Arsenal preparing player-exchange offer to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha
Comment Zaha scored at the Emirates earlier this season (Picture: Getty)Palace are realistic about their chances of keeping Zaha but want around £80m for the forward, who scored ten goals in 36 appearances last season.AdvertisementAdvertisementArsenal are unwilling to stretch that far but Emery is prepared to offer Chambers, Nelson or Carl Jenkinson in any deal to sign the forward, according to the Sun.Emery is willing to leave it late to make his move for Zaha, believing that Palace may eventually drop their asking price for the forward.More: Arsenal FCArsenal flop Denis Suarez delivers verdict on Thomas Partey and Lucas Torreira movesThomas Partey debut? Ian Wright picks his Arsenal starting XI vs Manchester CityArsene Wenger explains why Mikel Arteta is ‘lucky’ to be managing ArsenalLiverpool and Manchester City are not interested in Zaha, while Chelsea have been hit with a two-window transfer ban.Manchester United are unlikely to move for the forward given he spent an unhappy 18 months at Old Trafford, meaning Arsenal may have a clear path to the forward.MORE: N’Golo Kante tempted by Paris Saint-Germain transfer as French giants prepare bid Arsenal are keen on Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha (Picture: Getty)Arsenal are prepared to offer Calum Chambers and Reiss Nelson plus cash in a deal to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.The Gunners are keen to add some width to their attack and Zaha has made it clear to Palace that he wants to leave Selhurst Park this summer.The Ivory Coast forward, who counts as a ‘homegrown’ player in the Premier League, wants to join a Champions League club.Arsenal can confirm their place in the competition next season with a win against Chelsea in the Europa League final in Baku later this month and that would boost Unai Emery’s budget from around £45m to £75m.ADVERTISEMENT Metro Sport ReporterSunday 19 May 2019 10:16 amShare this article via facebookShare this article via twitterShare this article via messengerShare this with Share this article via emailShare this article via flipboardCopy link1.1kShares Arsenal preparing player-exchange offer to sign Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha Advertisement Advertisement
707 Cavendish Road, Holland Park.More from newsCrowd expected as mega estate goes under the hammer7 Aug 2020Hard work, resourcefulness and $17k bring old Ipswich home back to life20 Apr 2020This 1950s brick post-war cottage has hit the market and there’s plenty that can be done to it.The two-bedroom, one-bathroom property at 707 Cavendish Rd, Holland Park is a 878sq m block.Nobel Realtors – Corinda selling agent Anna Samios said: “Possibilities are endless, either keep the original residence tenanted while you plan to build your future palatial dream or add your own personal flair to this character home”.The property features a north-easterly aspect, a secluded rear entertaining area and a fully fenced yard.The property is close to schools, shops and walking tracks.
The new Ireland manager appointed the 42-year-old as his assistant last week with Keane having been out of the game since losing his job at Ipswich in January 2011. O’Neill was delighted to have landed a number two he believes will bring genuine quality to the international stage he once graced as a player, but revealed his astonishment at his availability. Martin O’Neill has admitted he is surprised no club has taken the chance to hand Roy Keane a return to management. “He was very focussed, he was looking forward to it and he was talking a great deal about it last night, and true to his word, he was there.” O’Neill revealed he spoke briefly to the players on Monday evening and then again on Tuesday morning before training, and he and Keane will spend the next two days getting to know the squad ahead of Friday’s friendly against Latvia. The manager already knows the likes of John O’Shea and Keiren Westwood from his time at Sunderland, and there was another familiar face in midfielder Aiden McGeady. O’Neill said: “They are very enthusiastic and ready for it, I think. There’s a bit of disappointment with the way in which the (World Cup) qualifiers ended. “Just speaking to them last night, I think they felt that probably the killer-blow was really the late equaliser by Austria and that certainly knocked confidence a bit, and from then onwards, it was really uphill. But overall, they are looking forward to it. “McGeady hasn’t changed a bit since I knew him at Celtic. He’s exactly the same, just as crabbit as they come. Not one bit, honestly.” When asked the inevitable question about Stephen Ireland’s chances of being recalled to the squad after his self-imposed six-year exile, O’Neill insisted he had an open mind. Ireland has indicated he would like to speak to the new management team, although the 61-year-old Ulsterman is not sure how he will approach the issue. He said: “Some players are actually taller than me and some are stronger than me, and when I have a decision to leave them out, I might have to phone them rather than speak to them face-to-face. That will tell you how brave I am at the end of it all. “When you have to face John Hartson in the wrath of a semi-final having been taken off the field – and we had won the game. “I thought John would have been celebrating, but he was waiting for me in the tunnel, so having faced John, I think I can face most people. “And to be perfectly honest, Stephen Ireland is much smaller than John Hartson.” Andy Reid has returned to the international fold in the wake of Giovanni Trapattoni’s departure having fallen foul of the Italian following a sing-song in the team hotel in the wake of a World Cup qualifier victory over Georgia. Asked if he could cope with Reid and his guitar, O’Neill replied: “If he plays it well, I haven’t a problem with it. “At some stage, Andy will have to go to bed, won’t he? If he is still continuing to play at 5.30am, even I, even if we won, might get fed up with that.” He said: “I am. I know that he feels things didn’t go very well at Ipswich for him. “I think sometimes it’s forgotten as well that in his first season, he actually got Sunderland promoted and did very well. Some of those things get lost in time and people want to forget that. “But I think I was surprised that he hadn’t had another opportunity, that somebody wouldn’t have taken a chance with him. “But who knows what might happen here? He’s here, he is focussed on it. He wants to do it and I think you will find tomorrow that he is especially ready for it.” Keane will meet the media on Wednesday afternoon for the first time since his appointment and given that much of the talk since his return to the Irish set-up was first mooted has centred around his Saipan bust-up with then manager Mick McCarthy ahead of the 2002 World Cup finals, there is sure to be a packed house. The former Manchester United midfielder was at the training ground by 9.30am on Tuesday morning, 90 minutes before the players were due to begin work under the new regime for the first time, and the initial feedback after a session in which he played a leading role was positive. O’Neill said: “Roy? Well, I sent him there early,” before adding: “I did not, he wanted to go. “He was with the goalkeeping coach and Seamus (McDonagh) is always early. Seamus would have started at 5.30am this morning if he could, so Roy wanted to go with him just to get a few things organised. Press Association
“The Supreme favourite normally gets turned over, that’s Douvan, who is probably one of our hottest ones. It’s what we’re in the game for, though – to go to Cheltenham with as many as we can muster with a chance. As much as I dread it, it’s lovely. That’s the position we want to be in. “This game is a game of disappointments more than anything. You need to enjoy the good ones when they come along.” The nine-times Irish champion jumps trainer has been the Festival’s top handler in three of the past four seasons and would dearly love to add to his haul in the year the award is named after Dessie Hughes, who passed away last year. Despite leaving Prestbury Park last March with four winners, Mullins admits there was still a sense of what might have been. He said: “Last year we had four winners and six seconds – three of them involved in photo finishes – and maybe a stewards’ inquiry or two that could have gone our way and didn’t. “We all regrouped after and we were delighted to win the leading trainer award, but we were left wondering what it would have been like if everything clicked – it could have been a hell of a year. “That just shows you what the competition is like at Cheltenham. If you’re just not up to it, you’re just going to be beaten. It’s the thrill of Cheltenham. If it was that easy, it wouldn’t be any fun.” Mullins will send a jaw-dropping squad of around 50 horses to the Cotswolds, more than most trainers have in their yard, and admits it is something of a logistical nightmare for his hard-working team. He said: “It’s definitely the strongest team we’ve ever had and I think we’ll definitely have more numbers this year and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. “I’m just hoping it doesn’t leave our line too thin for looking after all the horses that are going over there. It’s going to be hard work for the people involved and I don’t get involved as I find if I do, it goes wrong! “Two years ago, I think, we brought over a horse that wasn’t running and another horse got left behind. Luckily enough it’s a short ferry ride and short drive over to Cheltenham!” It is 10 years since the Festival was increased from three days to four and with the the popularity of the fixture showing no signs of waning, there has even been talk of adding a fifth day and taking the fixture into the weekend. While an extra six or seven races would provide Mullins with more chances of winning races, the purist in him feels extending the meeting would be the wrong way to go. He said: “I was brought up with black and white TV, watching Arkle and Mill House and all those, and that’s what’s in a lot of our heads. I’m not in favour of Cheltenham getting bigger, but as a trainer I shouldn’t say that. “I should say I want a 10-day Cheltenham because as a trainer it’s our job to have more races to win at Cheltenham. “But I don’t know if expanding it is making the experience better. The experience as a three-day meeting was fantastic. Four days probably hasn’t caught up with that experience and a lot of people are either going for the first two days or the second two days. “As someone who loves the atmosphere and loves Cheltenham for what it is – the best jumps racing in Ireland or England – we must preserve it, I think.” And so, as Mullins prepares for the biggest week of the season, is the obvious pressure that comes with saddling so many high-profile names and favourites keeping him awake at night? He said: “I sleep all the time. That’s the one good thing – I could sleep on a bed of nails!” It would be one of the biggest shocks in racing history should he not add to that considerable tally during the four days at Prestbury Park, but Mullins is well able to keep his feet on the ground. He said: “You just hope you don’t get a cough or cold in the yard and it’s a nervous time, but it’s a good nervousness. “We’re looking forward to it as much as we’re dreading it. We’re looking forward to one or two of the nice horses hopefully winning their races.” In fact, if Mullins does not strike at least a couple of times on Tuesday’s opening card, there are likely to be some long faces within his camp, in the Cheltenham betting ring and the length and breadth of Ireland. Douvan is all the rage for the opening Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, while Un De Sceaux is odds-on across the board for the Arkle Trophy. Most trainers would be happy with two such horses over the whole week, but later that afternoon Mullins will then go to war with Faugheen and Hurricane Fly in the Champion Hurdle, before Annie Power goes in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle. “We know they can’t all win. I was only thinking in bed what the percentage is of winning favourites on the first day,” said Mullins. “I keep reading in the paper we have five favourites on the first day. Do five favourites win out of seven races? One or two might get through, we might have a treble if we’re really lucky. Willie Mullins has admitted to feeling a mixture of dread and excitement as he prepares to unleash a scarcely believable army of equine talent on the Cheltenham Festival. It is 20 years since the master of Closutton first struck gold at the greatest show on turf, with Tourist Attraction a 25-1 winner of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Despite descending from esteemed National Hunt stock as son of the great Paddy Mullins, trainer of the remarkable Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup-winning mare Dawn Run, few could have guessed at that stage Willie would go on to become the all-time leading Irish trainer at the Festival, with 33 successes to his name so far. Press Association
…although announcing 3rd discoveryBritish-owned Tullow Oil has made its third oil discovery offshore Guyana but despite finding high-quality crude this time, the company has decided against commercialising the oil.Tullow Chief Operating Officer Mark MacFarlaneIn a statement on Thursday, Tullow explained that its latest find at the Carapa-1 well on the Repsol-operated Kanuku licence was approximately four metres of net oil pay based on preliminary interpretation, which is below pre-drill estimates.According to the British-owned oil company, the Valaris EXL II jack-up rig drilled the Carapa-1 well to a total depth of 3290 metres in 68 metres of water. It added that “…the well will now be plugged and abandoned”.Nevertheless, Tullow noted that this find has extended the prolific Cretaceous oil play into the group’s Guyana acreage. The company pointed out that preliminary results of drilling, wireline logging, pressure testing and sampling of reservoir fluid indicate the discovery of oil in Upper Cretaceous age sandstone reservoirs.In fact, it added that rig site testing has indicated that the oil is 27 degrees API with a sulphur content of less than one per cent. Detailed laboratory analysis of the oil quality will follow in due course.“The Carapa oil discovery suggests the extension of the Cretaceous oil play from the Stabroek licence southwards into the Kanuku licence. While net pay is lower than pre-drill forecasts, the 27-degree API oil supports the significant potential of the Cretaceous play on both the Kanuku and adjacent Orinduik licences,” it noted.According to Tullow Chief Operating Officer Mark MacFarlane, the Carapa-1 result is an important exploration outcome with positive implications for both the Kanuku and Orinduik blocks.He added “…While net pay and reservoir development at this location are below our pre-drill estimates, we are encouraged to find good quality oil which proves the extension of the prolific Cretaceous play into our acreage. We will now integrate the results of the three exploration wells drilled in these adjacent licences into our Guyana and Suriname geological and geophysical models before deciding the future work programme”.Repsol is the operator of the Kanuku Block with a 37.5 per cent stake. Tullow Guyana BV also holds an equal 37.5 per cent stake while Total E&P Guyana BV has the remaining 25 per cent.This is Tullow’s third oil find offshore Guyana. However, in November, the company revealed that samples from both discoveries at the Jethro-1 well in August and Joe-1 well in September in the Orinduik Block showed heavy crudes with high sulphur content – a variety of oil that is less economically viable than the light, sweet crudes found by United States oil giant ExxonMobil right offshore Guyana in the neighbouring Stabroek Block.Despite this, however, it was reported in November that the British-owned oil company will continue drillings this year with hopes of finding better quality crude.Tullow holds a 60 per cent stake in the Orinduik Block, while Total E&P Guyana BV has 25 per cent and the remaining 15 per cent being held by Eco (Atlantic) Guyana Inc.Head of the Department of Energy, Dr Mark Bynoe, had indicated at the time that such discovery is not unusual circumstances.“Most of the finds that are often announced, are announced based on a single well that is drilled. After that, the companies go back in to do appraisal drills. That appraisal drill may then help them to find additional types of fuel. So you can have in the first field, heavy fuel and later on, you can find lighter fuel. It’s not homogenous,” the Energy Director noted.However, when Tullow had announced its first discovery of oil in commercial quantities, the companies’ shares had jumped by over 19 per cent on the London Stock Exchange. But its November announcement of the low quality and unprofitable crude caused the companies’ shares to tumble.The British-owned oil company’s troubles continued to the end of 2019. In fact, its shares dropped to a 20-year low of 72 per cent as the group cut its oil production forecasts for the coming years and announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Paul McDade as well as its Exploration Chief Angus McCoss.A similar drop in shares was seen on Thursday when the company announced that it will not be commercialising its latest find at the Carapa-1 well. At the open in London, Tullow’s stock fell as much as 20 per cent but narrowed later in the day to under seven per cent.