Watford FC confirms the signing of young Irish forward Nickson Okosun, who will initially become part of the club’s Under-21 squad from January 1, 2025.

The 18-year-old will join for an undisclosed fee from Dublin side Bohemians and has been permitted to train with the Hornets until the deal is ratified on New Year’s Day.

He has signed a contract until 2029, with the club having the option of an additional year.

Okosun can play as a striker or a winger, and came through the youth system at Bohemians.

He went on to make seven appearances for their first-team, and has also represented the Republic of Ireland at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-19 level.

In March 2023, Okosun scored the winning goal for Ireland’s Under-17s in a 3-2 win over Cyprus, which booked their place at that summer’s UEFA European Under-17 Championship in Hungary.

The forward went on to play in the tournament, where his country reached the quarter-finals.

“I’m happy to be here and I can’t wait to get going,” Okosun told watfordfc.com.

“I like to link up and get in behind, and I love scoring goals as well.

“It’s a big club and there are good people, and Watford really resonated with me in that sense.

“Hopefully, I’ll hit the ground running and I’ll try and impress people here.”

Welcome to Watford, Nickson!

Culled from Watfordfc.com

The Dutchman has come under increased pressure in recent weeks and Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham proved to be the final straw for co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS.

Ruud van Nistelrooy has been placed in interim charge while United search for a new head coach.

Ten Hag leaves with United down in 14th place in the Premier League, seven points off the Champions League places after just three wins from their first nine games.

A Manchester United statement read: “Erik ten Hag has left his role as Manchester United men’s first-team manager.

“Erik was appointed in April 2022 and led the club to two domestic trophies, winning the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup in 2024.

“We are grateful to Erik for everything he has done during his time with us and wish him well for the future.

“Ruud van Nistelrooy will take charge of the team as interim head coach, supported by the current coaching team, whilst a permanent head coach is recruited.”

Ten Hag leaves United after two and a half years in charge in which he won the 2023 Carabao Cup and the FA Cup last season.

Source: Evening Standard

Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has agreed to become the next England manager.

The BBC has been told by two different sources that German Tuchel will become the third non-British permanent manager of the England men’s team after Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

England have been without a permanent manager since Gareth Southgate resigned following the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 final defeat against Spain.

Lee Carsley, who the Football Association put in charge on an interim basis, will remain in place for England’s final two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November, with Tuchel set to formally take over after that.

Tuchel’s formal unveiling is expected on Wednesday at Wembley.

His main target will be leading England through qualification for the 2026 World Cup which takes place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

An approach was also made for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola in the summer to see if had an interest in the role.

Tuchel is familiar with English football having managed Chelsea between January 2021 and September 2022.

The 51-year-old lifted the Champions League, Fifa Club World Cup and Uefa Super Cup with the Blues before being sacked.

In June, the former Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain and Borussia Dortmund manager ruled himself out of the running to take over at Manchester United having met Red Devils co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe in France.

He won the German Cup with Dortmund and two Ligue 1 titles at PSG, including a domestic treble in 2019-20.

His last high-profile job was manager of Bayern but, after the club failed to win the Bundesliga title for the first time since 2011-12 last season, he left the position despite still having a year to run on his contract.

Neither the FA nor Tuchel’s representatives would comment publicly when approached by BBC Sport.

Source: BBC

Paul Pogba says his “nightmare is over” after a four-year ban for a doping offence was reduced to 18 months following a successful appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas).

Sources close to the 31-year-old Juventus midfielder told BBC Sport he can resume training in January 2025 and will be eligible to play again from March.

France international Pogba was suspended by Italy’s national anti-doping tribunal (Nado) in February after a drugs test found elevated levels of testosterone – a hormone that increases endurance – in his system.

Cas director general Matthieu Reeb confirmed to Reuters the ban had been reduced to 18 months from 11 September, 2023.

In a statement, Pogba said: “Finally the nightmare is over. I can look forward to the day when I can follow my dreams again.

“I always stated that I never knowingly breached World Anti-Doping Agency regulations when I took a nutritional supplement prescribed to me by a doctor, which does not affect or enhance the performance of male athletes.

“I play with integrity and, although I must accept that this is a strict liability offence, I want to place on record my thanks to the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s judges who heard my explanation.

“This has been a hugely distressing period in my life because everything I have worked so hard for has been put on hold.”

Former Manchester United midfielder Pogba took his case to Cas and gave evidence in person at a hearing earlier this summer.

He previously said he would “never knowingly or deliberately” dope and believed the verdict was “incorrect”.

Had the original ban stood, the 2018 World Cup winner would have been unable to play until 2027, when he will be 34.

Pogba was provisionally suspended in September 2023 after being randomly tested following Juventus’ first match of the 2023-24 season on 20 August.

The positive test was confirmed by Nado in a second sample in October, and the anti-doping prosecutor’s office requested a four-year suspension.

Speaking at the time of the initial suspension, Pogba’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, said: “What is certain is that Paul Pogba never wanted to break a rule.”

Juventus re-signed Pogba on a four-year deal in July 2022 after the player ran down his contract at Manchester United and left as a free agent following a six-year spell.

However, his return to Turin has been beset by persistent injury problems which also caused him to miss the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Pogba managed just 162 minutes across five appearances during the 2022-23 season and had played a total of 51 minutes as a substitute in the following campaign before his suspension.

Cas has been contacted by BBC Sport for comment.

Source: BBC

Paris Saint-Germain are ready to face Kylian Mbappé in a “legal forum” after the France forward refused an offer from the French football league’s governing body (LFP) to mediate on a wage dispute, the Ligue 1 club said on Thursday.

While PSG welcomed the LFP’s offer to mediate on Wednesday, the offer was refused by the France skipper.

French media reported the 25-year-old, who had a fallout with the club last year after refusing to sign a contract extension, is seeking around €55 million ($60.73 million).

The Commission have suggested that Mbappé either go to an employment tribunal or settle the matter with the club where he spent seven seasons and became their all-time top scorer before making the switch to Real Madrid in June.

“Having heard the arguments of the parties yesterday, the Commission repeatedly insisted upon mediation between Paris Saint-Germain and the player to find a compromise in light of PSG’s favourable arguments,” the club told Reuters.

“This mediation process has been refused by the player, contrary to the Commission’s recommendation.

“…in light of the limitations of the Commission’s legal scope to take a complete decision on this matter, the matter must now be contested in another legal forum, to which Paris St Germain is delighted to present all the facts over the coming months and year.”

Last year they reported Mbappé had agreed to forego loyalty bonuses if he left PSG on a free transfer.

In January, Mbappé had said he made an agreement with PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi which would “protect all parties and preserve the club’s serenity for the challenges ahead”.

“As a matter of law and fact, the player has made clear, repeated public and private commitments that must be respected, having been afforded unprecedented benefits by the club over seven years in Paris,” PSG added.

“The club looks forward to these being upheld in the proper forum, if the player seeks to pursue this incomprehensibly reputationally damaging matter further, in due course.”

Mbappé’s representatives were not immediately available for comment.

Source: Reuters

Manchester United on Wednesday posted net losses of £113.2 million ($148 million) for 2023/24 despite earning record revenues — their fifth straight year of losses.

In the year to June 30, 2024 the Premier League club recorded record revenues of £661.8 million — up 2.1 percent — driven by record commercial and matchday revenues.

United incurred costs of £47.8 million in “exceptional items”, mostly related to Jim Ratcliffe’s purchase of a minority stake in the club, which was completed in February.

United finished eighth in the Premier League in the 2023/24 season — their lowest finish since 1990 — and exited at the group stage of the Champions League.

But Erik Ten Hag’s men won the FA Cup — beating Manchester City in the final at Wembley for a second trophy in two years.

United have embarked on a major backroom shake-up in recent months, including bringing in a new chief executive, Omar Berrada, poached from Premier League champions Manchester City.

“As I embark on my new role as chief executive officer of this historic club, we are all extremely focused on working collectively to create a bright future with football success at the heart of it,” said Berrada.

“We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance.”

The Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules allow a maximum loss of £105 million over a three-season period, but within that certain losses are deemed “allowable” such as infrastructure, youth team and women’s team spending.

Everton and Nottingham Forest both incurred points deductions last season after being found to be in breach of PSR.

United, who have started the new Premier League season with two defeats in three matches, return to action at Southampton on Saturday.

Source: AFP