Football

English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion are close to signing Nigerian international defender Leon Balogun from Mainz on a free transfer. Balogun is seen as an ideal replacement for Uwe Hunemeier who departed the club for SC Paderborn, according to a report on ESPN FC. The 29-year-old Super Eagles star is out of contract at Mainz this summer and Brighton look set to bring him to the Amex Stadium having secured their status in the EPL for next season.

Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane has been named captain of the England team to this year’s FIFA World Cup. Gareth Southgate made the announcement on Tuesday. Speaking on Kane’s choice, Southgate said: “He is a meticulous professional and one of the most important things for a captain is that they set the standard every day.

Mauro Icardi will have to watch the 2018 World Cup from the sidelines after being excluded from Argentina's final 23-man Russia squad.

The Inter star scored for the Nerazzurri on Sunday as they completed a famous comeback to beat Lazio 3-2 and squeeze into the Champions League ahead of the Rome side.

But despite finishing the season as Serie A top scorer on 29 goals, Icardi has been overlooked by Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli.

The Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung, on Monday said DR Congo players would be screened for Ebola on arrival in the country ahead of their friendly match against the Super Eagles in Port Harcourt on Monday. This is because of the outbreak of the deadly virus in the Central African country.

Arsenal are set to appoint Unai Emery as their new manager.

Manchester City assistant manager and former Gunners captain Mikel Arteta was strong favourite to succeed Arsene Wenger.

Emery emerged as the unanimous choice following a recruitment process in which all candidates were spoken to.

Jan Oblak, Juanfran, Gabriel Fernandez Arena, known as Gabi, and Fernando Torres are part of a 20-man Atletico Madrid squad that will face the Super Eagles B side in a friendly on Tuesday.

Atletico announced the 20-man squad on their verified Twitter handle on Monday.

The game will take place at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.