Four presidential aspirants – Herbert Mwachiro, Dan Mule, Bonface Osano, and Omondi Aduda – have been cleared to vie for the top seat against incumbent Nick Mwendwa, who will be seeking another term.

It will be the third time in a year that the FKF will be holding elections after the previous two exercises were nullified by the SDT, last December and in March.

Liverpool’s £45 million ($58m) capture of Diogo Jota has been confirmed by Wolves boss Nuno.

Goal confirmed on Friday that a deal was in the offing that would take the Portugal international forward from Molineux to Anfield.

It would appear that discussions have now come to a close, with Jurgen Klopp about to add another proven Premier League performer to his title-winning ranks.

As Jota makes his way to Merseyside, highly-rated defender Ki-Jana Hoever will be heading in the opposite direction.

Nuno is pleased to be welcoming a talented 18-year-old into his squad and wishes Jota well as he prepares to open a new chapter in his career with the reigning English champions.

The Wolves coach has said: “Liverpool are going to have a great player and boy, and Ki has a bright future ahead of him.

“We think this deal is good for everybody. Diogo was really happy here, but it's normal that players like to face new challenges.”

Jota joined the influx of Portuguese talent at Wolves when making an initial loan move to England in 2017.

His hard work and keen eye for goal across an eye-catching debut campaign saw a permanent deal pushed through with Atletico Madrid.

A productive partnership was struck up with Mexican striker Raul Jimenez, with the pair firing Wolves into the top-half of the Premier League and latter stages of the Europa League.

Jota will move on having registered 44 goals and 19 assists through 131 appearances for Wolves.

It remains to be seen how much game time he will see once linking up with Liverpool’s star-studded squad.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino form one of the most fearsome attacking units in world football.

There have, however, been calls for Klopp to add greater depth to his ranks, with there few quality options for him to explore beyond an established front three.

Jota will aid that cause at Anfield, with the 23-year-old likely to see minutes as his new employers compete across multiple fronts.

Liverpool, who have also tied up a deal for Spain international midfielder Thiago Alcantara, will be back in Premier League action on Sunday when taking in a home date with Chelsea, while Wolves – who opened the new campaign with a 2-0 win over Sheffield United – are due to face Manchester City on Monday.

Boubacar Kamara has revealed he wants to continue his stay with Ligue 1 side Marseille beyond this summer in order to compete in the Champions League.

The French-born Senegalese has established himself at the Stade Velodrome since he was promoted to the first team in 2016.

The versatile midfielder featured in 24 league games last season to help the Phocaeans finished second in the division and nick a place in the top European competition.

Kamara has been linked to several European clubs following his consistent performances for Andre Villas-Boas’ men but has assured he will not be leaving Stade Velodrome this summer.

“No there is no doubt for me, I will continue the journey here. We have the Champions League, we finished second, the team remains the same so I will stay,” Kamara said in a pre-match conference.

“It was important to me to play the Champions League here. I don't want to leave Marseille. At the end of the season, I was not thinking of leaving. Nobody was, by the way. Everyone is involved in the project. It would seem weird to leave now.”

Kamara also starred for the Phocaeans as they finished as runner-up in the 2017-18 Europa League campaign.

The midfielder has made three appearances for the Stade Velodrome outfit this season, starting against Paris-Saint Germain, Best and Saint-Etienne.

The 20-year-old will hope to feature when Marseille take on Lille in their next league game on Sunday.

Kamara has featured for France at U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 level but he still eligible to play for Senegal.

Should he decide to switch his allegiance to the West Africans, he would bolster the Teranga Lions, who finished as runner-up in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. 

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed Wilfred Ndidi's deployment to a centre-back role will be temporary.

The midfielder featured in a defensive role for the Foxes in their opening Premier League game of the 2020-21 season against West Bromwich Albion, pairing Caglar Soyuncu at the heart of the Foxes defence.

The Nigeria international was deployed in the unfamiliar role due to the unavailability of Wes Morgan, Jonny Evans and Filip Benkovic.

The 23-year-old starred for the Foxes in the position, helping them to keep a clean sheet and secure a 3-0 victory in the encounter.

The Northern Irish tactician has stated the centre-back role will not be permanent and the Super Eagles star could return to his midfielder position when his defenders overcome their injury and suspension issues.

“Wilf is a player that I have real confidence in,” Rodgers said in a pre-match conference.

“He played the position [centre-back] very well and he has the attributes to play there. We don’t want him there for a long period of time.”

Ndidi has been a consistent performer for Leicester City since he joined the side in January 2017 from Genk.

The Nigeria international has made 121 Premier League appearances for the King Power Stadium outfit and last season he also featured prominently as they finished fifth.

The midfielder will hope to deliver impressive performances when Leicester City face Burnley in their next league game on Sunday.

Ndidi has also primarily featured for the Super Eagles as a holding midfielder since he made his debut against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in October 2015.

The former Genk star starred for the Nigeria national team in the position at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 23-year-old was also part of the West African side that reached the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will struggle to chase down Thierry Henry and Ian Wright in the goal stakes at Arsenal but a man with a new contract to his name can still cement a reputation as a Gunners legend, says Martin Keown.

After a period of much uncertainty at Emirates Stadium, with Mikel Arteta admitting that he feared a deal would not be done at one stage, a talismanic presence has committed to fresh terms.

Aubameyang has extended his association with Arsenal through to 2023, with the Gabonese striker now free to focus on his football and enhancing a record that is already mightily impressive.

The 31-year-old has found the target on 72 occasions through just 111 appearances for the Gunners, with his strike rate helping to land FA Cup and Community Shield honours.

There is every reason to believe that there will be many more efforts to come, with the achievements of some iconic figures there to chase down.

Aubameyang will find it tough to get near Wright (185 goals) and Henry (228 goals) at the top of the Arsenal scoring charts, but Keown expects him to go down in history as an Arsenal great.

The former Gunners defender told talkSPORT: “Aubameyang loves playing there and he wants to be a legend in the future, so why not?

“He’s 31 years of age and he’s turned down Barcelona by the way to stay there. I think that tells you how much he loves the football club and what he’s looking to achieve.

“If they win the Premier League in the next three years then he certainly will become a legend if he plays a major part in that.

“You look at the goals record that he’s got and he can’t get near [Thierry] Henry and I’m not even sure he can catch Ian Wright.

“But he wants to follow in their footsteps. I saw a piece with Ian Wright just a few days ago and he came across very humble during that exchange. He comes across a very genuine character to me.

“It does do something for you that football club – it’s a huge club. I will love that football club until the day I die.

“He feels that way and it does come out in the way he plays. He takes responsibility and has no fear in front of goal.

“He loves it, so why would he want to go somewhere else?”

Keown added, with Aubameyang having shunned interest from Barcelona in order to remain at the Emirates: “Who’s to suggest he can’t fulfil his dreams playing under Arteta?

“Would you really have thought that Arsenal could have won the FA Cup at the end of last season?

“Would you really have believed they could have beat Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool in as many weeks? And then there’s the way they’ve started this season.

“He’s convinced by Arteta and I think that’s the really good news, first of all for the Arsenal fans who have got a manager who is making things happen and turning that football club around.

“It’s a juggernaut he’s turned around – it’s a massive football club.”

Live updates

Line-ups are out and it looks like more key misses for both sides on top of what is already know. Benjamin Mora has gone for Fadhli Shas to come in for Mauricio at centre back with the big Brazilian not in the match day squad. Also out from the starting line-up is central midfielder Afiq Fazail, with Nazmi Faiz coming replacing him.

As for Selangor, B. Sathianathan has opted for the experience of Khyril Muhymeen and Wan Zack Haikal to replace the influence that suspended Brendan Gan brings to the team. A reshuffle that is likely to see Singaporean, Safuwan Baharudin moving back into midfield.

TV channel and Live streaming

The match will be played on 19 September 2020.

Match details

Squad news

Four more rounds of matches to go in the shortened 2020 Malaysia Super League season and JDT are well on their way to retain their title for the sixth straight time. As it stands, only two more wins is required from mathematical standpoint and the first one in their path is Selangor. 

Both times that they met in the league last season, JDT held the upper hand winning 3-2 in Tan Sri Dato Haji Hassan Yunos Stadium and claiming 4-2 victory over the Red Giants at Shah Alam Stadium. The resumption of the league has seen the Southern Tigers in fierce form, winning all three of their matches and scoring a total of 11 goals.

Hariss Harun continues to be on the mend since picking up an injury prior to the match against Suwon Bluewings in the AFC Champions League back in March. In his stead, Ignacio (Natxo) Insa has step in and the former Levante man looks to have found his rhythm alongside Afiq Fazail in midfield.

As for Selangor, they will be without Brendan Gan who is suspended after receiving a red card in the 1-1 draw against Melaka in the previous match. First choice keeper in Khairulazhan Khalid will also be missing as he goes through a matrimonial process. 

Probable line-ups

Malaysia Super League standings after MD7

Clubs in Rwanda have strongly opposed the guidelines given by the Rwanda Football Federation (Ferwafa) regarding the resumption of football in the country.

The teams have been ordered to have all players and officials stay in the same residence once confirmed Covid-19 negative and getting outside the designated area will be a breach of set guidelines.

Also, clubs were asked to ensure all their support staff; ball boys, stadium staff, stewards, security officers, and anyone allowed in the stadium had to be tested. 

The team's delegation will also have to be tested and ensure they provide the feedback three days to their first training and also three days before the start of competitions.

"Ferwafa should look into other options or be willing to support clubs, otherwise it is going to be very difficult to comply with the guidelines. It is just a lot," AS Kigali Secretary-General Francis Gasana said as quoted by The New Times.

"For us [AS Kigali], we also have continental football to play and that is the extra budget needed."

His sentiments were echoed by his counterpart from Gicumbi FC Antoine Birabakoraho who feels there should be negotiations between the involved parties regarding the resumption of games.

"There is a need for talks between Ferwafa and clubs about these guidelines. Otherwise, their implementation is a tough challenge for most – if not all – Rwandan teams.  

"We are not against the safety measures, but what is the point if they are not feasible?"  

Rayon Sports spokesperson Jean-Paul Nkurunziza has also raised his voice stating the Ferwafa did not consider the financial status of the teams before coming up with the aforementioned guidelines.

"Clubs are stakeholders and their views matter. Ferwafa did not take into consideration the practicality and financial capacity of teams before coming up with the guidelines," Nkurunziza said.

"Many clubs such as ours earn from gate collections and that income is gone because matches will be played behind closed doors. That, alone, will have a huge impact on our sustainability."  

Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) who is also Police FC Secretary-General Maurice Karangwa also had his say on the restrictions.

"The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic continues and we cannot undermine its seriousness, so the return of football must be as safe as possible."  

Football in Rwanda has not been played since March 15. 

Timo Werner has become the first Chelsea men's player to sign up to Common Goal as he pledges at least one per cent of his salary to help causes relating to disadvantaged youth.

The 24-year-old had just made a £47.5 million ($61m) switch to Stamford Bridge in the summer and earns around £200,000 a week after excelling at RB Leipzig for the last few seasons.

Chelsea face Liverpool at the weekend and Werner will come up against fellow Common Goal funder Jurgen Klopp, while the Blues have two women's players signed up to the cause in new signing Pernille Harder and Magda Eriksson.

Paulo Dybala recently signed up too, adding to illustrious football figures such as Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Serge Gnabry and Juan Mata raising awareness for the cause that wants to unlock 1% of the entire football industry's revenue which could raise up to $50bn per year.

Speaking about joining up, Werner said: "I feel very privileged that I can live my dream of transferring to Chelsea. At the same time, I am very conscious of the fact that there are people all over the world currently struggling to tackle the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

"That's why I would like to try my best to help as best as I can through Common Goal. The great thing about the movement is that I decide where my money goes. There are certain issues that particularly move me and I am also interested in supporting and kicking off projects in Stuttgart and Leipzig.

"The more famous footballers get involved, the more awareness we can raise for Common Goal. And if just one fan donates 10 euros because Timo Werner is involved, then that's great."

Werner's former club RB Leipzig also has both Julian Nagelsman and Daniel Olmo signed up to the cause that redistributes funds to charity causes.

In giving back to Leipzig, Werner maintains a connection with his former club and indeed Stuttgart, where he both grew up and began his career in the Bundesliga. Frank Lampard spoke about the striker's character ahead of Sunday's clash with the Reds.

“I asked some people about him. We had a player, Ethan Ampadu, who was on loan at Leipzig last year so there was an obvious connection," Lampard said about the striker. "There are ways you can see very easily into the lives of the players in the modern-day - social media and those things.

"For me, the biggest factor is you can always hear second or third hand about how hungry they are but it’s not until you speak to them and get that interaction going that you start to have that feel for the person and their hunger and drive, and their humility.

"So when I spoke to Timo, I felt that from him instantly and, from the training ground as well, he is a low maintenance player which I just love. They just want to train and want to work and give everything and be a huge plus to the team.

"Timo has shown that already and I’m sure that will be a big part of the successful career I truly believe he will have here as a Chelsea player.”

Kaizer Chiefs are reportedly looking to add former Bafana Bafana winger Dillon Sheppard to their technical team.

The Soweto giants recently appointed Gavin Hunt as their new head coach - replacing Ernst Middendorp on a long-term deal.

The club confirmed that they will make an announcement regarding the assistant coach position in due course.

Reports linking Sheppard with the Glamours Boys have since emerged with the 41-year-old tactician having worked with Hunt at Bidvest Wits as the assistant coach. 

“Gavin Hunt wants Sheppard to be part of his technical and they are also an indication that he [Sheppard] may coach the Diski team and Arthur Zwane is his assistant coach,” a source told Daily Sun.

Hunt and Sheppard became free agents after Wits sold their Premier Soccer League (PSL) status to National First Division (NFD) outfit Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila.

The new owners are set to relocate the club to Limpopo and rename it Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila and they made it clear that they would not be retaining the technical team.

Sheppard, who retired from professional football in 2017, has been linked with reigning PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns since last week. 

Masandawana are reportedly looking to bring in Sheppard as an academy coach with the former Lamontville Golden Arrows winger having served as Wits' reserve team head coach in the past.

It remains to be seen whether the man nicknamed Sheppy will be open to a returning to his former club having spent three seasons with Sundowns between 2006 and 2009.

Sheppy had a successful spell with Masandawana as he helped the team clinch three major trophies during his three-year stint with the club.

The Durban-born legend was part of the Sundowns team which lifted the 2006/07 PSL title, 2007 SAA Supa 8 (MTN8) and 2008 Nedbank Cup.