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Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic insists that there is no issue with Jerome Boateng's contract as the defender's deal nears its expiration.

Boateng has been with Bayern since 2011, having won eight Bundesliga titles and two Champions League titles since making the move from Manchester City.

However, with his deal set to expire in the summer, he faces an uncertain future with the club he has called home for nearly a decade.

Recent reports linked Boateng with a Bayern departure, but the German defender said that he was "surprised" to see rumours that he could leave the club.

Boateng did add that a new challenge does appeal to him, potentially even one outside of Europe.

Salihamidzic, meanwhile, hopes to keep the 32-year-old defender in Munich, where the club hope he can add to his 333 appearances taken in across nine years.

"We all know that Jerome has a contract until June 30th, 2021 and we will talk to Jerome and his management at a reasonable time and make a fair decision for everyone," Salihamidzic told Sky Sport Germany. "This is not an issue for us at the moment."

The Bayern defender is one of several veteran stars excluded from the German national team, with head coach Joachim Low deciding in 2019 to move on and focus on several younger players.

Boateng, Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels have been excluded from the national team ever since, despite several calls to bring them back into the picture amid Bayern's Champions League triumph this summer.

Those calls only got louder recently after Germany were thumped 6-1 by Spain, leading to heavy criticism towards Low.

Salihamidzic says that he believes Germany will bounce back, though, as he is not concerned with the direction of the national team.

"Of course the lads haven't seen games like this often or not at all, but they're professional enough," he said. "I'm not worried that things won't go on for them like the way it ended in Dortmund."

Bayern Munich drew with Werder Bremen 1-1 on Saturday, with Kingsley Coman cancelling out Maximilian Eggestein's opener.

Up next for the German champions is a return to the Champions League, where they will face RB Salzburg on Wednesday. 

Jack Grealish being compared to Paul Gascoigne and Andres Iniesta is “ridiculous”, says Paul Parker, with the former England international baffled by those billing the Aston Villa playmaker as a potential great.

The talented 25-year-old has been making a positive impression for club and country of late.

Having shown himself to be capable of mixing it among the Premier League elite, Grealish has been given his big break with England.

He was an undoubted positive for Gareth Southgate during the November international break, with three eye-catching showings put in against the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Iceland.

Many are now expecting the Villa captain to nail down a role as the Three Lions’ go-to playmaker.

Others have likened his playing style to England icon Gascoigne, while his efforts are topping those of Spanish World Cup winner Iniesta, but Parker is not buying the hype.

The ex-Three Lions right-back told Eurosport:  “As a country, we have created this idea of ‘Jack Grealish is going to be the greatest ever English player'. Where has that come from? It’s absolutely ridiculous.

“I just don’t get the hype around him to be perfectly honest. Then you get the ones who come up and say ‘ah, he reminds us of Gazza’. Please don’t do that now when you see games against Republic of Ireland and Belgium... when we’re 2-0 down and he’s running around and wants to have around 35 touches to then pass the ball to somebody.

“Everyone says he gets fouled all the time, but what is a foul and what isn’t a foul? A foul now is only when someone touches you and it throws you to the floor. Nine times out of 10 they’re not fouls anymore. At the moment he doesn’t want to show strength - he falls over.

“All of a sudden it’s, ‘that makes him good because everyone wants to foul him’. He has too many touches.

“In today’s football you watch the great midfield players – a lot of them not English - and look how many touches they have. Grealish has five, six and he goes left, right then flicks it back to somebody. You’re left thinking ‘really?’

“Someone put a stat up about what he’s done and what he’s achieved already and captioned it ‘Andres Iniesta hadn’t done that at his age’. Please don’t go down that road. I don’t know why we keep doing it.

“Now we have him pinned as the one who is going to win England the Euros. He has not played against a decent team. As much as Belgium are meant to be the team ranked number one in the world they are poor. You just know in two years time they have got no one coming through.”

Young Africans (Yanga SC) have unveiled the weapons they will use to help the team win Mainland Premier league matches.

The Jangwani giants are currently the only unbeaten side in the top-flight after playing 10 matches and they are second on the 18-team league table with 24 points.

As they prepare to face Namungo FC at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Sunday, Kaze, who is yet to lose a match since replacing Zlatko Krmpotic, has now said his main weapon is to use his two wingers Farid Mussa and Carlos Carlinhos.

Mussa has two passes already to his name this season while Carlinho, who is returning to the team after an injury, has scored one goal and assisted two.

“It is our target to bag three points in every match that we play and it is the reason I want to use the two players to achieve our target,” Kaze is quoted by Sokaletu.

“I have now asked my wingers [Mussa and Carlinhos] to make sure that they use their passes well, and also change their style because many teams have known what they can.

“We want them to use all angles, not always the wings, they can also cut inside and deliver the passes, we have worked out the style and I know it is a good weapon to help us win our matches.”

In an earlier interview, Kaze revealed he was delighted to have Carlinhos back in the squad for the league matches.

“All my players in the squad are very important and when you miss one of them, it gives you a headache because you are missing a key player,” Kaze told Sokaletu.

“And when you have a fully fit squad to pick from during matchday it gives you the chance to pick the best squad that can give you a win and that is why I am delighted to have Carlinhos back, we missed him and we are happy to have him back.

“I will help him to come back into the squad and I am happy we have all players now available, it is the best way to compete and reach your target and we thank God we don’t have star players out anymore.”

Kaze also said they are taking it a game at a time hoping to achieve their targets including winning the league title.

“We still have a lot of work to do as a team, we are not there yet, we must stay focused and do our job, we want to win our matches, and let us see how far we can.”

Bayern Munich dropped points for just the second time this season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Maximilian Eggestein's well-worked goal gave the visitors a deserved lead late in the first half before the champions struck back through Kingsley Coman after the hour.

But they were unable to build on their equaliser as a dogged performance from Florian Kohfeldt's men earned a deserved share of the spoils.

Werder travelled to the Allianz Arena having avoided defeat in their previous four outings, though each of those ended in draws.

And, with Bayern having earned 10 consecutive victories coming into this fixture, they would've expected to dominate from the off, rather than give up the best of the first-half chances.

However, only a brilliant Manuel Neuer save denied Josh Sargent from close range early on, before Leonardo Bittencourt volleyed into the side-netting when he might have done better.

The hosts' rhythm was no doubt damaged by the early loss of Theo Hernandez to injury, a blow that saw Leon Goretzka introduced and both Javi Martinez and David Alaba change position.

Werder capitalised on that uncertainty at the back as Sargent burst in behind down the flank being marshalled by Martinez and Alaba, before pulling back for Eggestein to sidefoot home just before half-time.

Milot Rashica should've made it two shortly after the restart, taking too long in a one-on-one situation, prompting Douglas Costa to respond by cracking the bar with a deflected effort. 

That marked the start of a spell of long overdue Bayern pressure that finally told when Coman headed in Goretzka's right-wing cross at the back post.

But, despite the introduction of Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry off the bench, Hansi Flick's men struggled to create much of note in the final half-hour.

In fact, only another fine one-handed stop from Neuer prevented the visitors from snatching the win through Sargent with five minutes of normal time remaining.

What does it mean?

Bayern's grip on top spot in the Bundesliga has been loosened by dropped points, with RB Leipzig now able to draw level if they beat Eintracht Frankfurt later on Saturday

Werder, meanwhile, remain in mid-table thanks to a fifth consecutive stalemate.

Friedl keeps Bayern at bay

Any team that stops Bayern Munich winning at home is going to need to defend well and Werder certainly did that, with Marco Friedl arguably the pick of the back three.

The Austrian led his team on tackles (four), clearances (nine) and interceptions (three) to help ensure Robert Lewandowski failed to score in a Bundesliga match for the first time this season.

Alaba struggles after switch

David Alaba's life was perhaps not made any easier by an early move from centre-back to left-back but the defender still fell short of his usual standards.

He won just 33 per cent of his duels, made no tackles or interceptions, and lost possession 20 times - more than any other Bayern player.

What's next?

Bayern return to Champions League action on Wednesday when they host Salzburg, while Bremen's next Bundesliga outing is away at Wolfsburg on Friday.

Antonio Conte insists Christian Eriksen has already had "many opportunities" to cement himself in the Inter side and will not consider a switch in position to accommodate the midfielder. 

The Denmark international has struggled to fit in at Inter since his arrival from Tottenham in the January transfer window on a four-and-a-half-year contract. 

Joining halfway through the previous campaign offered little time to settle in at San Siro, but he has remained a peripheral figure at the start of the 2020-21 season. 

Eriksen started just three of Inter's five Serie A games before the November international break - and was substituted on each occasion by Conte. 

His failure to manage a goal or assist, though he has created five chances during his time on the pitch, led to a question in the pre-match press conference before Sunday's home fixture with Torino over whether the 28-year-old should be used in a deeper role. 

Conte, however, dismissed the suggestion, insisting such a change would "totally distort" Eriksen, who has been encouraged by team-mate Romelu Lukaku to learn Italian .

"I don't know about the language. As I said before, I always make choices for the good of Inter and therefore I try to do everything in the right way," the former Chelsea boss told the media.

"Eriksen has had many opportunities since the beginning of the year and has played more than many team-mates.  

"When I deem it appropriate, he will play in the opening 11 or in a game in progress, otherwise I will make other decisions.  

"As for the role, in my opinion he cannot play in front of the defence. He has an important shot, right and left, so putting him in front of the defence would totally distort him. This is my technical evaluation." 

Inter have struggled so far in Serie A this term - managing 12 points from their opening seven games - and are also propping up the rest in their Champions League group.

Conte's squad face a hectic schedule before the mid-season break in late December, with the game against Torino quickly followed by a pivotal home European clash with Real Madrid. 

"The situation is difficult, but it is for all the teams that play in European competitions," Conte said. "You play every three days and challenging matches in that time, too. It will be complicated until Christmas - and even after. 

"I'm hoping that good luck also smiles on us from the point of view of injuries and positivity." 

Inter have won only three of their first 10 matches this season in all competitions. The last time they achieved only three wins in their first 11 outings was back in 1983-84, when Luigi Radice was in charge.

However, Conte feels his team have played better than results would indicate, adding: "In the end, even if you dominate matches but draw or lose them, you will always tend to see the glass half empty.  

"In addition to performances, we must try to achieve results, which will change opinions, moods and many situations." 

A second half penalty from Ghanian international Kwesi Appiah was enough for NorthEast United to beat Mumbai City on Saturday at the Tilak Maidan, Goa.

Mumba City's midfield general Ahmed Jahouh was given the marching orders just minutes before the half time break and the Islanders were reduced to 10-men for the rest of the game.

Sergio Lobera’s side dictated the game right from the off. The Spanish coach deployed a 4-2-2-2 formation with Hernan Santana and Sarthak Golui as central defenders. Ahmed Jahouh and Rowllin Borges took on the role of deep-lying midfielders. 

Hugo Boumous was given a free role and operated right behind the two forwards Bartholomew Ogbeche and Adam Le Fondre.

Mumbai were the team with more possession throughout the first half and Jahouh orchestrated the game from the centre of the pitch. Unfortunately, the Islanders could not convert their dominance into goals as NorthEast United defence did well to deny any space in the attacking third.

Disaster struck the away side just two minutes from half time when their key midfielder Jahouh was sent off after a clumsy and unnecessary challenge on Khassa Camara near the centre circle.

The Highlanders looked confident in their approach as the second half resumed and won a penalty two minutes from the restart. Dylan Fox tried to head the ball in from a dangerous cross from Luis Machado and the ball hit Borges’ hand inside the box. Kwesi Appiah converted the spot-kick to hand his team the lead.

The red card and goal completely changed the complexion of the match. To add more firepower in attack, Gerard Nus introduced Federico Gallego and Britto PM. The Uruguayan's inclusion enhanced NorthEast's intensity in the final third.

Jahouh's absence was felt in the midfield as Lobera's men failed to put pressure on Nus' men. Defenders Benjamin Lambot and Dylan Fox stood firm and did not allow their opponents to get back into the game. 

Mumbai next face FC Goa on November 25 while NorthEast take on Kerala Blasters the next day.

The race for the Premier League Golden Boot is typically competitive, with some of the best attackers in world football playing in the division.

A haul of over 20 goals is usually required to come out on top and there are plenty of candidates in the mix this season.

Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero and Mohamed Salah, who have all won the accolade before, should be there or thereabouts, but there is always room for a surprise package.

Goal is compiling the individual goal tallies for the highest-scoring Premier League players this season and you can check it out below.

Premier League 2020-21 Top Scorers

Tottenham's Heung-min Son and Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and are the early pace-setters in the race for the Golden Boot, having surged out in front in the opening gameweeks.

They are joined by Mohamed Salah and Jamie Vardy, with Harry Kane also not far behind. Meanwhile, new Newcastle United signing Callum Wilson has hit the ground running at St James' Park.

Brighton striker Neal Maupay has picked up where he left off last term and Leeds United will be pleased with Patrick Bamford's contributions in front of goal.

You can see the top scorers in the Premier League this season below.

*Up to date as of games played on November 8.

Jamie Vardy won the Premier League Golden Boot in 2019-20 after scoring 23 goals in 35 league appearances for Leicester.

It was Vardy's first time winning the prize, having previously come close in the 2015-16 campaign with a tally of 24 goals - one fewer than that year's winner Harry Kane.

The former England international finished marginally ahead of Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Southampton's Danny Ings, who each struck 22 times for their club.

Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling followed with 20 goals, with Salah, Kane and Sadio Mane among the chasing pack.

Frank Lampard claims to have “so much faith” in N’Golo Kante after seeing the Chelsea midfielder face questions of his form, fitness and future.

The France international has two Premier League titles and a World Cup winners’ medal to his name, but has seen a move away from Stamford Bridge mooted.

Speculation was first sparked when Maurizio Sarri took to shifting the 29-year-old out of his favoured holding role.

Lampard has also used Kante in a more advanced position during his reign in west London, but has seen him shine of late in the berth that made him a household name.

Another eye-catching showing sweeping up in front of the Blues’ back four was put in against Newcastle on Saturday, in a 2-0 win for Chelsea, with confidence restored to all concerned.

Lampard told reporters on the influence Kante can have when performing at the peak of his powers: “I know what you mean by quietly influential but he's much more than that for us.

“Last year he missed 50 per cent of the games with injuries, he had a tough time for different reasons and we are working very hard on that to get him fit and fresh.

“Now we are managing his training and game time, but his levels of performances are really high.

“I keep saying every time I get asked about N'Golo that I have so much faith in him and the top midfield player that he is in world football.

“Not just breaking up and winning balls back, as we know that is a huge quality of his, but his passing and supporting in midfield and playing in that deeper role now has been a very comfortable transition for him. Really, really happy with him.”

Lampard added when asked if he considers Kante to be over the injury issues that have been holding him back: “I don't want to tempt fate as at the minute he is going well. It's a constant one for us where we are managing it.

“When I came in at the start of last season he had been injured from the Europa League final and that just rolled on through the year so we just chased it down from there. That was unfortunate and so unfortunate for us to lose him for 50 per cent of the games because of the level of player he is.

“We have had a better period of him to get him in a place where we are really happy with.

“We're aware and we keep check on his training and numbers and how much distance he travels because every time you train and allow him off the leash in training he makes ridiculous output because of the way he plays.

“We are very careful with that and at the minute we are in a good place and hopefully that continues.”

Another of those to have seen a move elsewhere mooted in recent windows is Germany international defender Antonio Rudiger, but the 27-year-old was another who caught the eye against Newcastle after returning to the starting XI.

“I was pleased with his performance,” said Lampard.

“I talked about it before the game that a lot of managers would love to have five centre-backs but it brings difficulties as you can only pick two if playing in a back four and then two or three are unhappy.

“It's not easy to come straight into a team if you're not playing so regularly and perform. That means you need a good attitude throughout the week and a good attitude in how they prepare.

“I've got confidence in Toni. I think he came in and I thought his performance alongside Ku [Zouma], they were very strong. Anything that came in the box they dealt with very well. They had a lot of the ball and they moved it well.

“I'm really happy as it's hugely important to have a strong squad this year with the schedule as it is. For Toni to come in and play and keep a clean sheet was brilliant for him and brilliant for me.”

Simba SC picked up their biggest victory of the season to date after thrashing Coastal Union 7-0 in a Mainland Premier League tie at the Abeid Karum Stadium on Saturday.

John Bocco’s hat-trick, Clatous Chama’s brace and goals from Hassan Dilunga and Bernard Morrison handed the champions the big away win.

Simba got the opener in the seventh minute when Dilunga, who has not been enjoying first-team opportunities in the recent past, scored to stun the home side in the seventh minute of the game.

The champions doubled their lead in the 25th minute when captain Bocco found the back of the net in a match Simba looked comfortable on all fronts.

It took the Tanzania international another two minutes to add the third for Simba and earn a brace as his side dictated the rhythm and pace while Coastal Union looked disjointed in their effort to stop the rivals.

Bocco scored again in the 37th minute to earn a hat-trick which came after a sleek forward move by the 2020 treble winners. Morrison, who started after fully serving a match ban, scored the fifth one in the second minute of added time of the first half.

Wekundu wa Msimbazi, who will face Plateau United of Nigeria in the Caf Champions League preliminary stage in late November, headed into the break with a huge lead that illustrated their dominance.

Zambian international Chama, after recently adding two more years to his expiring contract after he had been heavily linked with Yanga SC, scored the sixth goal for the Dar es Salaam side on the hour mark.

He added the seventh in the 85th minute as Simba ran riot at Sheik Abeid Karume Stadium.

The win took Simba to within one point of Yanga SC who will be in action on Sunday for their 11th game of the campaign.

Meanwhile, current league leaders, Azam FC fell to a 1-0 away loss to Kinondoni Municipal Council (KMC FC).

The only goal that separated the sides was scored by Reliants Lusajo in the 57th minute to hand the Ice Cream Makers their season’s second defeat.

Yanga remain the only side yet to lose a game after 10 games and are second with 24 points, one behind the leaders.

Finally, debutants Gwambina FC picked up a 2-0 win over JKT Tanzania in the other game on the first day of league action after the international break.

Meshack Abraham scored Gwambina’s opener in the 72nd minute before Paul Nonga doubled the lead in the 84th minute.

The win is Gwambina’s third of the season.

Kaizer Chiefs and Golden Arrows played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in a Premier Soccer League (PSL) match at the Sugar Ray Xulu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

After a goal-less opening stanza in Durban, the home side drew first blood through a Siboniso Conco penalty before the visitors scored twice through Leonardo Castro to take the lead, only for Nduduzo Sibiya to deny the Soweto giants their second league win of the season.

It was Arrows who made a bright to the game and they could have gone ahead after just two minutes when Conco surged clear down the right wing before locating Michael Gumede with an accurate cross, but from just 12-yards out he lifted his shot into the stands, not testing goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, back in the Amakhosi line-up.

Chiefs then began to slowly grow into the game although the next chance again fell to the KwaZulu-Natal side, on 23 minutes, when after a flowing move, Conco turned on the edge of the box, but his shot was also far too high.

From that point onwards in the first half it was the Glamour Boys who took charge of proceedings and they had the ball in the net on 27 minutes although Castro's effort was correctly ruled offside.

Chiefs were getting plenty of joy down their left flank through Philani Zulu and on 35 minutes he whipped in a telling cross for Castro, who did well to arch his body for the header, only to see the ball hitting the woodwork.

Eight minutes later there was another good opportunity for the visitors when Nkosingiphile Ngcobo flighted in a great cross for Ramahlwe Mphahlele, who took the ball down well with his chest but had his volley from a tight angle excellently saved by Arrows keeper Sifiso Mlungwana.

Mlungwana again came to his side's rescue in first-half added time with a fantastic save to deny Castro, who had been put clean through on goal by Lebogang Manyama.

Amakhosi's failure to take their chances was to come back to haunt them, shortly after the restart.

That was after Willard Katsande was ruled to have fouled Zolani Nkombelo in the box, in what replays showed was a debatable call.

That didn't matter to Conco, however, as he stepped up to the penalty spot in the 48th minute and finished clinically for what was just his second goal in the top flight.

The Soweto side looked to try and hit back quickly and after a sustained spell of pressure in the Arrows box the ball fell to Katsande, but from a good position, he lifted his shot over the crossbar.
 
Khama Billiat then also squandered a good chance after being set up by Manyama.

But moments later, from a Chiefs corner, Billiat picked out Castro who sent in a sumptuous header which gave Mlungwana no chance - 1-1 in the 58th minute.

Abafana bes'Thende could have restored their lead two minutes later when the ball deflected kindly to Gumede in the Chiefs box, but his shot was too close to Khune, who got down well to make the save.

Instead it was the Glamour Boys who were to score next, in the 65th minute, as Manyama threaded a defence-splitting pass for Billiat, who cleverly squared for Castro who was able to walk the ball into an empty net.

To their credit, the home side regrouped and hit back just four minutes later when two substitutes combined: at the end of a flowing move, Knox Mutizwa cleverly back-heeled the ball for Sibiya, who finished sublimely with a curling 25-yard shot with his left foot into the far corner.

The final 20 minutes belonged almost exclusively to Amakhosi, but there were no more than a couple of half-chances as the Arrows defence remained firm and focused to earn the point.

Former Gor Mahia treasurer Sally Bolo has hit out at the club's current management for not following set guidelines by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) regarding the accreditation of their new coach Roberto Oliveira Goncalves.

Goal exclusively revealed the Confederation of African Football (Caf) had written to the FKF and the club asking to see his Caf A papers, or else he will not be allowed to handle the team during the Champions League.  

As it stands, K'Ogalo have been unable to provide these documents and might play Rwanda's APR without their coach.

"Part of the requirements is the qualification of the head coach, all have had qualifications from different countries and none has ever had a Caf A licence but we have always made sure that the papers they hold are equalized as per Caf requirements," part of the statement by Bolo and obtained by Goal read. 

"The same coach, [Robertinho], has handled clubs in Tunisia and Rayon up to the Caf Confederation Cup quarter-finals. Does it mean that those clubs did the right thing? We seem to have at the moment none in the club who knows what to do!"

The former official has pointed out the Kenyan champions could have followed the right protocol to ensure the team's chances of making it to the next round of the competition are not jeopardized.    

"What should have been done is to accredit the coach with the technical department of FKF," Bolo continued.

"A circular was sent out to all the premier league and super league clubs to that effect but unfortunately we never submitted papers for the head coaches accreditation!  

"Secondly, the club should have engaged FKF to get in touch with the Brazilian Football Association to authenticate the coach's A license and request for his equalization! 

"We still have one week to go and to ensure that we have a coach on the bench with the Caf requirements."  

Goncalves, who previously managed Rayon Sports of Rwanda, has 25 years of coaching experience and has been to a number of African countries, the Middle East as well as his native country Brazil as head coach.

He was in charge of Rayon Sports when they denied Gor Mahia a place in the quarter-finals of the Caf Confederation Cup as he masterminded a 2-1 win at Kasarani Stadium in 2018.

He joined K’Ogalo to take the place of Steven Polack, who left the club on mutual agreement, and on signing for the Kenyan champions, he revealed why he chose Gor Mahia over other clubs. 

The Football Kenya Federation (FKF) has confirmed AFC Leopards are safe as their new coach Tomas Trucha is qualified to coach in the FKF Premier League.

The statement comes just hours after president Nick Mwendwa revealed Gor Mahia coach Roberto Oliveira Goncalves does not qualify to coach in the Kenyan top-flight.

Mwendwa has now told Goal unlike their rivals Gor Mahia, AFC Leopards hired a qualified coach who has a Uefa Pro license and will thus work in Kenya.

“For AFC Leopards, we don’t have any problem with them, their new coach Tomas [Trucha] is qualified to coach in the FKF Premier League,” Mwendwa told Goal on Saturday. “He has the required Uefa Pro license, a good certificate in the world, and he will be eligible to handle the team in the league.”

After Caf banned the Gor Mahia coach from sitting on the touchline during the Caf Champions League preliminary round match against Armee Patriotique Rwandaise FC (APR) of Rwanda on November 28 in Kigali, Mwendwa has also stated he his qualified to coach in the FKF Premier League.

“After employing the coach, the law states that the clubs must submit their papers and documents to FKF and that must be accompanied by payment of KSh100 000,” Mwendwa told Radio Jambo on Saturday.

“They know all these because through club licensing process that is made very clear.

“Gor Mahia presented the coach’s papers and we then sent them to Caf and we have seen their reaction. Caf is very clear that even if the papers are put through the equalisation process, they do not meet the standards.

“That means he will not be on the bench for all Gor Mahia matches including the Champions League and the Premier League.

“He can only coach at the training ground or do some consultancy away from the touchline but he will never be allowed to be on the touchline during games.”

In an earlier interview, former Gor Mahia CEO Omondi Aduda blamed club officials for the problems facing Oliveira, accusing them of negligence and not being abreast with changes in the world of football.

“Someone at Gor Mahia slept on the job,” Aduda told Goal when asked why Caf had reacted that way.

“Caf did not question his [Oliveira] qualifications, do you know that none of the foreign coaches have a Caf A license, and what usually happens is that the licenses they hold must be equalized in tandem with the Caf licensing criteria?

“Caf doesn’t have problems with his [Oliveira] certificates, that is not right, even those other foreign coaches that we have had, what you do is you send their papers for equalization so that those certifications they get from their countries are equalized at every given level.

“There is no way particularly when the team is engaged in Caf, you must be abreast with each and every regulation which Caf always give out periodically, then you cannot get into this kind of messes, because it is not the first time we are hiring a foreign coach.

“He was in Rwanda [coaching Rayon Sports], and he coached the team without trouble, even against us [in Caf competition], and he even reached the quarter-finals with the team, he has also coached in Tunisia with the same papers, if there were changes this time around, it was the honour of the club to ensure that we keep abreast with those changes and act on them.”

Caf has already outlined a possible ban that Gor Mahia are likely to face should they fail to abide by the orders.

Sergio Aguero will follow the lead of Pep Guardiola by committing to a new contract with Manchester City, says Micah Richards.

The Blues have tied their highly-rated coach to fresh terms through to the summer of 2023.

His previous deal had been due to expire next summer, with Aguero another of those to have entered the final 12 months of his current agreement.

It has been suggested that the prolific Argentine could walk away as a free agent and take on a new challenge – possibly one back in his homeland.

He will be 33 shortly after the 2020-21 season comes to a close and is approaching the final stages of a distinguished career.

Richards, though, believes City’s all-time leading scorer can still offer plenty to the cause at the Etihad Stadium, and in the Premier League as a whole, and that may see him agree to extend a productive spell in England.

“His intention has always been to finish his career back in Argentina but I expect now Pep Guardiola has signed a contract extension that Sergio will do the same,” Richards, a former City team-mate of the South American, told the Daily Mail.

“Whether it is for 12 months or two years, it is a piece of business I hope City conclude.

“City will sign another striker in the future, and hopes are high for Gabriel Jesus and Ferran Torres, but there is nobody like Sergio.

“There will never be another one like him at Manchester City and there haven’t been many better in the Premier League.”

Aguero is into his 10th season as a City player, having been snapped up from Atletico Madrid in 2011, and Richards believes he will go down as an all-time great - even if the predatory finisher does not always get the credit he deserves.

Richards added: “If Aguero had been the face of an advertising campaign, would people be more respectful and appreciative of his talents?

“I often wonder whether we realise what a player we have watched for the last 10 seasons. Aguero has had as big an impact on English football as Thierry Henry. 

“He might not be as easy on the eye as Henry in terms of style but he is a better finisher than the Arsenal legend.

“Henry, though, will always command affection. He was the man with ‘Va va voom!’ — he is charismatic and played football with a swagger.

“He gave revealing interviews and had a spell as a pundit before he turned to management. If you didn’t support Arsenal, I bet you still liked Henry.

“Most people, on the other hand, wouldn’t know a great deal about Sergio. It makes me think the fact he is a quiet man has stopped him being recognised as one of the greats of the modern era, a striker who Manchester City will never be able to truly replace.”

Wayne Rooney has revealed he could have signed for Chelsea or Newcastle before joining Manchester United in 2004.

Rooney left Everton as one of the most exciting young forwards the Premier League had seen, and went on to score more than 250 goals for United, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League.

Speaking on the UTD Podcast, he said Everton were keen for him to sign for Chelsea, but he only had eyes for United – though, when the Red Devils looked to delay the move, he almost ended up on Tyneside.

“I knew it [joining United] was an option before Euro 2004,” Rooney said. “I knew Manchester United wanted to sign me.

“I think going to the Euros and doing well there probably added a bit more money onto the transfer fee but I broke my foot and found out a few things.

“Everton were really struggling for money at the time and I found out they were listening to offers from people as well.

“They were trying to push me to sign for Chelsea because they were going to pay the most money. But, once I knew United were interested, I wanted some confirmation that they did want to sign me.”

When United came calling, the conversation was over as far as Rooney was concerned.

“Once I knew they did want to sign me, it was the only club [for me] as I wanted to work with Sir Alex Ferguson and play with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Rio Ferdinand, these players, so I knew where I wanted to go.

“It was 40 minutes from my home, where I grew up, as well and it was a perfect fit for me. United actually wanted to wait a year, until the following year, but then Newcastle came into talks with Everton and with myself.

“I'd gone too far then. I couldn't wait another year, I couldn't stay another year at Everton, so I was prepared to go to Newcastle for that year.

“I spoke to them, we spoke about salary and what I wanted if I went there was, after a year, if Manchester United come in, you have to let me go.

“Newcastle were agreeing to that but obviously, with United, I went back to them and said, if you don't do it now, I'll go to Newcastle with a clause in place. United obviously didn't want me to go there so I came here.

“It was basically whatever Newcastle paid for me, United would have paid a year later.”

United eventually paid just shy of £26 million ($35m) for Rooney, at the time the highest fee ever paid for a player under 20.

He scored 17 goals in 43 appearances in his first season, which saw Chelsea win the title ahead of United in third. Newcastle finished 14th, with Alan Shearer top-scoring with 19 goals in the penultimate season of his career.

Kylian Mbappe appears to be “more headed towards a way out” at Paris Saint-Germain than committing to fresh terms, says former Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev, with hope seemingly offered to the likes of Liverpool and Real Madrid when it comes to a possible transfer.

Reigning champions in England and Spain have both been linked with moves to bring a World Cup winner into their respective squads.

Big money would be required to put a deal in place, but Mbappe is only tied to a contract at Parc des Princes through to the summer of 2022.

At 21 years of age he has already collected an enviable haul of honours for club and country, with some suggesting that the France international may open himself up to a new challenge outside of his homeland.

Vasilyev, who was sporting director at Monaco when Mbappe left for PSG in 2017, believes one of the most exciting talents in the global game will be mulling over his options when it comes to a big career call.

He told Telefoot: “He is going to have to make very important decisions, and right now he seems more headed towards a way out.

“Nothing is impossible. Kylian is young and what he wants to win is titles.

“Kylian is ambitious. He wants to win everything and break all the records.”

PSG have shown that they can match Mbappe’s ambitions, with Thomas Tuchel’s side enjoying domestic dominance while also proving themselves on a Champions League stage – having reached the final of that competition in 2020.

They have a star-studded collection of international performers on their books, including the likes of Neymar and Angel Di Maria, and are prepared to spend even more in pursuit of major honours.

That may be enough to convince Mbappe to stay, with a man who has netted 99 goals for the club through 133 appearances set to see a lucrative extension offer tabled at some stage.

“If tomorrow PSG propose an ambitious project, where he feels comfortable and with options to go further and guarantees that he can win everything in his career, he could renew,” Vasilyev added.

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) president Nick Mwendwa has revealed Gor Mahia coach Roberto Oliveira Goncalves does not qualify to coach in the FKF Premier League.

Mwendwa said the Brazilian does not possess the standard qualification papers that would allow him to coach the Kenyan giants in any competition.

Robertinho, as the former Rayon Sports coach is known, was appointed after Steven Polack resigned while in Finland for holiday in September.

“After employing the coach, the law states that the clubs must submit their papers and documents to FKF and that must be accompanied by payment of KSh100 000,” Mwendwa told Radio Jambo.

“They know all these because through club licensing process that is made very clear.

“Gor Mahia presented the coach’s papers and we then sent them to Caf and we have seen their reaction. Caf is very clear that even if the papers are put through the equalisation process, they do not meet the standards.

“That means he will not be on the bench for all Gor Mahia matches including the Champions League and the Premier League.

“He can only coach at the training ground or do some consultancy away from the touchline but he will never be allowed to be on the touchline during games.”

The local FA chief also explained how they would have assisted the Green Army had their coach been a Kenyan citizen.

“We cannot follow and know what Gor Mahia are doing about that. Even if Gor Mahia were not going to the Champions League, we would not have allowed him to take charge of the league games,” he added.

“But if he was a Kenyan, there are mechanisms FKF would have engaged Caf on that but that is not the case.

“Robertinho has a lot of certificates but when they fall short of our standards. They should have been equal to either Caf ‘A’ or ‘B’ license and that means he does not qualify to be on the bench for the league and the Caf matches.”

Mwendwa stated how the FCF has been going on the matter of coach hiring as they have never had to deal with low-grade papers possessed by the national team tacticians.

“We hire coaches, we hired Paul Put and we did not have to deal with matters of qualifications thereafter. We also had Sebastien Migne and we did not have issues with his qualification,” Mwendwa concluded.

“We hired Francis Kimanzi, who is a trainer, number one and top instructor and we also brought on board Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee who has a Caf ‘A’ License. We have been spot on in picking coaches for the national sides.

“But what must be noted is that we, as the federation, do not deal with club matters per se. When AFC Leopards or Wazito and even Gor Mahia employ coaches, that is their job and not the federation’s.”

Mwendwa’s comments came after Caf stated Gor Mahia could be kicked out of the Champions League should they have Robertinho on the touchline.