Author: Brila

English Premier League giants Chelsea have rejected Barcelona’s third and improved bid worth £55m for 29-year-old Brazilian star Willian Borges Da Silva. Barcelona are believed to have tabled an improved bid in excess of £55m last week, which the Blues have now knocked back. Willian, along with Chelsea’s Belgium duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois, has not traveled to Australia as he takes some time off after the World Cup. Sky Sports News suggests that Chelsea are standing firm, potentially opening the door for rivals Manchester United to make a move. Willian grew frustrated under ex-manager Antonio Conte last season, but he still…

Nigeria Under-17 National team Coach Manu Garba has expressed confidence in his team’s qualification for the forthcoming youth Championship. Garba in an interview with www.brila.net’s Pius Idoko vouched that the Golden Eaglets will strive hard to qualify for the Africa U-17 Nations Cup to be hosted by Tanzania. “Qualifying for the nations cup is the first assignment they have in their hands,” The Coach said. The ex-International also believes Nigeria will pick the sole ticket from the seven Africanrican countries that will be vying for that slot in the Group. The 2019 Africa U-17 Cup of Nations will…

Nigeria-born and Former USA U-20 defender Jalil Anibaba has praised his fatherland’s “almost fantastic” run in the recently concluded 2018 FIFA World Cup. In an interview with www.brila.net’s Tony Bekederemo, Anibaba applauded the efforts of the Nigerian National team in Russia despite their early ouster at the FIFA Mundial. “I think the Super Eagles have done the Nation, Nigeria proud,” The former Seattle Sounder FC player stated. “The guys really showed character, they showed us Nigeria has the capacity to compete with other footballing Nations at the highest level” The 6ft defender who currently plays for Major League…

Belgian Jupiler Division club KAA Gent have confirmed the signing of Super Eagles forward Taiwo Awoniyi on loan from EPL giants Liverpool. Awoniyi recently extended his contract with the Premier League side, will spend the entirety of the 2018-2019 campaign at the East Flanders club. Last term, Awoniyi was loaned out to Royal Excel Mouscron and had his most productive season in terms of goals, netting ten goals in 31 games across all competitions. The 20-year-old forward has had loan spells with SV Frankfurt (Germany) and NEC Nijmegen (Netherlands).

Super Eagles forward and NPFL top scorer Junior Lokosa has arrived Norway on Monday Morning ahead of his trials at Norwegian premier league side, SK Brann. Lokosa has scored 19 goals for Kano Pillars in this season’s NPFL and it is understood that the Norwegian club have made an earlier official contact with the four-time Nigerian champions. Norwegian premium news outfit Bergensavisen says the 24-year-old Kano Pillars star was accompanied to Flesland by his agent, Tella Abiodun, who answered questions on behalf of the player. Meanwhile, SK Brann sports manager Rune Soltvedt says they want to check Lokosa, and…

English Premier League side Chelsea began life under new Manager Maurizio Sarri with a 1-0 victory over Perth Glory in Australia. An early goal from Pedro proved to be the difference between the two sides, but new head coach Maurizio Sarri will be pleased with the level of his side’s performance in his first game in charge of the Blues. Despite the absence of a number of players due to their participation at the World Cup, Sarri was still able to name a strong starting lineup which included new arrival Jorginho and the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Alvaro Morata. Barkley impressed in particular, and Sarri…

Former Chelsea and Juventus energetic Boss Antonio Conte has taken the opportunity to relax following his recent sacking as manager of Chelsea. Conte was seen for the first time since being relieved of his duties and being told he no longer needed to report in to take training. Chelsea ushered Premier League title winner Conte out of the door while facilitating the arrival of Maurizio Sarri from Napoli. Despite initially reporting for pre-season and taking command of training sessions while his job situation at Chelsea was attended to, Conte has now headed off to warmer climes for a much-needed re-charge.…

Flying Eagles coach, Paul Aigbogun, has resigned from his post as Chief Coach of Aba-based Clubside Enyimba, ending his third stint at the club. Enyimba are fourth in the 2018 Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) standings with 38 points from 24 games. The People’s Elephant’s first assistant coach, Usman Abdallah will take charge of the team on an interim basis. Abd’allah’s first task in charge of the team will be against Williamsville Athletic Club of Cote’d Ivoire this Sunday away – a CAF Confederation Cup at the Felix Houphouet- Boigny Stadium. The two-time CAF Champions League…

Qualifying for the Champions League and Europa League is already underway as clubs throughout Europe try to seal their spots in the group stages. The likes of Benfica, Dynamo Kiev, and Fenerbahce enter the fray at this stage for the two-legged ties taking place on August. Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic will be hoping to join them and, providing they see off Rosenborg in the second qualifying round, will take on AEK Athens for a place in the final qualifying round. There’s also the small matter of the Europa League draw, where Steven Gerrard’s Rangers, Aberdeen and Burnley will…

The Super Falconets will play two friendlies during their training camp in Austria, before heading to France on August 2nd for this year’s FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup. The contingent of 25 players and 11 officials, including Falconets head coach, Chris Danjuma as well as his assistants, Wemimo Mathew, Mansur Abdullahi, Lateef Yusuf and Precious Dede, departed from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Friday night. Nigeria will battle Haiti, China, and Germany in Group D of the 16 –nation finals, while Africa’s other flagbearer Ghana must negotiate a tough Group A against host France, New Zealand and…