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Saudi Arabian-based club Al-Ahli have reportedly signed Victor Osimhen for €80 million from Napoli. On Thursday, August 29, Bournemouth confirmed the signing of Chelsea’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on a season-long loan deal. India’s Sriram Balaji scored a career-first US Open main draw win and combined with his Argentine partner Guido Andreozzi scraped through a third-set tiebreaker.
In this article, we will have a look at all the big news that took place in world of sports in last 24 hours.
Napoli's Victor Osimhen set to join Saudi club Al-Ahli for €80 million deal: Reports
Saudi Arabian-based club Al-Ahli have reportedly signed Victor Osimhen for €80 million from Napoli. The 25-year-old was meant to join Chelsea on loan, but Al-Ahli swooped in with a big money move for him. Both the clubs have agreed to a deal for the Nigerian international, who is now booked for a medical by Al-Ahli. It is important to note that Victor Osimhen is yet to say yes to the deal. For this specific reason, the London-based Chelsea have not given up on the idea of a long-term deal with Victor Osimhen on transfer deadline day. For the unversed, the Blues were prepared to bring Victor Osihmen in with an obligation to buy from Napoli. However, Al-Ahli offered a four-year contract to the African Footballer of the Year 2023.
Napoli sign Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea for €30 million
Romelu Lukaku has joined Napoli on a permanent transfer after signing a three-year deal worth €30 million with add-ons. After being loaned out by Chelsea to two Italian clubs in the last couple of seasons, the 31-year-old has left the English club, to become a part of Napoli with their club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis confirming the deal by posting "Welcome Romelu" alongside his photo on social media.
Bournemouth sign Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on season-long loan deal
On Thursday, August 29, Bournemouth confirmed the signing of Chelsea’s goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on a season-long loan deal. The move to Bournemouth, the English club in the south coast, came after Kepa Arrizabalaga signed a one-year extension of his contract with Chelsea last week, which was due to expire at the close of the 2024-25 football season. Notably, Kepa Arrizabalaga is the most expensive goalkeeper in the world after he moved to Chelsea for a £71 million contract from his boyhood club Athletic Bilbao in 2018. In the last season, the Spaniard was loaned out to Real Madrid, where he made 20 appearances and won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League after replacing injured Thibaut Courtois.
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 draw: Real Madrid to face Liverpool; City and Arsenal get PSG in new format
On Thursday, August 29, the draw for the UEFA Champions League (UCL) 2024-25, to be played in a new format, was held in Monaco, where all the 36 teams found out their eight opponents in the league stage of the tournament. In the major matches, Real Madrid are slated to face Liverpool, while Manchester City and Arsenal will take on Paris Saint-Germain.
Kylian Mbappe goes scoreless as Real Madrid hold another draw in La Liga against Las Palmas
On Thursday, August 27, the defending champions, Real Madrid, settled for a 1-1 draw against the Las Palmas at the Gran Canaria in the Spanish league. Kylian Mbappe, who has been their biggest signing in years, remained scoreless, but thanks to Vinicius Junior’s 69th minute goal the team avoided a first league loss of the season. Vinicius found the back of the net, which was his first league goal this season, by converting a 69th minute penalty kick after a handball from Alex Suarez. However, the visitors trailed in the first half after a fifth minute goal from Alberto Moleiro, but a 69th minute saviour by the Brazilian helped them to draw another game.
Tennis
First win at the US Open feels great: Sriram Balaji after first US Open main draw win
India’s Sriram Balaji scored a career-first US Open main draw win and combined with his Argentine partner Guido Andreozzi scraped through a third-set tiebreaker. They took down New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell and Mexico’s Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela. The Indo-Argentine duo emerged victorious 5-7, 6-1, 5-4. After the win, he said, “Yes, first win at the US Open. It obviously feels great and. We went into the match with a game plan. We played well and I have to give credit to them also because we were serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set and then they came up with a couple of good points and broke us. The momentum shifted completely. But, we just stayed focused and did our thing."
Jannik Sinner takes down Alex Michelsen to reach US Open third round
World number 1 tennis star Jannik Sinner made it to the third round of the US Open by taking down Alex Michelsen of the USA in straight sets. The US Open top-seeded won the game 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 on Arthur Ashe Stadium in just 99 minutes to secure the win. Sinner dominated his rival throughout the game and converted eight out of his 16 breakpoint opportunities and took down his American rival. The Italian tennis pro will be up against Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.
