Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola feels he might have unearthed a gem of a player in Gabriel Jesus after the young striker’s virtuoso display in Wednesday’s 4-0 Premier League win at West Ham United.
The 19-year-old, who joined at the start of January from Brazilian side Palmeiras, scored one and assisted on another on his first start for his new club.
“You never know. It’s like a watermelon. You have to open to see if it’s good or not. The prospect was good. Jesus is a fighter with instinct for the goal,” Guardiola told British media.
“He has dreams about what he wants to do in his future career. He wants to become something in world football, and we’re going to try to get it for us.”
Anelka joins Dutch club as consultant
Former France international Nicolas Anelka is joining Roda JC Kerkrade as a consultant for the Dutch top flight side.
“Nicolas Anelka will concentrate on our academy,” a statement said. “His precise role will be discussed over the next weeks. He will also advise the club on prospects in the French market.
“On the advice of Anelka, the club has contracted Lyes Houri, 21, on loan from Bastia. He will get a chance to prove himself in the Roda under-21 team over the next six months.”
Anelka, now 37, is also an advisor to Aleksei Korotaev, the Swiss-Russian investor, who bought a share in the club last month.
Man. United deny Griezmann deal
Manchester United have denied reports that an agreement has been reached in principle with Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann.
Jose Mourinho’s men have long been linked with a summer move for the 25-year-old and it has been reported in France that the basis of an agreement is in place with the attacker.
However, while Griezmann may be of interest to United, an Old Trafford source has denied Wednesday’s reports to Press Association Sport.
Ahmad seeks FIFA re-election
Olympic Council of Asia President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah of Kuwait will seek re-election to the FIFA Council after the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) named him as one of eight candidates for the four spots available for the continent.
Sheikh Ahmad, who heads the Association of National Olympic committees and is an influential International Olympic Committee (IOC) member, currently has a FIFA Council seat, the term of which ends in May.
Kuwait are currently banned by both the IOC and FIFA for government interference in the running of the national sports associations.
Balotelli will wait on his future
Nice striker Mario Balotelli will decide the next step in his career in the summer, according to his agent Mino Raiola.
Balotelli signed a one-year deal with Nice when he left Liverpool at the start of the season, and has helped the Mediterranean club into contention for the Ligue 1 title, scoring nine goals in 11 top-flight outings.
“Mario’s at Nice, because he wants to show everyone he’s a person who wants to do his work well and show it on a daily basis,” Raiola said.
“There are so many teams who have asked about him, from northern Europe to China. But we have told everyone that Balotelli wants to wait a few months before deciding what the future holds.”
‘Aubameyang must focus on Dortmund’
Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc has told Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to stop talking about his future and focus on the club he plays for now.
Aubameyang, 27, admitted that he is weighing up his future, telling French media that, although he feels “very good” at Dortmund, he is not sure he will stay at the club beyond the summer.
Zorc said: “We chatted briefly, and I recommended to him to give less interviews about the summer and rather focus on our chase of a Champions League spot on the pitch.
“He understood it. We have a very, very good relationship, but we needed to set an example for the inside and the public that our focus now is on the sporting side.”
Lichtsteiner pens new Juventus deal
Stephan Lichtsteiner will embark on a seventh season as a Juventus player after signing a new deal.
The 33-year-old Swiss right-back joined Juve from Lazio in July 2011 and has since won five Serie A titles with the Turin club.
“Juventus FC is pleased to announce that Stephan Lichtsteiner has renewed his Juventus contract until 30 June 2018 in a deal that will extend his black and white journey into at least its seventh year,” the club said.
The wing-back looked to be on the verge of leaving the Bianconeri earlier this season, and was left out of the Champions League squad.