DREAM MANAGER CLOSES IN ON CHELSEA JOB AFTER THIS MAJOR DEVELOPMENT

Diego Simeone is taking private English lessons with a view to becoming manager of Chelsea, according to reports in Spain.

The Argentine is one of the favourites to take over from interim boss Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge, along with Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri.

El Confidencial say current Atletico Madrid manager Simeone is even watching subtitled films to help improve his grasp of the English language.

Atletico, who sit second in La Liga behind Barcelona, are not likely to let Simeone move to the Blues easily but it’s understood Roman Abramovich views the 45-year-old as Jose Mourinho’s natural successor.

However, esteemed Juve manager Allegri is also believed to be learning English and his representatives have already held discussions with Chelsea over a possible deal.

CHELSEA TRANSFER NEWS UPDATE: HAZARD’S FUTURE PLANS, POGBA BOOST, DEFENDER MOVE

Eden Hazard will remain at Chelsea if he cannot force through a dream move to Real Madrid.

The Belgian has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge with Paris St-Germain and Madrid interested.

And the Mail claim Hazard will snub PSG for a move to the Spanish giants.

However, if the move seems unlikely, the forward is happy to bide his time and wait for the switch to become reality.
The Blues are hopeful the appointment of Massimiliano Allegri will boost their chances of landing Paul Pogba.

The Evening Standard claim Roman Abramovich is hoping Allegri will bring his Juventus star with him to Stamford Bridge.

However, Chelsea’s lack of Champions League football next season could be a huge factor.

The Blues are ready to recall Andreas Christensen from his loan spell at Borussia Mochengladbach, according to the Telegraph.

It was believed John Terry would be offered a new deal with Kurt Zouma being sidelined for six months.

However, Chelsea look set to recall Christensen in the summer, leaving Guus Hiddink short of options.

Michigan Lawmakers Pass Law Banning Oral & Anal Sex Instead of Addressing Flint Water Crisis

The water in Flint, Michigan, is contaminated with dangerous amounts of lead and other chemicals that has already claimed the lives of 10 residents. But last week, the state’s Republican legislature found a more pressing issue to tackle: sex.

The Michigan state Senate passed SB-0219 last Thursday, a bill that criminalizes oral and anal sex between two people, or a person and an animal, for that matter. The anti-sodomy bill is drawing harsh criticism from people everywhere, as it is both effectively difficult to legislate what two consenting individuals do in the privacy of their own home and potentially unconstitutional, but also that the nearly 10,000 residents of Flint are still dealing with the fallout of their contaminated water system with little help from lawmakers thus far.

ADAM JOHNSON PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL

The Sunderland midfielder has pleaded guilty to the charges at Bradford Crown Court but has denied two counts of sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16
Sunderland winger Adam Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of sexual activity with a child and one count of grooming at Bradford Crown Court on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old appeared in court on the first day of his trial into allegations of child sex charges relating to incidents between December 2014 and February last year.

England international Johnson, who last played for the Three Lions in 2012, denies two charges of sexual activity with a girl under the age of 16.
He appeared in the dock wearing a black suit and white shirt and watched on as six men and six women were selected to sit on the jury, before Judge Jonathan Rose explained that they must try to ignore any stories they may read about the case in the media.

"You may see reference to this in the press but it's the evidence in court that you will gather," he said.

"This defendant has already pleaded guilty to two offences, you will hear more about them in detail when Miss Blackwell opens the case to you on Friday.

The jury, however, will have to come to a decision on the other two remaining charges: "It will be for you and only you to determine if he is guilty or not guilty.

LUIS ENRIQUE'S BARCELONA SET NEW UNBEATEN RECORD

After drawing with Valencia, the current Barca side have now gone 29 games without suffering defeat in all competitions, the longest run in the history of the club
Pep Guardiola's long-standing unbeaten record in charge of Barcelona has been broken after the current Barca side struck late in the Copa del Rey to extend their streak to 29 games.

The previous record was set by Guardiola's all-conquering Barca side in the 2010-11 season, his penultimate year at the club, but Luis Enrique's MSN-led team drew level with the 28-match benchmark after Sunday's 2-0 win over Levante.

The Catalans appeared to be heading for defeat at the Mestalla on Wednesday night after Alvaro Negredo gave Valencia the lead, but substitute Wilfrid Kaptoum came off the bench to score the all-important goal that breaks the record.

It was the 19-year-old's first strike for the club and means Barca have now put together 23 wins and six draws in all competitions since they last lost a match, all the way back on October 3 against Sevilla.

Meet the ‘One-in-a-Millon’ Twins Who Were Born with Two Different Skin Tones

When a mother from England gave birth to fraternal twins last year she knew they would look different, but not this different.

In a rare case of genetic acrobatics, Hannah Yarker and Kyle Armstrong’s twins have beaten the one-in-a-million chances. Anaya has taken exclusively after her mother and her fair complexion while Myla has taken after her father and his mixed-race skin.

“At first, both the girls had a purple tone to their skin, but they looked darker so I assumed they’d both taken after Kyle,” Yarker told The Sun. “But after two weeks, it was clear Myla takes after her dad with dark skin, brown eyes and brunette locks, while Anaya is more of a mummy’s girl with a pale complexion, fair hair and light eyes.”

Yarker says her daughters turn heads whenever they are out. She is constantly clarifying that the now 10-month-old girls belong to her and they are in fact twins.

“Kyle is mixed-race and I’m white, so from the word go, our friends joked: ‘What would you do if one came out dark and the other was fair?’” Yarker continued. “Laughing it off, I replied ‘I don’t think it’s very likely!’ Now our girls turn heads wherever they go. I can’t walk down the aisle at the supermarket without getting stopped.”

BREAKING NEWS: DONE DEAL AS JOSE MOURINHO OFF TO MAN UTD ON A 5 YEAR DEAL

Mourinho to Man Utd a 'done deal'
Jose Mourinho has told close friends that his move to Manchester United this summer is a "done deal."
Source: Daily Mail

Beckham reportedly offering stake in Miami MLS franchise

David Beckham is looking for investment help in getting his Miami MLS franchise off the ground, according to a report in the Miami Herald.

The report says the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy star has spent the last half year looking for investors to help cover a $300 million projected cost for stadium construction, and team-building, which includes hiring a front office and bringing in star-quality players for the Miami Beckham United franchise.

Among the big names the report names as interested are Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, and Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, where Beckham suited up in 2013.

The Herald’s report also says Beckham may have to surrender majority ownership to land that investor, and that ownership and funding must be in place for a stadium land deal to be closed.

“We’re performing our due diligence on our stadium site as we move toward the acquisition of privately-held property and a third county-owned parcel over the coming weeks,’’ said Tadd Schwartz, the Miami-based spokesman for Miami Beckham United.

Beckham partner Tim Leiweke, who has been involved with the LA Galaxy and Toronto FC ownership groups in the past, is meeting with city and county officials Wednesday to hammer out details of the proposed deal. The group's reported aim is to have something in place by the end of February.

The Miami franchise has had multiple starts and stops, largely over stadium issues. However, the current plan for a 25,000-seat stadium in the Overtown section of Miami has been met with more optimism.

The Herald’s report says Beckham is exercising diligence in his search for an equity group and hoping for a partner who understands soccer, which will help provide the franchise with “international marketing reach” and construct a state-of-the-art academy.

Beckham remains hopeful MLS will approve his franchise and allow it to begin play in the 2018 season.

Oliseh escapes the axe, gets sports minister's backing

The under-fire Super Eagles coach will continue despite growing calls for his sack after his team's disastrous outing in Rwanda and his video diatribe against critics
Sports minister Solomon Dalung has backed Sunday Oliseh to remain as the head coach of the Super Eagles despite the increasing calls for his sack, Goal can reliably report.

On Monday, media reports had claimed that the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation who were gutted by the 41-year-old’s acrid comments had written the sports ministry demanding his instant sack.

Goal learnt that the NFF Technical Committee are increasingly furious, hence they recommended the sack of Oliseh largely for negative utterances including claims that he never begged for the job in a YouTube video.

The Super Eagles crashed out at the group stage of the 2016 African Nations Championship in Rwanda. Thereafter, several displeased Nigerians begun a campaign for the dismissal of the ex-international after barely seven months in charge.

Though analysts have kept asking questions about his competence, the former Juventus midfielder blamed non-payment of salaries and bonuses as the reasons for the team’s early exit.

But a source in the sports ministry informed Goal that the minister believes Oliseh deserves a chance to improve on pass mistakes and build a stronger national team.

"The Minister (Solomon Dalung) has frowned at moves to sack the Super Eagles coach," the source said.

"He has insisted that Oliseh must continue because the ministry will not support the sack of any national coach on the grounds of losing a game or not winning a competition.

"The minister thinks it’s uncalled for because he believes that the sack of a coach is not the best answer in this situation.

"It is not also the best way to build a team, instead the coach needs such outings to learn and get better on the job.”

Whether Oliseh's sack letter had been submitted to the sports ministry, the source refuted the report and explained that it was yet to receive such a notice from the NFF.

"It is not true. The minister is yet to get such a letter. Not even the ministry of sports has received such notice from the NFF, so it's not true," the source concluded.

What happens next is unclear but the backing of the sports ministry will be a huge boost for Oliseh's future against the increasing clamour for his sack.

But this development might have fueled his deteriorating relationship with the NFF with crucial Africa Cup of Nations 2017 qualifying games against Egypt next month.

In recent developments, NFF president Amaju Pinnick spoke on a radio show on Tuesday night and said the NFF has agreed to help the coach prosecute the upcoming games with Egypt in order that the team may qualify for Afcon 2017.

Pinnick spoke at length about the embarrassment that Oliseh caused the federation and Nigeria as a whole with his YouTube outburst on Classic FM.

Lagos to host Joseph Yobo testimonial

The former Super Eagles captain will be feted by the state government as part of plans to turn the metropolis into a venue for high quality sport and entertainment
The Lagos State Government is set to host a befitting testimonial for former Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo where it expects players like Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, and a host of other global names to participate, Goal has learnt.

Though the date has not been announced, the Yobo testimonial will be a celebration of the career of the former defender who was the first to reach a century of caps for the Nigeria senior national team, according to Mr Adeboye Anthony Adeyinka, Senior Special Assistant on Sports to the Lagos State Governor.

After a successful staging of the Lagos Marathon last weekend, the Lagos State Government is starting to look at sports as a veritable way to market the metropolis, and what bigger way than football and Yobo?

“The match will be played in Lagos but it will not be a Lagos thing alone because Yobo played for Nigeria so it will also be a Federation event,” Adeyinka told Goal.

The 35-year-old had a distinguished career which took him to several countries and clubs. He played in Belgium, France, England and Turkey with varying degrees of success.

Yobo led the Super Eagles to victory at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations before calling time on his international career after Nigeria’s second round elimination by France at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“When he was playing in Nigeria, he was a respected person. When he played abroad he was never red-carded in any match. All his coaches will testify to what I have said and they will be invited to the testimonial,” said Adeyinka.