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RB Leipzig's Timo Werner would not have been good enough for Liverpool, according to Robbie Fowler, who insists the Chelsea-bound forward is far from the finished article.

Goal has reported that Chelsea have agreed to pay Werner's £54 million ($68m) buy-out clause, after offering the 24-year-old a contract worth £9m per season at Stamford Bridge.

Liverpool had initially been touted as the most likely next destination for the Germany international, who admitted back in February that Jurgen Klopp's philosophy would suit his style of play.

However, the Blues now look set to win the race for his signature ahead of the summer transfer window, while the Reds continue to feel the pinch financially amid the coronavirus crisis.

Fowler isn't too fussed that his old club have missed out on Werner though, and doesn't believe he would have found a place in Klopp's starting XI ahead of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane.

"I’ve heard the noise ­surrounding Timo Werner in recent weeks – but I’m not a big fan," the Liverpool legend wrote in The Mirror.

"I realise he’s a talented player, he has moments of real brilliance in matches that underline his quality, but I stand by this: is Werner up to the standard of Liverpool’s current front three? Not for me. Obviously my opinion will be put to the test next season if he does complete a move to Chelsea.

"There has been so much rumour around his intended destination for months now, with my former club at the heart of that, but most of the other big names in European football have been linked to him.

"I’ve also seen the meltdown from some Liverpool fans when they ­realised he’s probably not leaving RB Leipzig for Anfield after all. It makes it seem as though he’s a Marco van Basten, a world-class player who would walk into any side.

"For the life of me, I don’t know why. I’ve watched him a fair few times and there are things about his game I like and admire, but does he influence games consistently enough? Not for me. Does he match up to the players you are signing him to challenge and replace? Not at Liverpool. Maybe at Chelsea."

Fowler added on Liverpool's reluctance to meet Werner's price tag: "I’ve heard so many people ­complaining about Liverpool owners not splashing the cash, not diving in on ­Werner when he’s a ‘steal’ at £52m. Is he really, though?

"This is the reality – all those other clubs, Barcelona, Liverpool, Juventus, Real Madrid, Man City and United have looked at him and thought, in the current market, his release clause fee is too high. How do we know that? Because otherwise, they would have activated it.

"To be honest, I see a situation where Chelsea saw perhaps the only circumstance in which they would sign Werner. That they had to pay the ­release fee to get him – because other clubs wouldn’t.

"In short, they had to pay a massive premium to make him come to their club. We’ve seen it before with clubs struggling a tiny bit – they pay over the odds to get players. City had to do that for a while, Chelsea themselves too. At times, Liverpool have done that over the past two decades. It rarely worked for them."

Vipers SC striker Fahad Bayo has blamed his international engagements with the Uganda national team for missing out on the Ugandan Premier League (UPL) Golden Boot.

Bayo lost the race to Maroons FC's Steven Mukwala when the league was cancelled due to the ongoing measures put in place against the coronavirus.

Bayo had scored 12 goals in his maiden season at Vipers since his August 4 arrival and his tally was bettered by Mukwala, who scored one goal more.

Mukwala was on loan at Maroons from Vipers.

When coach Uganda coach Johnathan McKinstry picked Bayo for Cranes duties, the forward was leading on UPL scoreboard with eight goals while Mukwala had scored seven.

Bayo was first summoned for the 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Burkina Faso in November, before he was called up again for an African Nations Championship (Chan) qualifier against Burundi.

He grabbed his maiden goal for the Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup record holders against Burundi and was on the score sheet again against Malawi at Namboole Stadium in an Afcon qualifier.

“Any player can be on form, but I missed two league games while with the Cranes which also affected me in that [Golden Boot] race,” Bayo told Football256.

“[It is] because I was in my greatest form when I was handed the opportunity to represent my country in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

“Playing for Uganda at such a big stage was a dream come true but that’s how I lost the league's Golden Boot.” 

The international engagements saw the former Buildcon FC striker miss two critical matches, against KCCA FC at Lugogo Stadium and against URA FC at St Mary's Stadium in Kitende.

Vipers won the encounter against the Tax Collectors and lost the second to the Kassasiro Boys.

As Mukwala and Bayo occupied the first and the second slot on the top scorers' chart, Ben Ocen of Police FC was third with 11 goals in what was a very tight race.

Viane Sekajugo of Wakiso Giants was joint fourth alongside Frank Kalanda of Express FC after both netted nine goals.

Renovations at Nyayo National Stadium is set to be completed in the coming week, satisfied Parliamentary Committee on Sports Chairman Dan Munyaka has said.

The stadium has been under renovations for close to three years and Munyaka has confirmed the contractor working at the facility is about to get his work done and hand over it to the government.

The contractor is now racing against time to finish landscaping and drainage as the changing rooms and VIP sections are already done.

Initially, the government had promised the public facility will be ready by the end of May but it has not been the case as the due date has been pushed back by another week.

“The committee is pleased by the progress of the work at Nyayo National Stadium and the assurance that it will be ready by next week has been made by the contractor,” Munyaka told the media during his visit at the Stadium inspecting the progress.

Nyayo's unavailability has made Nairobi teams scramble for stadiums outside the city with Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos and Narok Stadium in Narok County offering their services for the city's clubs.

Tusker have been enjoying home advantage given their ownership of the Ruaraka Grounds, which has undergone renovations and was unavailable in the past.

Moi International Sports Complex has always been designated for Caf Confederation and Champions League matches as well as the Mashemeji Derby, an encounter between arch-rivals Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards.

Nyayo Stadium, when available, has always been preferred to Kasarani to host the Gor Mahia vs AFC Leopards clash.

Posta Rangers coach Sammy Omollo, in an earlier interview with Goal, explained the importance of the availability of Nyayo Stadium, especially for the city clubs.

“We have had a problem with availability of grounds and in such situations, everything is always in a mess. Most teams are located in Nairobi and their home ground is usually the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos,” Omollo said.

“Most times you see AFC Leopards going all the way to Bukhungu Stadium or Mumias Sports Complex while Posta Rangers, after training in Nairobi, go to Narok Stadium and Gor Mahia will always have to travel to Kisumu to host matches.

“In all these scenarios there is no home ground advantage for teams. These are the things that have affected our leagues for sure.

“Having a ground in the city centre is very good especially for Nairobi teams because it will greatly cut the cost of travelling to stadiums located in far-flung areas. I am happy Nyayo will be back soon.”

Nyayo Stadium, opened in 1983, has often been used for other national functions as well.

Paul Pogba must be more "consistent" to earn a move to Real Madrid, according to Ander Herrera, who does not think the Manchester United midfielder has reached his full potential.

Pogba has flattered to deceive at Old Trafford since making his way back to Manchester for a second spell at the club in 2016. United forked out £89 million ($113m) to bring the 27-year-old back from Juventus, but he has only shown flashes of the brilliance which saw him emerge as one of the top players in Europe at the Allianz Stadium.

Critics have often singled Pogba out as a scapegoat for United's mediocre performances in recent years, leading to plenty of speculation over his future.

The World Cup winner was reportedly courted by Real Madrid last summer after admitting that he was ready to undertake a new challenge away from United.

Real have been tipped to revive their interest in Pogba when the transfer window reopens, despite the fact he has sat out the majority of the 2019-20 campaign through injury.

However, Herrera is not so sure that Madrid will pursue his old team-mate, with it his belief that the mercurial playmaker has yet to prove that he can maintain his best form over an extended period.

The ex-United midfielder - who now plies his trade in France with Paris Saint-Germain - told AS: "As a footballer, Paul has everything: he cuts through the opposition, he wins the ball back, he’s good in the air, he’s aggressive, he defends, he attacks, he scores goals, but he’s had his ups and downs in Manchester.

"He’s played games where he completely made the difference and others where he just didn’t, and for a player at that price, you have to always be awesome.

"If he’s able to be consistent then, of course, Madrid or any big European club would want him. However, it’s the same as with [Kylian] Mbappe and Neymar, he’s at one of the biggest clubs in the world and for him to leave it’s difficult."

Pogba has worked his way back to full fitness in recent weeks, and is currently preparing with the rest of the United squad for the return of the Premier League, which has been on hiatus since March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men will officially resume their season on June 19, with a trip to north London to face Tottenham on the cards.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested holding a Premier League title parade next season when coronavirus restrictions could be eased.

The Reds were just two wins from securing their first league triumph in 30 years when the 2019-20 season was halted in March due to the pandemic.

The Premier League is set to return on June 17, but matches will be held behind closed doors for the foreseeable future, denying fans the opportunity to celebrate inside Anfield.

Regulations limiting mass gatherings outdoors also means a parade with the trophy through Liverpool is likely to be impossible. Klopp, however, thinks there is no reason why such a celebration could not simply be deferred until it is safe.

"That you can't celebrate in the way you've always dreamed of, that's not nice, I totally understand that," he told Sky Germany. "I feel the same way. It's not that my ideal is to celebrate alone in the stadium, then just drive home.

"It wasn't like that when you thought about it. But that cannot be changed now. Why should we now make a big deal about something that can't be changed?

"There comes a day when life will get back to normal. When someone has found the vaccine, when someone has found a solution to the problem, when infection rates are zero or below – that day will come eventually. Then we have the right to celebrate what we want to celebrate on that day.

"If this is the 12th or 13th matchday of next season and we want to celebrate it, who is going to stop it? Then we still have the trophy and then we can drive it around town and stand on the bus. If other people then think that we are completely crazy, I honestly don't care.

"Can it then still be a special celebration? No question. It's different, but different is sometimes absolutely okay."

Liverpool won 27 of their first 29 league games of the season and are on course to break Manchester City's record points tally of 100, something Klopp wants his players to target.

"This [season] can become historic, I have to say so clearly," he said. "And not only club historical, but historical in general. We have the chance to get an unbelievable number of points and so we prepare ourselves and then we will see what comes out of it."

Klopp also praised his players for the decision to take a knee around the Anfield centre-circle this week as a show of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

"I have been very proud of the boys for a long time, but this was another extraordinary moment," he said. "When I saw them there and this photo was taken, I was really proud, because it is also an important message. No question about it."

Football never stops - pandemics aside - whether it is the Premier League, Champions League or the international games such as the European Championship, there is almost always some action to watch on television.

Here are all the fixtures that are being shown live in the United Kingdom tonight, tomorrow and this week on channels such as Sky Sports, BT Sport, Premier Sports, La Liga TV , BBC, ITV and more.

Click here for soccer on US TV.

*All times are UK.

**Live football has been severely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, but updates will appear here**

Sunday June 7

BT Sport 1 will have all of Sunday's Bundesliga matches, beginning with Werder Bremen vs Wolfsburg at 12:30pm. Schalke follow in their match against Union Berlin in the afternoon, with Koln vs Augsburg in the evening.

Monday June 8

Monday evening will see just one live match broadcast on UK TV: the game between Hamburg and Holstein Kiel.

Tuesday June 9

FreeSports are showing Polish football live on Tuesday night, with Lech Poznan hosting Pogon Szczecin.

Wednesday June 10

Premier Sports and FreeSports are showing Polish and Portuguese football on Wednesday night. Benfica play Portomonense in the earlier kick-off, while Porto host Maritimo in the late kick-off.

In Poland, Ekstraklasa leaders Legia Warsaw face off against Arka Gdynia.

Manchester United are still hoping to add to their attack in the summer transfer window despite extending Odion Ighalo’s loan move, but a deal for a striker is no longer a priority. 

Ighalo’s deal was finally extended on June 1 and will run until January 31, 2021 after protracted talks with the striker’s parent club, Shanghai Shenhua.

The 30-year-old remaining at Old Trafford gives manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer another option up front alongside Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford, who is set to return from injury when the Premier League resumes in the coming weeks.

England international Rashford is expected to be fit for United's first game back against Tottenham on June 19 having missed the first few months of the year with a fractured back.

Ighalo’s extended stay and Rashford’s return from injury - along with Solskjaer's desire to continue to give Mason Greenwood an opportunity - mean a move for a striker has fallen down United’s priority list.

Jadon Sancho remains their top target as Solskjaer hopes to bolster his attacking line, but Goal has learned that there is less focus being placed on bringing in a centre-forward given Ighalo’s extended terms.

The new loan deal for the former Watford star does not include an option to buy and it is understood the club have not been considering a long-term deal.

Harry Kane is of interest, although a move has already been ruled out with the price tag prohibitive. Lyon’s Moussa Dembele has been monitored as was Timo Werner, though the latter has agreed to join Chelsea in the transfer window.

While United were interested in the RB Leipzig striker, it is understood a formal approach was never made for the 24-year-old and the club do not plan to hijack Werner’s move to Stamford Bridge at the last minute. Instead they will continue to prioritise moves for Sancho and Aston Villa midfielder Jack Grealish.

With Ighalo’s deal running out next January, and the club deciding against bringing in a replacement for Romelu Lukaku last summer, they will continue to monitor striker targets ahead of future moves.

Executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward warned it would not be “business as usual” when the transfer window opens due to the financial impact of Covid-19.

However, it is understood there is still a budget available for transfers this year, though deals worth £100 million or more have been ruled out due to the current climate.

Kaizer Chiefs academy coach Tshidiso Letsholonyane has revealed what he plans to achieve with the club.

The retired midfielder was nurtured in the Amakhosi academy and played for the reserve team before he was promoted to the first team in 2011.

Letsholonyane was part of the Chiefs first team at the same time as his older brother, Reneilwe, after signing a three-year deal, but the club decided to loan him out.

“I started playing football at the age of eight and joined the Kaizer Chiefs Youth Development in 2009. I played for the under-19 team and then moved to the reserve team a year later," Letsholonyane told the club's official website.

“I was loaned out to a National First Division side Dynamos FC. I was there for a season but didn’t get that much of a game-time though. It was a disappointing experience for me but I never looked back. I continued to focus on the future.

“I came back to Chiefs from the loan spell and spent the last two years of my contract in the reserves team where I enjoyed my football and we won the SAB league. The Kaizer Chiefs U-19 was coached by legend Ace Khuse when we won the SAB League in 2013/14 season.”

Letsholonyane parted ways with the Soweto giants in 2014 after his contract with the club expired, but his career was hampered by injuries

“I went on to try my luck at another National First Division side Thanda Royal Zulu. I struggled to secure a contract due to a recurring knee injury," he added

In 2017 Letsholonyane retired from professional football and decided to pursue a coaching career and Amakhosi offered him a chance to do his practical training in their academy.

“I felt I no longer had the desire to play football and that’s when I decided to take a different route. I decided to go to school and do a short course to help kick start any role in a football environment," he revealed.

"I did a Sports Coaching Science course with Trifocus Fitness Academy. As part of the course, I was expected to do practicals and shadowing in a football environment.  I am glad Kaizer Chiefs offered me the opportunity to do my practical in the Development Academy.

“My passion for coaching grew from there onward. I proceeded to do coaching badges with Safa Coaching Education. I decided from there on to pursue a career as a coach.”

The 28-year-old played with the likes of Hendrick Ekstein, Zitha Macheke and Kgotso Malope in the Chiefs reserve team.

“I’m glad to have witnessed the promotion of my reserves teammates to the first team. I saw Hendrick Ekstein [now with Sabail FK in Azerbaijan], Zitha Macheke [now with Bidvest Wits] and Kgotso Malope [now with Richards Bay FC] gaining promotion to the senior team," he said.

Letsholonyane is currently in charge of the club's under-17 team and he is planning on securing a Uefa Coaching Badge.

"And, as a coach, I saw Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya, Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Njabulo Blom, and Happy Mashiane promoted to our senior team. I am happy to see football changing lives of these youngsters," he continued.

Furthermore, the former PJ Stars player hopes that he will ascend to be at the helm of coaching the first team.

“Hopefully one day I will help to be part of the successful history of Amakhosi. I want to repay the club for everything they have done for me and my family."

Azam FC coach Aristica Cioba has pleaded with the fans to remain calm after his team managed a 0-0 draw against Transit Camp in a friendly to gauge the squad ahead of the Mainland Premier League's resumption.

The friendly played at Azam Complex on Saturday night saw the ‘Ice Cream Makers’ fail to find the back of the net and their overall display was not to satisfaction of many supporters.

The Romanian believes the friendly gave him a good opportunity to gauge the players, and fans should not be worried as they head to their first league match against Mbao FC on June 14.

“It was the kind of build-up I had wanted to check on my players and I am happy they are all looking good despite not winning or finding the back of the net,” Cioba told reporters after the match.

“We needed to play a high-quality match and Transit gave us the kind of game I was looking for, the fans should not get worried because this was just a friendly and the league proper starts in June 14 and that is when they will see the real Azam.”

In a recent interview, Cioba remained confident of catching up with run-away leaders Simba SC when the league resume.

The ‘Ice-Cream Makers’ are second on the table, 17 points behind Simba, who have 71 points, while Young Africans (Yanga SC) are third, though they still have a game in hand.

Despite the huge number of points separating the two sides, the Romanian coach is not giving up and revealed they can still catch up with Simba with nine rounds of matches remaining to the end of the season.

“The league is not finished, we have another 10 games to play and that is 30 points if you win all matches,” Cioba told reporters.

“I can see everybody talking about Simba winning the title, yes! They have the advantage but it is not over yet. We have the same number of matches to play and anything can happen in between.”

Cioba, who rejoined the team five days ago from his native country where he relocated to after the league took a break in mid-March owing to the coronavirus pandemic, however, admitted the remaining matches will not be easy.

“Our plans remain the same…to win the title but we will also battle to settle for the second position if the first plan fails,” Cioba concluded.

Nigeria football legend Joseph Yobo has posted an emotional tribute to Stephen Keshi, who passed away on June 7, 2016.

Keshi - the only man after Mahmoud El-Gohary to win the Africa Cup of Nations as a player and coach - passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 54 on this day four years ago - six months after losing his wife Kate to cancer.

Yobo developed an incredible bond with the ‘Big Boss’ during his time as Super Eagles coach, having captained his team to winning the 2013 Afcon staged in South Africa.

Also, he played a key role in his side’s 2014 Fifa World Cup outing where the three-time African champions bowed out to France in the Round of 16.

Sunday marks the anniversary of Keshi’s passing and the ex-Everton defender, who is now Nigeria’s assistant coach, took to social media to share a moving tribute to his former international coach and one of his football role models.

“Dear coach, it’s been four years today since you left us to rest with the Lord. You are deeply missed but your legacy lives on! Rest on the Big Boss,” Yobo wrote on Instagram.

Keshi made his Nigeria bow in 1981 at the age 20 and only drew the curtain on his international career after garnering 64 caps and nine goals.

He led Clemens Westerhof’s Eagles to a triumphant Afcon 1994 outing as well as their maiden Fifa World Cup appearance in the United States of America in the same year.

After his playing career which saw him represent ACB Lagos, Africa Sports, Lokeren, Anderlecht, RC Strasbourg and Sacramento Scorpions, he went into administration and helped Togo qualify for the 2006 World Cup, although he was replaced by Otto Pfister a few months prior to the championship.

He also led Mali to the 2010 Afcon in Angola. There, they crashed out of a group that had Angola, Algeria and Malawi.

Keshi replaced Nigeria caretaker coach Augustine Eguavoen in 2011 and led them to Afcon success after 19 years.

He managed the side to the Fifa Confederation Cup 2013 and 2014 Fifa World Cup and became the first African coach to reach the knockout stage, where they fell to France in the Round of 16.

His side’s failure to qualify for the 2015 Afcon led to his third and final disengagement by the Nigeria Football Federation after a long and fractious relationship with the governing body.

Ligue 1 could resume with play-offs before August 2 despite the fact the top-flight season has been voided, UEFA have said.

French prime minister Edouard Philippe announced the cancellation of all sporting events across the country on April 28, amid the ongoing fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Football authorities subsequently voided the 2019-20 campaign, with final positions in both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 decided on a points-per-game basis.

Paris Saint-Germain were crowned French champions for a third successive year, having already established a 12 point lead at the top of the table when the action was initially stopped in March.

Marseille and Rennes both earned a place in the Champions League after finishing second and third respectively, but seventh-placed Lyon missed out on European football completely for the first time since 1996.

The cancellation of proceedings also saw Amiens and Toulouse relegated, and Lyon have joined the two clubs in vowing to fight the final decision in the courts.

Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas has publicly voiced his intention to sue the French state in order to get the season restarted, and UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has now responded by clearing the path for such a scenario. 

Ceferin wrote in an official UEFA communication on Friday: "We would first of all like to clarify that it is the competence of national associations to decide on the format of their domestic competitions, in particular by taking into account the circumstances and restrictive measures specific to the country.

"As mentioned by UEFA a few weeks ago, the French authorities' decision to cancel the season was taken relatively early.

“Nevertheless, and provided that the national associations are able to coordinate with the competent national authorities a potential restart of domestic competition, August 2, 2020, would be an appropriate date to end the domestic competitions."

A number of players and experts have criticised the decision to end the Ligue 1 season prematurely, with PSG winger Angel Di Maria the latest to insist that greater patience should have been shown.

An easing of lockdown measures allowed the German Bundesliga resumed on May 18, with the Premier League and La Liga set to follow suit in England and Spain later this month.

Di Maria doesn't understand why France didn't take the same approach, as he told L'Equipe: "Like many, I think we rushed to make such a decision. From what we can see, France is today one of the countries where the health situation is the most favourable, and yet everything has been totally stopped for good."

Bayern Munich coach Hansi Flick has expressed his frustration after Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller earned yellow cards in the win over Bayer Leverkusen which will rule them out of their next Bundesliga match.

Despite falling behind early on, Bayern rallied and ultimately ran out comfortable 4-2 winners, with Kingsley Coman, Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry and Lewandowski on target. 

For Lewandowski, his effort took him on to 44 for the season across all competitions, a personal best, while Muller claimed a pair of assists to move him to 20 for the 2019-20 Bundesliga campaign, tying Kevin De Bruyne's record.

However, both of Bayern's key men were booked, meaning they will miss next weekend's visit of Borussia Monchengladbach. Although Bayern have a commanding lead at the summit, Flick did not hide his irritation at having the pair ruled out.

"It's annoying but we cannot change it and have to accept the situation," he said. "You are emotional on the pitch, but I spoke to the referee Manuel Grafe. He said that Lewandowski was hitting the opponent and that's why he saw the yellow card. I didn't see it so I cannot really comment.

"Thomas was blocking the ball when they had free-kick, so the yellow card was okay. It is what it is. We accept it.

"We will have two other players. This is also good sometimes, but it's important that both can play 90 minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt [in the DFB-Pokal] on Wednesday. Then we try to prepare ourselves well for the game against Gladbach."

Goretzka was a standout performer once again and that was not lost on Flick, who is desperate for the Germany midfielder to remain injury-free.

"We are knocking on wood [hoping Goretzka remains fit] and hope he continues like that," Flick said. "Of course, how we fought back was also due to the intensive pressing – we were more aggressive and had good ball possessions.

"Leon was directly involved in those moments and had a big influence on the first two goals. He showed exactly what you need as a team when you still have to find your way to the game. He did that great.

"Regarding his physical condition, he has a very strong role on the pitch and this helps us a lot."

Kakamega Homeboyz chairman Cleophas Shimanyula claims they now own the best team bus in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

On Friday, the Kakamega-based club joined the big league in the Kenyan top-flight by becoming the latest team to own a bus, alongside Wazito FC, Tusker FC, and AFC Leopards, who have branded vehicles.

Shimanyula has now bragged Homeboyz purchased "a huge machine" that cannot be compared to what other teams have in the KPL.

“We bought a very serious machine, even Wazito, who used to brag they have the best bus in the league, cannot match our bus,” Shimanyula told Goal on Sunday.

“It is a state-of-the-art machine and will accommodate 42 people, I used over Sh18million to get the bus, and remember that amount is more than four times more than what a winner in KPL league gets as prize money.

“KPL gives league winners Sh4million, which sometimes they don’t even give out but we managed to purchase a bus at Sh18million.

"It means the club is now becoming a force to reckon with in KPL, we are coming up slowly and soon things will be very different in the league.”

Shimanyula further says his team was on course to win the KPL title had the season not been suspended owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I was 100 percent sure we were going to lift the title this season, my players were psyched and kept pushing hard, we are the only team to have beaten top giants home and away and it shows you we were on the right track to wrestle Gor Mahia to the title,” Shimanyula continued.

“By the time they suspended the league, we were sitting second on the table, seven points behind Gor Mahia and we still had a game in hand, and that shows you how serious my team was, it was just a matter of winning our matches and we could have topped the table.

“Whatever happens to the current campaign, we are ready for next season, we now have a team bus and my players will not suffer anymore, we also have the financial support from the Kakamega County which will keep the players on toes, teams should be warned that Homeboyz is coming up quickly and our target is to win the title next season.”

Before the league was halted, Homeboyz were second on the 17-team league table, seven points behind Gor Mahia, who were eventually declared winners by the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, Homeboyz have protested the decision to award K’Ogalo the title and are keen to play the remaining nine rounds of matches.

Paul Scholes has backed Manchester United to secure a top-four finish, insisting their remaining "fixtures look quite favourable".

United sat fifth in the Premier League standings when play was stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak in March.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side had enjoyed an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions before the three-month hiatus, closing the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea to just three points while also negotiating their way through to the latter stages of both the Europa League and FA Cup.

The Red Devils will be hoping to pick up from where they left off on June 19, as they reopen their schedule with a crucial clash against Tottenham.

Club legend Scholes is optimistic that his former employers will finish the season strongly, especially with Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba back in the fold after long-term injury layoffs.

Asked if he is confident of United's chances of making the top-four, the ex-midfielder told MUTV: "Yes I am. I think if we didn’t have this break, I think we were certainties to get it. There’s just no knowing how we’ll come out of it.

"I think we’ll be fine. We’ve got big players coming back into the team, which we didn’t have in Marcus and Paul coming back into the squad.

"If they can come back, hit the ground running I think they’ve got every chance. It’d be great to get to an FA Cup final as well, although it’ll probably be a little bit strange with no fans there - but still, it’s a trophy and you’d like to win it.

"You just have to wait and see but I think they’ve got a great chance. What is it, three points behind Chelsea? Our fixtures do look quite favourable. Fingers crossed we’ll come back in the same vein of form and hopefully get that Champions League spot at the end of the year."

After their meeting with Spurs, United will start preparing for a showdown against Sheffield United on June 24, with Chris Wilder's high-flying Blades also chasing down a seat at Europe's top table.

The Red Devils are due to take on Norwich three days later, before turning their attention to a meeting with Brighton on the final day of the month.

Sporting Clube de Goa midfielder Shanon Viegas will look to live his European dream following his one-year deal with Portuguese side Clube Desportivo dos Olivais e Moscavide.

The 18-year-old had two stints at the International Football Academy de Portugal (IFAPT) after which the move to the 2nd division club in the Associaco Futbol de Lisboa (AFL) got materialised.

Interestingly, the youngster's first visit to IFAPT in November 2018 after he had turned up for the India U-16 team at the 2018 AFC (Asian Football Confederation) U-16 Championship in Malaysia had also garnered interest from another team but Shanon was not of age to sign a contract then.

"Two years ago, he was 16 and going on 17 when he was referred by Mr. Peter Vaz of Sporting Clube de Goa. We handed him try-outs with Associação Desportiva Oeiras (ADO). The juniors' coach Nuno Vincent loved Shanon's game and wanted to sign him but because of legality issues of foreigners playing in the EU (European Union) below the age of 18 without a guardian, we were not able to sign him till he reached the age of 18," IFAPT President Elvis Goes informed Goal.

"His name was recommended by Nuno to Joao Correia who was the head coach of the first team," the former Vasco SC coach added, as Shanon returned to India to represent Sporting Clube de Goa in the AIFF (All India Football Federation) U-18 Elite League and the Goa Pro League in the 2019-20 season.

Shanon's father Michael Viegas was pleased with the opportunity his son got. He told Goal, "This is a very good platform for him. I did not want to make a hype of it. Even when he was selected for the India (junior) team, I didn't make a noise of it because he is still young. He is very different from the other footballers, very calm and with good ability.",

A confident Shanon, who is one of the tallest youngsters in India at 6'2", feels that it was just reward for his hardwork. "It was a move which I wasn't surprised of. I know how I play and what I can offer to the club. It is a historical club which is situated right in the middle of the beautiful city of Lisbon," he told Goal.

"This is just the start of a long journey. I have just turned 18 and I can't let my focus go astray. I have got this opportunity with the help of my father and Mr. Elvis. I'm grateful and I will try my best to make the best of it."

Shanon is a product of the Sporting Goa’s youth development program, right from the time the club began their academy in 2010 and has been part of the U-12 to U-16 teams before joining the AIFF Academy in 2017. He won the 2013-14 GFA (Goa Football Association) U-14 League with Sporting Goa besides helping Don Bosco lift the Sporting U-12 trophy and emerge champions at the St Dominic Savio all-Goa inter-school football tournament in his formative years.

Having had Shanon in his squad from the 2017 SAFF (South Asian Football Federation) U-15 Championships in Nepal, India U-16 coach Bibiano Fernandes had earlier told Goal in a conversation, "I had seen him (Shanon) at Sporting youth teams. He was technically very good and he had improved a lot with us. His height and tackling abilities in the midfield were good, as also his vision and passes."

During Shanon's second visit to Portugal, after turning 18 in January, he trained with Oeiras seniors before Correia took over as the first team coach of Olivais e Moscavide in May and took the Goan along with him.

"Correia decided that Shanon fits a role of a central midfielder in this team by playing number 6 in a 4-3-3 formation. ADO wanted him at that time but Covid-19 (pandemic situation) took that option away," Goes confirmed.

Whereas Olivais e Moscavide coach Joao Correia asserted to Goal, "I am very happy to have Shanon in my squad. He is now in a historic Portuguese club. Shanon is a very smart midfielder who can relate his physical power to the quality of his technique. He has all the potential to reach the highest level in football and to become one of the best (football) players in India."

With the arrival of Givson Singh from Indian Arrows, Kerala Blasters have made their intentions in the transfer market clear. 

The Kochi-based Indian Super League (ISL) club, who were once famous for bringing experienced veterans or high profile footballers to India, are currently going through a structural revamp on and off the field. As a result, there has been a change in transfer policy as well. 

Only three years ago did Blasters rope in former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov only to see the reputed player, who was already well past his prime, struggle to make a mark in Indian football. Much was expected from that season with Rene Meulensteen at the helm and two of his former proteges - Berbatov and Wes Brown - in the Blasters squad. The 2017-18 season saw the team finish sixth, outside the playoff spots and excluding Bartholomew Ogbeche, the club has stayed away from splashing the cash on big names since then. 

The next two seasons saw the team opt for bankable foreign players with the experience of playing in India. While the results failed to improve, the shift in approach was notable.

Fast forward to 2020 - With the club's financials, which was already struggling to register good numbers, taking a hit due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the transfer policy in place right now has arrived at the right time. 

Several Indian clubs have been forced to shut up shop due to financial problems and while Blasters are safe from such a nightmarish scenario at the moment, given the history of football clubs in India and in particular Kerala, it is better to be safe than sorry. 

Indian clubs are still a long way from registering profits at the end of every season. Instead of going for numerous high-profile players, Kerala Blasters are focusing on signing several talented young players who will form the core of the team in the years to come.

Due to the financial crisis brought upon the world by the pandemic, Blasters have asked several players to take a pay-cut. There have also been re-negotiations of newly signed contracts. However, the young players seem to be the one group that seems unaffected as of now.

Aside from Givson, 23-year-old Ritwik Das and 19-year-old Prabshsukhan Gill have joined from Real Kashmir and Bengaluru FC respectively. Nishu Kumar, who has been signed on a bumper deal, is only 22.

The club already has the likes of Jeakson Singh, who played a prominent first-team role last season, and Nongdamba Naorem, who will return to the club after a title-winning loan spell at Mohun Bagan. The club is also home to one of the country's most exciting midfield prospects in Sahal Abdul Samad whose contract runs for two more years apart from the exciting 20-year-old winger Rahul KP.

Young Indian Arrows attacking midfielder Ayush Adhikari is also tied down to the club. 22-year-old Lalthathanga Khawlhring (Puitea) has joined the club from NorthEast United. This is apart from the likes of Prasanth Karuthadathkuni (22) who featured in the first team last season.

It is safe to say that all Indian clubs, including Blasters, will be extremely cautious in the transfer market this season. Blasters have opted to focus on building a core of young footballers and while on-field results may still not be guaranteed, it may give them breathing space in the football business for now. 

Former Barcelona defender Dani Alves has compared the club's performance in the 2015 Champions League final to Muhammad Ali after recalling their hard-fought victory against Juventus. 

Luis Enrique's side clenched the second treble in their club history after downing their Serie A opposition 3-1 in Berlin. 

Goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar wrapped up the win for Barcelona against a Juve side that had knocked out Real Madrid in the semi-finals. 

Looking back on the victory, Alves felt his side channelled the world's most famous boxer as they made the most of possession and knocked out their opponent. 

“We were up against very physical opponents and we knew we had to win by having the ball. It does not matter how strong your opponents is if you have them chasing after the ball so that they get tired," Alves told Barcelona's official website.

"The moment they let their guard down is the moment to attack. We were like Muhammad Ali: we floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee.

"I think we were deserving winners of the final and we celebrated a lot as we had repeated the treble.

“I remember pretty much everything about the final. It's very recent and not a lot of time has passed since then. I remember it was a very special moment but also a tough one on a personal and collective level.

"People thought we couldn't win another treble and were supporting our opponents to stop us doing it. We were aware that people thought we could not do it. When you are prepared to face that, it's unlikely negative things happen. That is Barca's secret in finals: they are always prepared." 

The 2014-15 season was one to remember for Barcelona as they also claimed La Liga and the Copa del Rey - losing just six games in all competitions.

It hasn't been such smooth sailing since however with the Catalans failing to reach the Champions League final since that memorable night in Berlin. 

In the years after, fierce rivals Real Madrid would win the competition for three years running before Liverpool claimed the title in 2019 after defeating Tottenham in the final. 

With the emergence of technology, a lot of things have changed in sports. In football, the way coaches see and take notes from the training sessions and matches has altered. And for a lot of coaches across the world, football analysts are the ones to thank for the work they put in to support the coaching team. 

As with all things football, data and video-based analysis of the sport also took its sweet time to get into the Indian football industry. Once it firmly gripped the scene, since sometime around the start of the decade, clubs have caught on with how it can help improve the existing coaching setup and output on the field. 

What does an analyst do? 

Analysts are now an integral part of the coaching staff. There are subdivisions to an analyst's job - opposition analysis, set-piece analysis, own-team's analysis, training session analysis etc. In India, a few ISL teams used to have two analysts when they started out but now it's mostly all done by one person per team. 

An analyst's workflow and output entirely depend on the head coach. Some coaches prioritise data and video output and have no qualms about trusting them and making decisions on that. Others consider it only as a backup tool. A research on the work of analysts in Indian football throws up the suggestion that Spanish coaches hugely favour analysis and usually wants all training sessions and matches on video. (Although it would be unfair to generalise as the methods differ from person to person). It must be noted that for analysis, TV footage is almost never used due to the camera angles. When shot, the footage needs to be taken from the top and it should cover the entire pitch so that the coaches can get a full view of all the players on the field. 

The coaches let the analysts know what they require and the analysts then put their brains to work on the footage they have collected. They use data analysis software (such as Sportscode and ProZone) which help in exporting a report which is then sent to the coach's desk.

The workflow varies from one analyst to another. But usually, if there are 5 days between two games, the analyst creates documents and reports ahead of the fixture on day one. On the second day, the coach makes use of the analysis from the last game. Then there is a training session to correct the issues that were spotted. Then the preparation for the next game starts and opposition analysis comes into effect. Based on the key findings and weaknesses of the opposition, a report is prepared and submitted to the head coach. There is a boatload of data that is being transferred from the analyst to the head coach before and after every match. The data is also used as a scouting report at the end of the season to help decisions about recruitment and retention of footballers. 

Analytics in Indian Football 

SportsKPI, an Indian analytics agency, has Indian national team, FC Goa, NorthEast United, Indian Arrows etc as clients. Several ISL clubs are thought to be using the expensive tool Sportscode. Most Indian teams have subscribed to the video tool InStat which helps them collect and edit videos of matches. Nowadays, some of this work can also be done via mobile phones. 

Data like statistics, player movements, patterns in training and its effectiveness can be picked up from the videos. Player attributes and his grasping levels can also be picked up from training footages and these help coaches in arriving at decisions regarding the players in his squad. 

While the role of analysts has become important in India, it can be argued that Indian football still does not have enough resources to make full use of the technology available. There is a practical difficulty to pull off a Julian Nagelsmann, who has live data and video feed of training sessions available to him on a screen. As it stands, not all Indian clubs, especially in the I-League, invest in the analysis of the game. There are exceptions -  Gokulam Kerala, Chennai City, Punjab FC, Mohun Bagan etc have put in the effort to make full use of opposition and own-team analysis.

ISL has helped Indian football take a step in the right direction when it comes to football analysis. Foreign coaches at several clubs made analyst a mandatory position among the staff. The clubs got access to tools which required the management to spend money on their licenses and steadily, analysis became a part of the process. While foreign coaches gave analysts an integral role, Indian coaches, like Derrick Pereira, have also used them to good effect in the past. During the I-League era, Mahinda United an Pune FC were the first sides to use technology and analysis.

For Aspiring Analysts

There are no specific courses to pick up for aspiring football analysts in India compared to Europe that has performance-learning training. Youngsters have to keep working hard, generate their analytical reports and they also have to get in touch with football clubs by sending them their work. If your work is good enough, you will get an internship and that is how most of the current analysts working in India started out. 

Analysts are created out of sheer passion for the sport. Beginners mostly are interns who are given laptops, workspace and a monthly wage somewhere between 5000-10000 INR. ISL club analysts get paid more compared to those in I-League, as you can imagine and the average cost is between 30000-40000 INR.

Fun fact: an Indian football analyst once earned more than one 1 lakh INR after the head coach was impressed with his work and wanted to work only with him. So kids, if you are really good, you will soon have your grand payday. 

If you speak to football analysts at any club, they will tell you that it is a full-time job that takes a lot of hard work. But one that's very rewarding if you love the game. Indian football clubs could soon go from having one analyst on their roster to employing a team of analysts to extract the full potential of what technology and excellent observational skills can do.