Sport News Spans Club Takeover Transfer Confession And Rugby Recruit

White and black soccer ball on green grass field (Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash )

White and black soccer ball on green grass field (Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash)

Summary
  • Ares Capital put Eagle Football UK holding company into administration
  • Cork Gully will seek buyers for Botafogo Lyon and RWDM Brussels
  • Agent Silvano Martina says Dzeko had agreed to join Juventus in 2020
  • Neff Giwa committed to South Carolina after rapid recruitment from rugby

Sport business saw Ares Capital Corporation place Eagle Football Holdings Bidco into administration.

The move ended former Crystal Palace owner John Textor's control, The Athletic reported.

Insolvency firm Cork Gully now controls the UK holding company and will seek buyers for majority stakes in Botafogo, Lyon and RWDM Brussels.

Ares cited events of default under its financial agreements, including repeated failure to file accounts and other financial statements on time.

Textor reacted with bravado and defiance, and Eagle Football said it was "gravely offended by the unilateral and predatory decision," the company said.

Player News On Dzeko And Giwa

Silvano Martina, Edin Dzeko's former agent, told La Stampa via Tuttomercatoweb that Dzeko had already agreed to join Juventus in 2020 before Roma intervened.

Martina said Roma refused to let Dzeko leave because Arek Milik failed a medical and no replacement was available, so Dzeko moved to Inter on a free at season's end.

Martina added that Fabio Paratici then pursued Alvaro Morata after waiting became impossible, according to the report.

The striker, recently turned 40, scored the goal that forced a 1-1 draw with Wales and helped Bosnia win the subsequent penalty shoot-out to reach a World Cup play-off final against Italy.

Dzeko is expected to start on Tuesday despite fatigue from the draw, and Martina said he remains "an incredible professional" who runs over 10km per game.

Dzeko made 279 Serie A appearances, scored 107 goals and provided 50 assists, and he was top scorer in 2017 with 29 goals, the article reported.

Oluwanifemi "Neff" Giwa, a 20-year-old Irish rugby player with no American football experience, committed to South Carolina as an offensive lineman, ESPN reported.

Giwa measures 6-foot-7 1/2 and 295 pounds, has 37-inch arms, ran a 4.88 40-yard dash and recorded a 9 feet 10 inches broad jump, the Associated Press said.

He chose the Gamecocks over offers from Miami, North Carolina, SMU, Tennessee and Texas after visiting campuses and spending time with coach Shane Beamer.

Giwa told the Associated Press he could not have anticipated the recruitment pace and called the college football environment "a different world."

He grew up in Cashel in County Tipperary, has three older siblings, and said NIL possibilities and family pride factored into his decision, the AP reported.