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I-League club Real Kashmir is close to agreeing to a deal for former FC Goa midfielder Pratesh Shirodkar, Goal has learnt. 

The 31-year-old, who won the Super Cup with the Gaurs in 2019, was training with Dempo FC since February 2020. But he is now all set to move to the Srinagar-based club. In January, he was close to joining an Indian Super League (ISL) team but the deal didn't go through.

Shirodkar graduated from the SESA Football Academy and went on to play for Sporting Goa and Mumbai City FC before signing for FC Goa in 2016. Although the midfielder has not been able to pick up regular first-team minutes lately, his new club will be hopeful of making full use of his experience as they prepare for the 2020-21 I-League season. 

He has also played for Mumbai FC in the I-League.

The upcoming season of I-League is set to be played at a single venue, in Kolkata, amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Real Kashmir has already started gearing up for the start of the season. 

"We are geared for any eventuality. You will miss your home advantage but during this kind of a pandemic, there is nothing you can do about it. Nevertheless, we have already started our preparations for the next season. We are in constant touch with David (Robertson), Mason (Robertson), and our local players.ISL (Indian Super League) is supposed to start in November. So we are expecting that I-League should start somewhere in December," club owner Sandeep Chattoo had told Goal. 

Shirodkar is a box-to-box midfielder who is known for his passing range. The 31-year-old will be looking to gain some consistent playing time at Real Kashmir.

Former India international Steven Dias hopes to continue his journey as a coach in the Indian Super League (ISL).

The 36-year-old served as assistant coach at Jamshedpur FC in the sixth edition of the ISL and is amongst the frontrunners to join Stuart Baxter's coaching staff at Odisha FC for the upcoming season.

Dias, who has played for various clubs in the NFL (National Football League) and the I-League including the likes of Mahindra United (disbanded in 2010) and Churchill Brothers, cleared his AFC (Asian Football Confederation) 'C' License coaching course in 2014.

He won the NFL with Mahindra in 2005-06 and followed it up with an I-League victory with Churchill Brothers in 2012-13.

In the ISL, Dias has played for Delhi Dynamos (now Odisha FC) in the inaugural year of the competition after which he pursued his coaching licenses. He last played in the top flight with Mumbai FC (now defunct) in 2017 in the I-League.

"When nothing worked for me (as a player) in the ISL (2015), I realised that it was time for me to concentrate on doing my (coaching) licenses. And by doing these licenses, trust me, the kind of knowledge you get was something you never got as a player," Dias mentioned to Goal.

"I think every player should take up their coaching licenses because they can definitely stand to benefit."

Dias, along with former Air India team-mates Santosh Koli and Vijith Shetty, started the Ambitious Football Academy in 2017. After completing his AFC 'A' License in 2018, he had a stint with FC Mumbaikars and also took up a role assistant coach at U Mumba FC - a project which never saw the light of day.

He has served as an assistant to Antonio Iriondo at Jamshedpur in the ISL last season. Dias feels that experience was extremely beneficial in his coaching career.

"Honestly, I never thought I would be coaching at an ISL club so soon. I was trying for some club in the second division I-League or maybe I-League where I would get to learn something when the offer came in from Jamshedpur."

"I had a very good experience at Jamshedpur. Although we didn't do that well, I still learnt a lot of things. It was a good experience with the Spanish staff," he concluded.

Seko Fofana said Udinese gave everything in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat of Juventus at Stadio Friuli.

Maurizio Sarri’s men went into the Italian topflight encounter needing a win to claim the 2019-20 Italian Serie A title, however, they were shocked by the Little Zebras who were in dire need of a positive result to remain in the topflight next season.

Matthijs de Ligt put the Bianconeri on the path to glory towards the end of a tepid first half before Ilija Nestorovski's excellent diving header restored parity in the 52nd minute, with Fofana scoring the winner to keep the Old Lady’s champagne on ice.

While the Cote d’Ivoire international - who now boasts of three Serie A goals this season  - understandably dominated the headlines, he claimed that every member of Luca Gotti’s matchday squad made the difference.

Speaking to Udinese TV, the midfielder also revealed the inspiration for his team’s performance against the visitors from Turin.

"I saw Becao's header and I felt I could take the ball, I went for it and fortunately I had the strength to go all the way and score.” the 25-year-old said.

“However, I'm not the only who made a difference in this team, we've shown that we could beat anyone despite several absences in the squad but we were able to adapt.

“We gave everything and we are very happy with the result, but we played well in almost every post-lockdown game. 

“We didn't concede many goals and all the games were balanced, but often we struggled in the last few minutes and I think that's normal.”

“Everyone believed that Juventus came to celebrate today but we are not their waiters and we played with great personality,” he continued.

“I was able to make a difference in the past, but now it's different because we have to play with our heads. 

“We have a lot of pressure but we always have to be careful, we have to keep going like this and make as many points in the last three points and then celebrate.

“Finally I'm sorry that there were no fans, we could have celebrated this great victory together.”

Luca Gotti’s men travel to Cagliari on Sunday, while Juve welcome Sampdoria with victory handing them the league title. 

U.S. men's national team boss Gregg Berhalter says that he believes that Gio Reyna is ready for bigger challenges as the  Borussia Dortmund star gears up for his inevitable senior international debut.

Reyna broke through in a big way with Dortmund this season, making 18 appearances for the Bundesliga giants in his first season with the senior team.

The 17-year-old, who scored a stunning goal against Werder Bremen in the DFB-Pokal, became part of an attacking trio alongside fellow teenagers Erling Haaland and Jadon Sancho, as Dortmund boast one of the youngest and most dynamic attacks in the world.

Reyna became the third-youngest player ever to appear in a knockout game of the Champions League when he featured off the bench against Paris Saint-Germain while he also becoming the youngest American to record an assist in a Champions League fixture by setting up Haaland in that match.

Having become a regular with Dortmund, Reyna's rise to the USMNT has become inevitable, with the youngster expected to follow in the footsteps of his father, Claudio, who featured prominently for the USMNT and his mother, Danielle Egan, a former member of the U.S. women's national team.

Berhalter confirmed in February that Reyna was set to be called in for March friendlies, only for the coronavirus to force a half for the international game.

And the U.S. boss reiterated that he expects Reyna to be part of his plans when the national team does reconvene as he looks to give the talented youngster a chance to take yet another step forward.

“Dortmund did a great job of integrating him into the group in a calculated way to help him perform at high levels,” Berhalter told SBI Soccer. “How do we challenge him? How do we put him in a difficult environment to help him grow as a player? He’s one of those players who will keep rising to the challenge and we need to provide him with that.”

“Gio’s going to grow into a fantastic player, there’s no question about it,” Berhalter added. “Our job is to help with that growth. Does that mean him getting an opportunity, an early opportunity, to play in difficult games? That’s going to make him better, make him rise to an even higher level.”

William Troost-Ekong claimed Udinese deserved to beat Juventus in Thursday’s Italian topflight encounter.

Going down to Matthijs de Ligt’s 42nd minute effort, Luca Gotti’s men bounced back to win 2-1 thanks to strikes from Ilija Nestorovski and Cote d’Ivoire international Seko Fofana.

For Maurizio Sarri's men, defeat meant they would have to wait until another day to work towards clinching their ninth successive Serie A title.

According to the Nigeria international, the Old Lady’s desire to seal the Italian topflight title at Stadio Friuli spurred them to victory.

"I am very happy because of these three heavy points and also because before the game, no one would have bet on us,” Troost-Ekong told Udinese TV.

“They came here to celebrate and that charged us before the game. Today [on Thursday] we played with personality and we deserved to win.”

The former Bursaspor and Gent man switched from the defence to the midfield against Juventus. However, the 26-year-old is unbothered, assuring that he is ready to feature wherever manager Gotti wants his input.

“Well, I played in the middle for two years but after the lockdown, the manager wanted me to move to the right,” he continued.

“Obviously, he decides how we get on the field but I think as a defensive midfielder I can be more useful to the team.”

Troost-Ekong was cautioned in the 20th minute for a clumsy challenge on Aaron Ramsey - and will miss Sunday’s outing with Cagliari on Sunday over card accumulation.

Although he disputes the caution from referee Massimiliano Irrati, the defender is optimistic that without him, Udinese will get the much needed result while hoping to be back versus Lecce on July 29.

“In my opinion it was not a serious foul to have warranted a caution, however, I have confidence in the team and I know they can do it even without me,” he added.

“On the other hand, I hope to be able to help them in the challenge against Lecce.”

With Thursday’s result, Gotti’s side moved to 15th in the Italian topflight log having garnered 39 points from 35 league outings - seven points off the drop zone.

The big news in Asian football this week is the start of the 2020 Chinese Super League (CSL) season on July 25, after a five month delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The competition should have originally started on February 22 earlier this year, only for the Coronavirus to throw normal life out of gear.

But the CSL is finally set to kick-off, albeit in a tightly-controlled environment with a several major changes to the format. Instead of the home-and-away system, the 16 CSL teams will be divided into two groups where they will play each other once in a round robin format. The top four teams from each group will then play a championship stage while the bottom four will play a relegation round.

All in all, CSL's 2020 season is set to be completed in 70 days at two centralised venues behind closed doors. While one group will be based in Suzhou near Shanghai, the other group will play in Dalian.

All the games in CSL this season are free to watch via mobiles.

The Indian Super League (ISL) and I-League - India's two top leagues are also set to play the 2020-21 season at centralised venues. The pandemic has eased in China which was the epicentre but India has seen record increases in the infection rate of late. As such, it could very well be the case that by November 2020 (which is when the ISL and I-League are expected to start), the All India Football Federation (AIFF) might well have to take a leaf out of CSL's books when it comes to social distancing protocols.

CSL organisers have implemented extremely strict measures to create a bio-secure bubble in which all the various stakeholders will remain till the end of the competition. What exactly are these measures?

What is the Bio-Bubble in CSL?

All the teams have been housed in a sealed-off hotel at each venue - Taimei Xiangguli Hotel in Suzhou and the Crowne Plaza in Dalian. Moreover, the players will only be allowed to go to the stadium and the training pitch apart from the hotel.

How is the safety of the Bio-Bubble maintained?

All players, staff and anybody associated with the competition were tested for the virus before entering the 'environment'. All overseas players were quarantined and tested before they were allowed to join their teams.

To be specific, everyone is required to complete one antibody and two nucleic acid tests within three weeks before arriving at the zone hotel, and only after passing these tests can they proceed.

1870 people have received Covid-19 tests in Suzhou and Dalian.

All living and match areas have been divided into Blue, Green and Purple zones.

Blue Zone

Now, the stadium, hotel and resting areas of players have all been designated as blue zones. This is the highest level of epidemic prevention CSL has implemented. The referees, core match officials, players, club staff all fall in this zone. The blue zone is strictly isolated from the outside world and is subject to complete closure until the end of the tournament. Those in the blue zone cannot interact with anybody from a different zone.

Those in the blue zones move between the stadium, hotel and training facility in special vehicles.

Importantly, staff in the hotels who have to interact with the players also fall under the blue zone and must remain in it until the end of the tournament. Anybody in the blue zone cannot visit or interact with anybody, be it close family or friends, for the duration of the tournament.

Blue zone members cannot have food from the outside or have food delivered. They must eat from the dedicated restaurants at the hotel.

It must be noted that psychological counselling has been made available to everybody in the blue zone to deal with the mental stress such circumstances can create.

All those in the blue zone will be tested continuosly for signs of infection every week. The players will be required to use Alibaba's remote conference platform DingTalk to report their whereabouts at designated times.

Green Zone

The green zone belongs to journalists and photographers mainly. The journalists also have to complete the testing protocols before entering the designated media hotel.

There are designated green zones inside the stadium for text reporters and fixed spots on the touchline for photographers who are not allowed to move around for photos. Of course, they cannot get anyway near the players or anyone in the blue zone.

Safe to say, there are no face-to-face interviews and all pre-match and post-match press conferences are conducted online.

Purple Zone

The purple zone belongs to temporary employees who have been brought in for any special tasks.

How will those in the Blue Zone be entertained for the entirety of the competition?

The players will not be able to drink alcohol or coke at the hotels. However, for their entertainment, the hotels have been turned into miniature towns with cafes, hair-dressers, libraries and even convenience stores.

There are also various indoor games set up including video-game machines, karaoke, table-tennis and more.

Quarantine protocols and current state in Dalian

Of course, there are special quarantine facilities set up in case anybody is tested positive during the duration of the tournament. It must be noted that the city of Dalian has reported several positive cases in the past few days and as such, there is a bit of apprehension among the stakeholders.

Lessons for Indian football?

The rate at which the Covid-19 cases are rising in India, it is highly likely that AIFF might have to end up imposing strict protocols in order to smoothly conduct the ISL and the I-League for the upcoming season.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to see how the CSL unfolds over the next couple of months and how these protocols hold up.

The Indian Football Association (IFA), the football governing body in West Bengal has topped the rankings of All India Football Federation’s Performance Assessment for the 2019-20 season.

Joydeep Mukherjee, who took charge of the IFA as its General Secretary just an year ago, has done an exemplary job in uplifting the reputation of the state association.

When Mukherjee took charge, IFA was struggling on all fronts, especially financially as they were under huge debts.

After taking charge in July 2019, Mukherjee had said, "For the position, the IFA is in today, it has dug its own hole through the years. I have been given this responsibility now and I hope to have the support of everyone to be successful. If I cannot be successful, I will move away from this post myself.

"There are outstanding debts of the IFA and we will try to bring in sponsors and pay those off. But, at the same time, we have to improve the quality and quantity of football under our wing. I believe nothing is impossible."

The General Secretary indeed kept all the promises he made after getting elected to the office and has delivered within just a year. He mentioned that being part of the IFA earlier helped him identify the areas that needed immediate attention.

“This is teamwork. It is not possible for only the secretary to function. It is collective hard work where I am just a part of it. I have been associated with sports for a very long time and I was also the assistant secretary of the IFA four years back. So I knew the loopholes that existed within the organisation. So when I took charge it wasn’t very difficult to make the changes," he told Goal.

Mukherjee mentioned that without AIFF General Secretary Kushal Das’ support, IFA would not have been able to top the assessment rankings. He expressed his gratitude towards the Indian FA for awarding West Bengal with multiple national-level tournaments last season which helped the state body attract multiple sponsors.

“I am thankful to every single individual at AIFF but I have to especially thank Kushal Das for his continuous support and encouragement for Bengal football. When I took charge, we hardly had any sponsors but thanks to the multiple tournaments which were awarded to the state, we managed to attract sponsors and money and it would not have been possible without Kushal Das’ support,” said Mukherjee.

The IFA Secretary also shared the organisation’s vast range of plans for the future in which Development of youth and Women’s football is at the top of the priority list.

“We are working on youth development, promoting and organising the baby leagues and promotion of Women’s football,” Mukherjee told Goal .

“From the next season, we will segregate all our divisions on the basis of age groups. The Nursery ‘A’ and ‘B’ divisions will be U-13 and U-15 respectively. Above the nursery league is the Fifth Division ‘B’ and ‘A’ leagues which will be U-16 and U-17 respectively. Then the fourth division will be a U-18 competition followed by the third division which will be U-19 and the Second Division U-20. Our plan was to implement this from this season onwards but due to the pandemic it got postponed but from next season these rules will surely be implemented,” said the administrator.

The IFA has planned to start a residential academy for U-17 women footballers in the outskirts of Kolkata which will help to strengthen the future of West Bengal Women’s football team.

“We are also focusing on Women’s football. We are planning to start a residential academy with all facilities for U-17 footballers from Bengal. We will do an extensive scouting and the selected 30 candidates will be kept in the academy.”

Mukherjee also revealed that they are extensively working on coaches and referees education. He said, “We did most number of coaching licenses last year. We are trying to do it on a monthly basis. For that, we have appointed specialised people who make all the arrangements.

“We are also planning to conduct a free crash course of English learning for the coach’s so that they don’t face language barriers in future.”

Mukherjee is not just focusing on coaches education but also wants to improve the standards of refereeing. IFA has already started an academy for this purpose.

“IFA has already started a referee’s academy in collaboration with the Calcutta Referee’s Association (CRA) were 80 candidates had applied and 26 have been shortlisted. Out of the 26 candidates, 20 are men and six are women. When we discussed about Women’s football I made it a point that all women’s matches should have women match officials and women physiotherapists.”

New footage has emerged of Frank Lampard's altercation with Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool on Wednesday, with the Chelsea boss telling the German to "f*** off" and "sit down" as part of a first-half row.

The two sides met on Anfield on Wednesday to precede Liverpool's long-awaited trophy celebration, having secured the club's first-ever Premier League title this season.

Klopp's Reds went on to secure a 5-3 win in an absolute thriller, with five different Reds firing goals in the club's final home match of the season.

While the Reds' campaign is little more than a victory parade at this point, Lampard's Chelsea remain in a tight race for a top-four place and, more importantly, the Champions League spot that comes with it.

And Lampard's emotions boiled over during the first half of Wednesday's match after a foul was called on Matteo Kovacic, paving the way for a Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick goal.

In the moments between the foul and the goal, Lampard got into an altercation with Klopp and the Liverpool bench, with the Chelsea boss repeatedly telling the Reds staff to "f*** off" during the exchange.

Lampard initially shouted, "How is that a foul? There's no foul there," before getting into a war of words with Klopp, who repeatedly told the Chelsea manager to "calm down".

The former midfielder then took aim at Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders, who, moments later, enthusiastically celebrated the Alexander-Arnold goal as Lampard looked on.

Klopp attempted to defend his assistant, telling Lampard not to tell at his No. 2, with Lampard replying: "No, no, if he's going off at me, I'll f****** say something!"

After the match, Lampard made sure to state that he has full respect for Klopp and Liverpool, but added that the manager must make sure his side does not get too "arrogant".

The two managers shook hands after the match, with Lampard also appearing on Sadio Mane's live stream of the post-match celebrations as he congratulated the Liverpool winger on the league title.

Longtime Premier League manager Sam Allardyce weighed in on the incident, stating on talkSPORT that Lampard is within his rights to call out perceived disrespect.

"I think Frank has been a lot better than I was, as a young manager I found myself a few times in front of the disciplinary committee," Allardyce said.

“But if anybody wants to say ‘don’t get too arrogant about it’, it’s Frank isn’t it? “If it’s anybody else, they’ve not done it, but Frank’s done it all.

“So if Frank’s giving them a bit of a tip, then he’s seen something he didn’t like, something he thinks is a little bit arrogant, and he’s the one man who can mention it.

“And if it is the bench at Liverpool they should take notice of it, because Frank has done the lot.”

Maurizio Sarri believes Juventus are "physically and mentally tired" after falling to a surprise loss to Udinese on Thursday.

Juventus had a chance to clinch the Scudetto on Thursday, with Sarri's side knowing that a win would see them officially claim their ninth consecutive domestic triumph.

After Matthijs de Ligt put Juve on track to seal the Serie A title just before halftime, relegation-threatened Udinese fought back with two goals in the second half to seal the win.

Ilija Nestorovski equalised just seven minutes into the second half before Seko Fofana scored a dramatic 92nd-minute winner, leaving Juve six points clear with three games remaining.

Atalanta currently maintain that second-place spot on 74 points with Inter and Lazio lurking just behind on 73 and 72 points, respectively.

Despite having the inside track on the Serie A title, Sarri  lamented his side's fatigue amid a busy run of fixtures, after their sixth game already this month.

"In this period, we are physically and mentally tired, and it is a problem common to all," the Juventus head coach said following the defeat.

"For this reason, being aggressive is something more tiring and, therefore, now what matters most is order, because the inertia of a game changes very easily.

"It is difficult to keep it throughout the match and sometimes, like today, we lose it."

Juve will instead get a chance to secure a ninth straight Serie A title when they host Sampdoria on Sunday with just three games remaining in the Italian season.

Sarri said his focus was entirely on that clash, not next month's Champions League meeting with Lyon.

"At the moment I am not thinking about the Champions League, in my mind there is only Sampdoria and Sunday's match," he said.

"We have to be on the ball and then we'll think about the cup."

After taking on Sampdoria, Sarri and Juventus will visit Cagliari three days later before closing the season with a match against Roma at home.

Once they're through those matches, Juve will play host to Lyon, who will visit Italy nursing a 1-0 lead from the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 encounter.

Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel leapt to the defence of Manchester United counterpart David de Gea amid mounting criticism of the Spain star.

De Gea's position as number one goalkeeper at Premier League giants United has once again been thrust into the spotlight following his inconsistent performances in 2019-20.

Calls for highly-rated English keeper Dean Henderson – on loan at Sheffield United – to be recalled have grown louder following De Gea's nightmare display against Chelsea in last week's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

De Gea failed to keep out Olivier Giroud's close-range effort before he was beaten with embarrassing ease following Mason Mount's speculative long-range effort in Chelsea's 3-1 triumph, though the long-serving keeper retained his place in Wednesday's 1-1 Premier League draw against West Ham.

As Man Utd prepare for Sunday's blockbuster final-day trip to fifth-placed Leicester, which will determine who qualifies for next season's Champions League, Schmeichel backed De Gea.

"It can be very difficult and you've got to remember, and this is with absolutely no disrespect to journalists or pundits, but you've actually never stood in that goal," Schmeichel told Sky Sports.

"You would classify things as mistakes or errors, and there are things that are glaring sometimes, but often this narrative can be created around a goalkeeper because it's the pundits' and journalists' job to educate and that's their job.

"They're telling their educated opinions about goalkeeping, things like hand positions, feet positions, technical things which sometimes is quite damaging to a goalkeeper.

"You hear comments like, 'going with the wrong hand', or other throw away things that they'll say which will make the consumer or viewer think, 'oh yeah, that's right, I see he's done it again'.

"That's sometimes quite a dangerous narrative because all of a sudden it starts building momentum and for someone like David, I really feel for him because he has been unbelievable for so many years and every goalkeeper goes through periods [of poor form].

"There is a lot of pressure also in the sense that you now have an England goalkeeper coming through and, like it or not, in this country when you have an English goalkeeper, that means so much and they really do tend to build them up.

"I genuinely hope for someone like Dean Henderson, who's had an amazing season, that he can be allowed to develop. I hope for him, he gets another season, maybe two at Sheffield United and play the way he's done and then he'll be ready.

"But for now, David de Gea is still a world-class goalkeeper. It's a lonely position and those are the margins you play in as a goalkeeper – you simply cannot make mistakes because you will be punished.

"So the difference between goalkeepers and outfielders is the little, tiny, minute details which are the difference and when they go against you, they are really glaring and they will be spotted.

"Outfielders don't have to have the same mentality and they say we're crazy, which we are because we're the only ones who dare to take the responsibility because if outfielders took that kind of responsibility, we'd have some unbelievable players everywhere."

De Gea, who joined Man Utd from Atletico Madrid in 2011, surpassed Peter Schmeichel – Kasper's father – to become the overseas player with the most appearances for the Red Devils earlier this month.

United are third in the Premier League after 37 rounds, level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea and a point clear of Leicester.

Tosin Adarabioyo has taken to social media to announce the end of his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers.

The 22-year Anglo-Nigerian joined Rovers from his parent club Manchester City and went on to make 34 appearances, scoring three goals and providing one assist.

His goals all resulted in victories over Sheffield Wednesday (2-1), Charlton Athletic (2-0) and Bristol City (3-1), while his assist was in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City.

Adarabioyo played for the entire 90 minutes in all but two matches while he missed being named in the Blackburn matchday squad on 10 occasions including the final two games of the season against Reading and Luton Town.

The Manchester-born defender averaged 1.9 interceptions per game in the Championship while also averaging 0.9 tackles and 4.7 interceptions. His total duels won stood at 4.6 per game at 67%, 1.4 being ground duels at 60% and 3.2 duels in the air at 70%.

Blackburn finished the season in 11th spot, with 63 points, seven shy of the promotion play-off spot, winning 17 of their 46 games, drawing 12 and losing another 17 matches, also scoring 66 goals and conceding 63.

“After a joyful season, my time at Rovers has come to an end,” Adarabioyo wrote in an Instagram post.

“I’ve had the best experience and lessons on the pitch, in my whole career so far and I’d just like to thank the gaffer, my teammates, the backroom staff and every single fan who’s supported and helped my development this season.

“I wish you all the best in the future!”

Adarabioyo was previously on loan at West Bromwich Albion in  2018-19, playing 36 times in all competitions as the Baggies finished fourth before losing out 4-3 via penalties to Aston Villa in the second leg of the promotion play-off semi-finals after it ended 2-2 on aggregate.

Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray had already admitted that Adarabioyo – who has played eight times in all competitions for the Manchester City first team since his debut in 2016, won’t be staying at Ewood Park as the Lancashire outfit could not afford to sign him permanently.

“Ultimately, we couldn’t afford him, that’s the first part of the question. This is why this loan system is really good because not in a million years could we afford Tosin Adarabioyo,” Mowbray said as per Lancashire Telegraph.

“We’ll wait and see, but I’m not thinking sat here that Tosin will be starting next season with us unless Man City do us a huge favour, of course, I’m not sure that will be the case.

“Adarabioyo, in my opinion, he’s been very good for us. He’s still a young boy learning his trade in such a crucial position. He has wonderful attributes.

“I hope he’s enjoyed it. We’d love to have him back, I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

Seko Fofana was Udinese’s hero as they secured a 2-1 comeback win over Juventus on Thursday to move clear of the Serie A relegation zone.

Maurizio Sarri’s team went into the encounter at Stadio Friuli needing a victory over the Little Zebra to clinch their ninth successive Italian topflight title.

Three minutes into the half time break, Matthijs de Ligt put Bianconeri ahead after controlling William Troost-Ekong’s headed clearance before firing past goalkeeper Juan Musso.

Nevertheless, the hosts fought back like a wounded lion to seal all points at stake. First, Ilija Nestorovski levelled scores in the 52nd minute after beating Wojciech Szczesny courtesy of an assist from Ken Sema.

With the game heading for a draw, the Cote d’Ivoire international settled the fixture after outmuscling De Ligt before firing home in the 92nd minute – to leave Juventus stunned.

Udinese's result means Atalanta, Inter Milan and Lazio still have an opportunity to overthrowing the Old Lady, who have won just one of their past five matches as they stagger towards the finish line.

Nigeria’s Troost-Ekong was in action for all duration, but he was cautioned in the 20th minute by referee Massimiliano Irrati for a reckless challenge.

Apart from his goal, 25-year-old Fofana who was playing his 30th game of the season recorded two shots, 61 touches, four dribbles, 50 passes, a passing accuracy of 94 percent with 83 percent of his duels in an outstanding midfield showing.

Manager Luca Goti praised his men for the hard-earned victory while expressing his satisfaction with the game’s outcome.

"The victory against Juventus is an important aspect for the fan and for those who are from Friuli, but I would contextualise this victory against the leaders,” he told club website.

“I am of the opinion that this team, as far as it has expressed on the field, deserves a different ranking and we have been extremely penalised by our mistakes”

Udinese have now arrested their three consecutive games without victory to move up to 15th in the Italian elite division log with 39 points from 35 league outings. They travel to the Sardegna Arena on Sunday to tackle 13th placed Cagliari who suffered a 2-1 loss to Lazio on Thursday.

The Premier League introduced the increased the maximum number of substitutes to make in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak, but what other rules could be implemented for the 2020-21 season?

Goal takes a look.

Five substitutes

The rule change, implemented for the restart of the Premier League and the remainder of the 2019-20 season, allows for teams to make five substitional changes - an increase from the usual three.

Additionally, the maximum number of substitutes permitted to sit on the bench was also increased from seven to nine.

The rule changes were made with player welfare in mind, and to ease footballers back into the physical demands of the game following three months without regular competitive action.

Though the rule was initially introduced only for competitions ending in 2020, Premier League clubs are set to meet at the end of July to discuss if the rule will become permanent for the 2020-21 season.

The directors of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) extended the amendment to the laws of the game to apply to league competitions that end on or before July 31, 2021.

Each competition, however, will be able to decide individually if they wish to implement the rule permanently.

A statement from IFAB read: "Following the decision taken on 8 May 2020 to give competitions scheduled to be completed in 2020 the option of allowing teams to use up to five substitutes, the IFAB Board of Directors had agreed to review whether to extend this option further.

"On the basis of this in-depth review based on stakeholder feedback and analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on competition calendars, the IFAB Board of Directors has approved to extend the option to competitions scheduled to be completed by 31 July 2021 and international competitions scheduled in July/August 2021.

"The main reason for the temporary amendment to Law 3 - The Players was the impact on player welfare of competitions being played in a condensed period and in different weather conditions.

"The recent review has shown that the reasons for the temporary amendment remain valid and the impact on player welfare is likely to continue into 2021."

The initial statement from IFAB drew criticism from various football figures, with the likes of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville suggesting that the allowance of more substitutes would unfairly benefit affluent clubs.

William Saliba says that he has "a crush" on Arsenal as the defender now looks ahead to officially joining up with the Gunners after completing his loan spell with Saint-Etienne.

Saliba signed with Arsenal in July 2019 as the Gunners completed a £25 million ($32m) deal to acquire the French teenager from Saint-Etienne

As part of that deal, the defender would be loaned back to the Ligue 1 side for the 2019-20 campaign, as he went on to make 12 appearances in Ligue 1 this season.

Now, with the Ligue 1 season over, Saliba can look ahead towards his dream move to London for the 2020-21 campaign.

Reflecting on his loan spell, Saliba says that he is glad that he was able to spend one more season with Saint-Etienne, allowing him to mentally and physically prepare for what will be a massive leap to a club like Arsenal after overcoming injury issues with the French side.

"I fell for Arsenal from the start," he told L'Equipe. "A number of French players have been there.

"Arsenal has not been at the top of its game for the last three, four years. But, like Saint-Etienne, its badge, its history and its fans made me want it.

"I have a crush on Arsenal. What it gives off speaks to me. I had no hesitation. I am discovering another world."

He added: "After a good first season with 19 matches (with Saint-Etienne), I need to confirm my potential. I was not yet ready to go to Arsenal. But I was unlucky, because I endured a year of injuries.

"It was truly difficult, when I was not able to play in very important matches, notably in the Europa League. At least, it forged me mentally and showed what I could face in the future."

Manager Claude Puel recently revealed that Saliba would miss the upcoming Coupe de France final, as the defender has played his last game for the club.

However, Saliba will be in attendance on Friday as Saint-Etienne takes on Paris Saint-Germain in the finale, giving him one last bit of closure despite his unhappiness at not being able to play one last time.

"I couldn’t miss this. As I am not able to play, I want to at least feel this final as much as possible, by supporting my team in the stadium," he said. 

"In front of the TV, it would not be the same. It was important for me to be there, hoping to see Les Verts win. It will also allow me to say goodbye to my team-mates properly. Because I left like I was a robber.

"It would have been my first final, my second year as a professional. Of course, I hope to play other finals, but you are never sure of anything.

"On top of that, it would have been my last match with the club that formed me. I hoped, hoped. Truly. Even when it became impossible.

"The two clubs did everything for me to play. But they did not reach an agreement. I was very disappointed."

Juventus paid the price for wanting "to win at all costs" in their surprise 2-1 defeat to Udinese on Thursday, says Maurizio Sarri.

A victory at the Dacia Arena would have seen Juve clinch their ninth successive Scudetto and Matthijs de Ligt's superb 20-yard effort put them en route to doing exactly that.

Ilija Nestorovski restored parity in the 52nd minute and the Bianconeri laboured in their push for a winner.

They were caught on the break in the second minute of added time and Seko Fofana slotted home to give Udinese an unlikely victory.

Juve's advantage at the top will be cut to three points if Atalanta beat Milan on Friday, but the leaders can still seal the title by defeating Sampdoria on Sunday.

"This is what has been happening lately, we've lost our organisation and shape," Sarri told Sky Sport Italia.

"After a good first half we wanted to win it at all costs and we were messy, making the game more dangerous. We lost it in the 92nd minute because we wanted to win at all costs.

"It is difficult [to find balance], we are all more tired and teams struggle to be aggressive. Organisation is now more important than aggression.

"In the first half we did well. After the equaliser we had a bad reaction. We had to play with more serenity.

"It's difficult to keep up mentally and physically for 90 minutes. We must learn from these lessons and try to fix it."

Juve have dropped 18 points from winning positions this term and conceded 38 goals in Serie A, the most since they shipped 47 when finishing seventh in 2010-11.

Asked about their defensive record, Sarri said: "We have also had 12 penalties against – it's not a number that great teams usually suffer.

"But it has increased for everyone, it's reached an all-time record, even if we have increased more in percentage terms.

"We have missed Giorgio [Chiellini] all season. In the long run you feel the absence of his personality, which would have been more than useful.

"The season has gone like this because of injuries, but we have to keep going."

Gareth Bale needs to sit down with Real Madrid to resolve the ongoing uncertainty around his future at the club, according to John Toshack.

The former Real Madrid and Wales manager also believes Bale would benefit from being more open in public about his issues at the club.

The 31-year-old has been out of favour under Zinedine Zidane this season, making just 20 appearances in all competitions and looking noticeably awkward during Madrid's La Liga title celebrations.

Bale almost left for China at the start of the season but now looks destined to remain on the periphery at the Santiago Bernabeu unless another club matches his €15 million (£13.7m/$17.2m) per year wages.

That stagnation has left a feeling that Bale is letting his talent go to waste as he nears the end of his peak years - and Toshack wants to see the situation resolved.

"Very often these things happen," Toshack told BBC Radio Wales.

"Things don't turn out and the coach has got other ideas and you've got to sit down and work it out.

"I think there's got to be some kind of dialogue there and they've got to sit down."

Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, has repeatedly dismissed reports that the winger could leave Madrid, recently saying he is “going nowhere” this summer and will see out the remaining two years on his contract.

However, Toshack thinks fans would appreciate hearing more directly from Bale himself.

"I don't think too many people here have been pleased with the comments that have come out of the people that represent him,” Toshack said.

"I would like to see Gareth say a little bit more himself and I think a lot of people here [in Spain] would as well.

"But the ins and outs of the whole thing, I'm not sure.

"But when an agent comes out and said he's got another two years of his contract, and he's going to see his contract out then it's certainly not the road that I would take."

With the title wrapped up, Bale was left out of the travelling squad which drew 2-2 with Leganes on the final day of the Spanish league season.

It remains to be seen whether he will be part of Zidane’s plans for the Champions League last-16 second-leg game with Manchester City on August 7.

Liverpool star Fabinho's home was burgled on Wednesday night as the Brazilian and his team-mates celebrated the Reds' first-ever Premier League title.

The midfielder's home was targeted while he and his family were away, with the break-in reported to have occurred between 3pm BST on Wednesday afternoon and 4am BST on Thursday morning.

That period would coincide with the time Fabinho spent at Anfield, as Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-3 before beginning their Premier League trophy celebration.

Fabinho started and played all 90 minutes for the Reds on Wednesday, with players' families also permitted to be in attendance for the celebrations after the match.

Police have since confirmed that a number of jewellery items and a grey Audi RS6 were stolen in a burglary in Formby.

The Audi has since been recovered as the car was located in Wigan shortly after the burglary was discovered.

"Detectives in Sefton are appealing for information following a burglary in Formby," a police spokesman told the Liverpool Echo.

"Police were called to an address in the early hours of this morning (Thursday, 23 July), when the occupants entered their house to find it had been burgled.

"No-one was in the property at the time of the incident but it was thought the burglary happened sometime between 3pm on Wednesday, 22 July and 4am on Thursday, 23 July.

"A number of jewellery items were stolen, alongside a grey Audi RS6, which has since been recovered in the Wigan area.

"The house and car have been forensically examined by Crime Scene Investigators and CCTV enquiries in the area are on-going.

"Detectives would urge anyone who has any information about this incident, especially anyone who was in the area and may have dash-cam footage which shows a grey Audi RS6 to get in contact. DM @MerPolCC or call 101 quoting reference 188 of 23 July. You can also contact @CrimestoppersUK anonymously on 0800 555 111."

Fabinho is the latest Liverpool star to be the victim of a burglary, with Sadio Mane seeing his home targeted during a clash with Bayern Munich last season . 

Dejan Lovren, Roberto Firmino, Pepe Reina, Daniel Agger and Jerzy Dudek have also been targeted by burglars in recent years.

Liverpool have one final match remaining in their Premier League season, with the Reds set to visit Newcastle on Sunday to finish off their title-winning campaign. 

Mohammed Kudus' agent Jennifer Mendelewitsch has shed light on their decision to settle on Dutch side Ajax Amsterdam as the 19-year-old's next destination.

The attacking midfielder, last week, signed a five-year deal with the Eredivisie outfit after two years with Danish fold Nordsjaelland.

He was reportedly linked to Liverpool, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan before choosing Erik ten Hag's team.

“Ajax is known worldwide for the way they develop young players and to have a very attractive style of playing,” Mendelewitsch told TV3.

“When you are 19, you don’t choose your club as a grown up player like someone who is at 28 or 29. You look for different things and for a young player, the main thing is to have some game time and be in a project when you know that they know how to deal with young boys to give them time and increase their level in their development.

“They [Ajax] are very excited to have this young boy in the team. Of course he is not coming as if everything is going to be easy for him but we had a very long conversation with the head coach and he explained what is expected from Kudus and what also Kudus expects from Ajax.”

Kudus netted 11 goals in 25 league outings for Nordsjaelland this season.

He joined the Wild Tigers from Ghanaian side Right to Dream Academy.

"Everyone in the club [Nordsjaelland] must know that you have left a big imprint on my heart that I will always have with me," the attacker told his former club's official website after completing his transfer.

"It has been a long journey for me with both tailwinds and bumps on the road. I am grateful for it because it has brought me development, confidence and opportunities.

"Now a new place awaits me, and Ajax Amsterdam is a very special club with a very special culture, which I look forward to embracing. I look forward to continuing my development at Ajax and continuing the pursuit of my dream.

"I owe it to all my coaches and teammates in FC Nordsjælland and at Right to Dream."

Kudus is expected to aid Ajax's quest for the Dutch Eredivisie and Champions League titles next season. 

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has launched its first-ever strategy for women’s football which charts the course of realising the full potential of the women's game until 2023.

The four-year women's football strategy blueprint was developed by top stakeholders at a workshop in Egypt in November and subsequently approved by the Caf Executive Committee.

The 28-page released plan, with the slogan #ItsTimeItsNow, is built on the development, competition, professionalisation and leadership, marketing and promotion, and social impact of football.​ 

Speaking about the launch of Caf’s continental strategy for women’s football, president Ahmad Ahmad told the Caf website: “Today is a historic day for women’s football in Africa. 

"The launch of the Caf Women’s Football Strategy is in line with our commitment to give hope to youth across the continent and to develop women’s football at all levels. It sets out a clear roadmap for specific actions that will revolutionize women’s football. 

"My gratitude goes out to the key stakeholders and experts who took part in putting together this strategic document, which is the beginning of many things to come.” 

On her part, Isha Johansen, who is the chairperson of the Caf Organising Committee for Women’s Football, and also doubles as Sierra Leone Football Association boss, said: “The strategy is a followup on the Caf Women’s Football Symposium in 2018. 

"We have now established strategies and drawn up a road map which we believe will enhance the development of women’s football on the continent in all areas and levels from Leadership, Governance, Technical, Education, Strategic Partnerships and Grassroots.”

Adding her voice, Desiree Ellis, who is the South Africa women's head coach and back-to-back Caf Women's Coach of the Year said: “I am very excited with the Caf Women's Football Strategy.

"This will definitely improve women's football on the continent and create more playing opportunities for players. The game is evolving and as a continent, we need to keep up."

For a start, the African football body began to implement its four-year plan with the introduction of the new Women’s Champions League, which is scheduled to kick off in 2021.