Manchester City plan to continue their pursuit of Everton defender Joleon Lescott despite having several bids rejected by their English Premier League rivals.
Everton manager David Moyes launched an angry attack against City on Friday, calling their attempts to sign the England international “disgusting.”
City counterpart Mark Hughes, however, is still determined to bolster his defense with Lescott before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
“When a deal has run its course, we would be prepared to walk away,” Hughes said after Saturday’s season-opening 2-0 win at Blackburn Rovers. “At this moment in time, we are still to arrive at that position. Our interest is not finished yet. The headlines were quite predictable. I am not surprised David feels a bit aggrieved with the situation, you always are when a big club comes along trying to acquire one of your better players.”
A bid of £15 million (US$25 million) was rejected and an improved offer of £18 million was turned down at the end of last month. Moyes is unhappy that Hughes never contacted him directly about buying Lescott.
“We are doing things the right way and through the proper channels,” Hughes said. “We haven’t put this into the public domain. Everton did that on their Web site.”
Moyes is determined not to lose Lescott as Everton try to break into the top four.
“There is no deal, is there? And I have said often enough that Everton are not selling,” Moyes said on Saturday.
Everton were thrashed by Arsenal on Saturday after Moyes had complained that his club was being disrupted by City’s pursuit of Lescott.
“They have been talking about it and we have not been talking about the start of the season, that has been disruptive,” Moyes said. “So maybe that is what the overall plan was.”
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and