Christopher Nkunku has officially joined AC Milan from Chelsea for a permanent fee of €42 million (£36.2m/$49m). The French forward has signed a five-year contract, keeping him at the club until 2030. This deal comes after a challenging and injury-ridden stint in West London, where Nkunku struggled to establish himself as a regular under Enzo Maresca.

• Nkunku jumps ship from Chelsea to Milan
• Serie A giants paid €42m for the forward
• Milan debut could come after the international break

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  After making a high-profile £52m ($70m) move from RB Leipzig in 2023, the 25-year-old faced a series of setbacks, including a serious knee injury in pre-season, which restricted him to just 11 Premier League appearances in his first season. Despite being fit again, Nkunku struggled to earn a regular spot in the starting XI, with many of his appearances coming in cup competitions. The writing was on the wall when he was excluded from the squad for the opening two games of this season, signalling that he was no longer in the manager's plans.

Advertisement

• GOAL
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The sale of Nkunku also clears up space for Chelsea to pursue more transfer targets, including the potential signing of Alejandro Garnacho from Manchester United. Reports have surfaced that Chelsea are closing in on a £40m ($54m) deal for the Argentine forward.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  During his time at Chelsea, Nkunku made 62 appearances, registering 18 goals and 5 assists across all competitions. Last season, he played in 43 matches, scoring 14 goals, and was involved in six games during the club’s Club World Cup campaign.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images/Calciomercato
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR NKUNKU?

  Milan’s first win of the new Serie A campaign came this past Friday against Lecce, and Nkunku could make his debut for the Italian giants after the international break. They are scheduled to host Bologna on September 14, and it’s expected that Nkunku will be integrated into the squad for that fixture.

Emi Martinez spent transfer deadline day waiting on a call from Manchester United that never came, with the Red Devils signing Senne Lammens instead.

• World Cup winner wanted Old Trafford switch
• Asked international team-mate for help 
• No deal done as Red Devils snapped up Belgian

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The acquisition of a potential new No.1 was always a top priority at Old Trafford throughout the summer window. Many considered World Cup winner Martinez to be the ideal candidate to take over from error-prone Andre Onana between the sticks at the so-called ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

Advertisement

• Getty/GOAL
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Argentina international Martinez was open to said move, having seemingly bid farewell to Aston Villa fans at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, but the enigmatic 32-year-old was left hanging as the deadline passed with no deal done.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  According to , Martinez “called on his Argentina team-mate, United defender Lisandro Martinez, to try to advocate for him with people at United” as the clock ticked down. He also “spoke to Ruben Amorim in June and July about a prospective move”, with United’s Portuguese coach of the opinion that the South American’s “character and experience would be beneficial for his side”.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty/GOAL
  

  TELL ME MORE

  Only one call was made, regarding a loan deal that was never going to be acceptable to Villa. From there, Martinez’s salary became a problem – with the ex-Arsenal shot-stopper working on terms in the West Midlands until 2029 that see him earn more than Onana. A fee of over £30 million ($41m) also needed to be factored into the equation.

MatériaMais Notícias

A Federaçãode Futebol doEstado do Rio de Janeiro (Ferj) definiu nesta terça-feira os árbitros que irão apitar as partidas da final do Campeonato Carioca 2023, entre Flamengo e Fluminense. No jogo de ida, no próximo sábado (1º), o jogo ficará sob o comando deWagner Nascimento Magalhães. Na volta, no dia 9 de abril, Bruno Arleu de Araújo será o responsável.

A Ferj informou ainda que os dois juízes ficarão concentrados antes dos jogos, que serão realizados no Maracanã. Tanto Wagner como Bruno são árbitroscom escudo Fifa.

+ Veja a tabela e os jogos do Campeonato Carioca 2023

RelacionadasFluminenseCano projeta final do Carioca e diz que Fluminense vai brigar por título da LibertadoresFluminense28/03/2023FlamengoFlamengo: Marcos Braz será julgado pelo STJD por ofensas à arbitragem em clássico com o FluminenseFlamengo28/03/2023FlamengoFinal do Carioca tem mais de 50 mil ingressos vendidos; não há mais entradas para a torcida do FlamengoFlamengo28/03/2023

Para as finais do Campeonato Carioca Betnacional, dois árbitros com escudo FIFA. O Departamento de Arbitragem do Futebol do Rio de Janeiro designou, através de audiência pública realizada na tarde desta terça-feira, Wagner Nascimento Magalhães e Bruno Arleu. pic.twitter.com/Erq9qN4CBx

— Cariocão (@Cariocao) March 28, 2023

-Na concentração, Wagner e Arleu receberão palestras técnicas e táticas por vídeo, além de movimentação no campo com vistas às competências de Fluminense e Flamengo – informou a Ferj em nota.

+ Confira as movimentações do mercado da bola no Vaivém do L!

+Brasileiros caem no mesmo grupo; Fluminense enfrentará River Plate: veja o resultado do sorteio da Libertadores

Flamengo e Fluminense se enfrentam no sábado, às 20h30 (de Brasília), no Maracanã. O jogo de volta, com mando tricolor, será no dia 9 de abril, às 18h (de Brasília). Não existe vantagem para nenhuma das duas equipes.

Adrien Rabiot is set for a fresh start in Serie A after sealing a transfer that reunites him with Massimiliano Allegri at AC Milan.

Rabiot joins Milan from Marseille in a €10m dealReunites with Allegri and will earn €5.5m net per seasonEyeing debut against Bologna after international breakFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

 Milan have reached an agreement to sign midfielder Rabiot from Marseille for a fee of €10 million, including bonuses, according to in Italy. The France international has agreed personal terms with the Rossoneri and is now set to undergo a medical before signing his contract to complete the move.

AdvertisementGETTYTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The transfer sees Rabiot reunite with manager Allegri, under whom he enjoyed a successful spell at Juventus. Allegri was reportedly instrumental in pushing the deal through, having demanded reinforcements following their defeat in the first Serie A game of the season. Rabiot’s move comes after he was banished from the first-team and placed on the transfer list after a dressing room altercation with team-mate Jonathan Rowe following a 1-0 defeat to Rennes. The situation escalated publicly when the player's mother and agent, Veronique Rabiot, fiercely criticised Roberto De Zerbi and the club's hierarchy for their handling of the incident, making his departure seem certain and paving the way for Milan's approach.

DID YOU KNOW?

With a reported salary demand of at least €5.5m net per season, Rabiot is set to become one of the highest-paid players at AC Milan. His earnings will likely surpass the base salary of star forward Rafael Leao.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR RABIOT AND AC MILAN?

Rabiot will complete his medical and formally sign his contract in the coming days. He is expected to be integrated quickly into the first-team squad and will compete for a starting role with players such as Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Youssouf Fofana. His arrival provides Allegri with a proven, top-level option as Milan look to compete on domestic and European fronts. If everything goes as planned, he might feature in Milan's next fixture against Bologna after the international break.

The home side has had a lot to say about nature of the SuperSport Park track, but on the field they have found a way to make it work for them

Firdose Moonda in Centurion16-Jan-2018So much for home advantage, hey?Yes, South Africa have moaned on every occasion they’ve had about this atypical SuperSport Park pitch, and how. On the eve of the match, Faf du Plessis was said to be unhappy. After the first day, young opening batsman Aiden Markram said, “Ideally we would have liked it quicker.” On the second day, debutant Lungi Ngidi said the surface “wasn’t what we thought it would be”. On the third day, Morne Morkel said it was “100%” like bowling in India. And on the fourth day, Dean Elgar said it was “disappointing” to play on a surface like this at home. Yet, with the fifth day to come, South Africa hold the aces.Let’s forget the reputation of Highveld pitches as fire-spitting green mambas and just concentrate on the kind of contest this tamer, browner surface has produced. It has been tense, gripping and, most importantly, even. Run-scoring and wicket-taking have been equally difficult, skill rather than brute force has been required from both sides, and small things have really mattered.The fourth day was a good example of this. South Africa came into it with about a 120-run lead and eight wickets in hand, on paper a position of strength. With AB de Villiers well-set overnight and Dean Elgar ever-stubborn, it could even have been thought of as a position of dominance especially when the pair started positively. De Villiers, who has three times in four innings in this series alone shown his ability to change the tempo of an innings, scored 30 runs off 43 balls in the first hour and Elgar 24 off 30. Together, their runs came at 4.5 per over.But then things changed. When de Villiers was dismissed, South Africa slowed down. Elgar only managed one more run off his next 12 balls before he was frustrated into picking out the man at deep square leg. The expletive he uttered as he walked off the field was heard all around the ground.BCCIThis was not a situation for Quinton de Kock, who edged four times in five balls, so it was up to Vernon Philander and Faf du Plessis to start a blockathon of sorts – seemingly pointless given that South Africa would need quick runs to give themselves enough time to bowl India out, but vital in hindsight. Du Plessis and Philander batted together for most of the second session, when South Africa eked out 57 runs in 27 overs. The intent that has been the talking point of the series seemed lacking for the rest of the innings – after de Villiers’ dismissal, South Africa scored 114 runs in the remaining 50.2 overs at a rate of 2.27 to the over – but on closer inspection, that period was key.Du Plessis and Philander got to see first hand what the surface was doing for the bowlers and, as the captain and one of the key members of the pack, they shouldn’t have minded too much. There was some reverse-swing for Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya’s use of the offcutter provided clues as to the approach South Africa would need to employ later. It is not their default strategy, but this attack has often been quicker to adjust than their line-up. With variable bounce on offer, they showed that in a testing hour-and-50-minute passage of play before the close, in which India’s big fish had been caught.”It was a good day for us and the cherry on the top was the way the bowlers put their hands up. They have been doing that the whole year for us, whether it is a new guy or the seasoned campaigners. We seem to be hitting the mark a lot quicker than what we are used to in the past,” Dean Elgar said, admitting that having a Kohli-less India makes tomorrow’ job easier. “It’s massive for us and I think it’s massive for India, knowing he is not batting. I am sitting here with a smile on my face knowing there is one less very competitive, very talented guy that we have to deal with.”But even if South Africa stroll to a series win – the evidence so far suggests they will have to work fairly hard for the victory – some part of the assessment of this match will be focused on the pitch. And, on that front, South Africa may actually be changing their minds about this most subcontinental of home pitches, which they remain unhappy about, but only if they lose.”It’s working out, the wicket is playing into our favour,” Elgar said. “If the shoe was on the other foot, I think we would feel quite hard done by. It’s a little disappointing to have a wicket of this nature because it’s not what we would choose to play a subcontinent side on, but, so be it, we are done complaining about it. We just need to crack on and try and win a Test.”The wicket will play into our hands nicely with our seamers and [left-arm spinner] Keshav [Maharaj] coming in on what is proving to be a decent spinning wicket. Our fast bowlers thrive on bowling on wickets like this. If they can get the ball to reverse as soon as possible, it will be a massive asset.”

The stats lowdown on Sanju Samson’s high-octane innings against RCB in Bengaluru

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Apr-2018ESPNcricinfo Ltd10 – Sixes for Sanju Samson in his unbeaten 92, the second most in any sub-100 innings in the IPL . Andre Russell hit 11 in his unbeaten 88 against Chennai Super Kings earlier in the tournament.1 – Indian batsman who has hit more sixes in an IPL innings than Samson’s 10 today: Murali Vijay hit 11 for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2010.92* – Samson’s score, the highest so far in IPL 2018. He went past Jason Roy’s unbeaten 91 against Mumbai Indians.27 – Runs off Umesh Yadav’s last over – the second most expensive ever in the 20th over in IPL. Ashok Dinda conceded 30 against Mumbai Indians in the last over in 2017.88 – Runs for Rajasthan Royals in the last five overs – also the second highest in IPL history. The record is 112, by Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions at the same venue in 2016.5 – Instances of Umesh conceding 50 or more runs in an innings in the IPL, the most by any bowler. He went past Dinda, who has conceded 50-plus on four occasions.

Winless NSW struggled to post 203 before second-placed Victoria reached 15 for 1 at stumps in Albury.

AAP02-Mar-2023

An injury to run-machine Daniel Hughes added to a tough first day for winless New South Wales in their Sheffield Shield match against Victoria in Albury.NSW were bowled out for just 203 on a challenging Lavington Sports Ground surface on Thursday. At stumps, Victoria had reached 15 for 1 with Marcus Harris and nighwatchman Mitchell Perry both unbeaten on 7.NSW fast bowler Trent Copeland, playing his first Shield match for nearly 12 months, dismissed Travis Dean for 1. Second-placed Victoria are jousting with Queensland for a spot in the Shield final with one further round to be played.Prolific opener Hughes has been a stand-out for NSW in a disappointing season, but he limped off with a calf injury and retired hurt on 22.He went for late afternoon scans and his participation in the remainder of the match, and next week’s last match against South Australia, is in serious doubt. Hughes has easily been NSW’s best performer this summer being the side’s leading Shield run-getter, as well as hitting a record-equalling four one-day centuries.NSW’s day could barely have begun in worse fashion with young opener Blake Nikitaras caught behind without scoring off Perry from the third ball of the day.It was the first of a four-wicket return for the consistent Perry, following on from an eight-wicket haul last week, the 22-year-old ending with 4 for 24 from 14.3 overs.Fellow opening bowler Fergus O’Neill picked up 2 for 50 on a day when all bar one of the wickets to fall was caught in the slips or by wicketkeeper Sam Harper.NSW slipped to 43 for 3 before lunch, and then 119 for 6, with all the recognised batters back in the pavilion. But Chris Green continued his recent lower-order form with the bat, hitting 52 at No.8 to help lift NSW past 200. Moises Henriques was next best with 29, while Ollie Davies made a promising 28 on debut.

In a low-scoring thriller in Lucknow, New Zealand almost defended 99, but with three needed from two balls, Suryakumar Yadav swatted Blair Tickner over mid-off to help India level the series 1-1 with one match to go.Before Sunday, the Ekana Stadium had hosted five T20Is, with the team batting first winning on all five occasions. Keeping that in mind, Mitchell Santner opted to bat after winning the toss. With the red-soil pitch at the Ekana Stadium expected to help spinners, India brought in Yuzvendra Chahal for Umran Malik. That gave them four spin-bowling options, including Deepak Hooda.All of them troubled New Zealand and restricted them to a mere 99 for 8. It was New Zealand’s lowest total against India in a full-length T20I. Still, it was far from a cruise for India.New Zealand used five spinners – and eight bowlers in all – and they were as effective as their India counterparts in strangling the scoring rate. India, though, had the advantage of knowing their target. They took the game deep and crossed the line with one ball to spare.In all, spinners bowled 30 overs in the match – the second-most in any T20I, and the most in a game involving Full Member teams.

New Zealand lose three to reverse-sweep

Finn Allen looked to take the attack to the opposition straightaway. He was lucky to collect streaky, back-to-back boundaries off Hardik Pandya but was at sea against spin.Introduced in the fourth over, Chahal found turn straightaway. His first delivery pitched on the leg stump, beat Allen’s outside edge, and missed off stump. Allen tried to counter him with the reverse sweep, only to be bowled via a deflection off his right leg.After Chahal’s wicket maiden, Devon Conway attempted a reverse sweep against Washington Sundar in the next over. The ball, though, brushed his wrist and lobbed to Ishan Kishan. Glenn Phillips too found it difficult to score against spin and resorted to the reverse sweep. In the process, he ended up exposing nearly all three stumps to an innocuous Hooda delivery and was bowled, leaving New Zealand 35 for 3 in the seventh over.Yuzvendra Chahal set the tone for India with a wicket maiden inside the powerplay•BCCI

Kuldeep dents New Zealand further

If New Zealand had any hopes of a recovery with Daryl Mitchell, the Player of the Match in the previous game, and Mark Chapman in the middle, Kuldeep Yadav shattered them. The wristspinner got one to turn back in sharply from outside off to breach Mitchell’s defence and hit the off stump.Chapman and Michael Bracewell tried to revive the innings. Their stand was worth 20 when Bracewell reverse-swept Hooda uppishly towards short third. Kuldeep slipped and couldn’t go for the catch but his quick throw to Kishan meant Chapman, who had taken off for a single, couldn’t retrace his steps in time.Till the 17th over, Hardik was the only seamer India had used. In the death overs, he and Arshdeep Singh used the bouncer to good effect to pick up three wickets between them. The New Zealand innings featured only six fours and no six. There would be no six in India’s innings either.

India hobble to the target

It was never going to be a cakewalk for India. Jacob Duffy bowled the first over of the chase but from there till the 18th over, New Zealand bowled only spin from both ends.Shubman Gill fell for 11, top-edging Bracewell to deep square leg. Ishan Kishan struggled and was run out for 19 off 32 balls by an excellent piece of fielding. Kishan got an inside edge towards midwicket against Phillips and looked to collect two. The bowler sprinted towards the ball, put in a slide and fired the throw to the non-striker’s end. In the meantime, Rahul Tripathi had sent Kishan back and his bat was on the crease when Santner broke the stumps.Ish Sodhi dismissed Tripathi soon after, reducing India to 50 for 3 in the 11th over. Suryakumar and Washington, promoted to No. 5, calmed the Indian dugout somewhat. The pair largely dealt in ones and twos to take the side to within 30 runs of the target before a mix-up resulted in Washington sacrificing his wicket.In the end, it came down to 13 required from 12 balls. Lockie Ferguson conceded only seven off the 19th over despite Hardik finding a boundary. Suryakumar, though, ensured Washington’s sacrifice didn’t go in vain.

Playing with a chance to salvage their season, the Serie A giants fell flat in a 1-0 final defeat

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Milan fall 1-0
• Bologna lift Coppa Italia
• Pulisic and co. face fight to make Europe next season

• Getty Images Sport
  

  TELL ME MORE

  AC Milan suffered a massive, massive blow on Wednesday as they fell, 1-0, to Bologna in the Coppa Italia final. The game's defining moment came early in the second half, with Dan Ndoye netting in the 53rd minute to provide the only goal needed for Bologna to lift the trophy. This trophy is their first since 1998, when the club won the Intertoto Cup.

  The first half was generally tense, with the two sides trading chances and yellow cards. Three cautions were handed out in the first 45, including one dubious one to U.S. international Christian Pulisic for what was perceived as a foul while chasing the ball. The American started and played 88 minutes but was generally ineffective, amassing just 33 touches and only one in the opposition box. Pulisic's USMNT teammate Yunus Musah was on the bench but didn't appear in this contest.

  Milan were able to create a few chances in the second half, but nothing quite as clear cut as Ndoye's goal, which saw him patiently weave around Milan's defense before smashing a shot past Mike Maignan to score what turned out to be the game's only goal.

  With the loss, Milan's hopes of playing European soccer next season are out of their hands. The winner of Wednesday's match earned a Europa League spot, and with Milan sitting all the way back in eighth with two games remaining, this was their best chance at earning that spot. Now, they'll need some help, as they trail sixth-place Roma by three points for a Europa Conference League spot and fourth and fifth-place Juventus and Lazio by four points with just those two games remaining.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  THE MVP

  Every instinct in Dan Ndoye's head would have told him to blast it, but the Swiss winger didn't do that. Instead, he patiently waited for his chance and, when it came, he made no mistake. In addition to the goal, Ndoye created the most chances (three) and was the most fouled player in the game (four). Those stats add up to a clear-cut Man of the Match recognition for the 24-year-old Bologna attacker.

• Getty
  

  THE BIG LOSER

  Pulisic is so often the man who makes things happen for Milan, and on Wednesday, he, like the rest of his teammates, couldn't do much of anything. He attempted just 18 passes, was 0-for-3 on dribbles, and was hardly noticeable in the final third. In general, Milan's attack sputtered, but throughout the season, Pulisic has shown the ability to lift them out of those moments. It wasn't to be on Wednesday, though, and so Milan lost this trophy chance.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT COMES NEXT?

  The good news for Milan is that they face one of the teams above them this weekend when they travel to face Roma on Sunday. After that, they'll conclude their season at home against Monza, although it remains to be seen what hope they'll have heading into that finale.

Australia A are touring New Zealand for the first time and will play two first-class matches in Lincoln

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Mar-2023New Zealand A have named a strong squad for the upcoming four-day matches against Australia A next month, including six players with international experience, as well as five who will have the chance to represent the A team for the first time.Tom Bruce will lead the side in both games, having last captained the team during the tour of India last year. Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel and bowling allrounders Doug Bracewell and Scott Kuggeleijn are also in the squad. Kuggeleijn, however, will be available for only the second match as a replacement for Jacob Duffy, who is getting married. Allrounder Cole McConchie returns to the side after missing out on the India tour, while there were also places for opener Henry Cooper and wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher.The new names in the squad include Dean Foxcroft (Otago), Adithya Ashok (Auckland), Will O’Rourke (Canterbury), Mitch Hay (Canterbury) and Brett Randell (Central Stags).Ashok, the former New Zealand Under-19 legspinner, impressed in his first season of domestic red-ball cricket, having taken 15 wickets from three first-class matches so far. O’Rourke has been one of Canterbury’s standout bowlers in their Plunket Shield campaign, taking 19 first-class wickets.The South African-born Foxcroft is currently not eligible to represent New Zealand, but can play for the A team as national ‘A’ cricket is not subject to the ICC Eligibility Regulations. Foxcroft topped the run charts in the recent Super Smash, scoring 424 runs. He also recently scored his maiden hundred in first-class cricket, making 159 against Wellington.”This will be a big challenge against a very good Australia A team, and we look forward to a couple of really tough matches against quality opponents,” New Zealand selector Gavin Larsen said. “This is a well-balanced squad and I’m sure that they’ll enjoy the experience. We certainly look forward to seeing who puts their hand up across the two matches.”NZC high-performance coaches Graeme Aldridge, Paul Wiseman and Bob Carter will be part of the team management for the games. Australia A arrive in New Zealand on March 29 ahead of the first match on April 1. Both matches will be held at Bert Sutcliffe Oval in Lincoln, marking the first tour of New Zealand by an Australia A side.New Zealand A squad: Tom Bruce (c), Adithya Ashok, Doug Bracewell, Henry Cooper, Jacob Duffy (Game 1 only), Dean Foxcroft, Cam Fletcher, Mitch Hay, Scott Kuggeleijn (Game 2 only), Cole McConchie, Robbie O’Donnell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Brett Randell, Sean Solia