News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Inter Milan have reached an agreement to sign Manchester United defender and club captain Ashley Young, British media reports said.
Manchester United captain Ashley Young has made 18 appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United this season, but started only 10 Premier League matches.Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images via ReutersThe move will bring an end to Young's 8-1/2 year stay at United, where he won the 2012-13 Premier League title, the 2015-16 FA Cup, and both the League Cup and Europa League in 2016-17.
Sky Sports reported the 34-year-old Young is expected to undergo a medical in Italy on Friday after United agreed to sell the player in a deal worth a 1.5 million euros ($1.67 million) plus bonuses.
England full back Young has made 18 appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United this season, but started only 10 Premier League matches.
Inter, who signed striker Romelu Lukaku from Old Trafford last August and also secured a loan deal for United forward Alexis Sanchez, are two points behind Serie A leaders Juventus.
Under former Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte, Inter are chasing their first Italian top-flight title since 2010.
Mohun Bagan, ATK will be torchbearers of Indian football: Sourav Ganguly
Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) president Sourav Ganguly has welcomed the merger of Mohun Bagan and ATK and said that both the clubs will be the torchbearers for Indian football going ahead.
"A momentus partnership for Bengal football. I have no doubt ATK and Mohun Bagan will be torchbearers of moving Indian football forward together. @IndSuperLeague," Ganguly tweeted.
On Thursday, I-League club Mohun Bagan announced the merger with Indian Super League (ISL) club ATK.
RPSG Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka said the merged club will be named ATK-Mohun Bagan and he would ensure that the identities of both Mohun Bagan and ATK remained intact.
The merged club will have brand names of ATK and Mohun Bagan. RPSG Group, which owns ATK, will become 80 per cent majority shareholder alongside Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Private Limited owning the remaining 20 per cent shares.
"In this context, I am very thankful to one of India's most well-known industrialists and our Kolkata's very own Dr Sanjiv Goenka for his investment through RPSG. Their vision on Indian football aligns with our philosophy and our combined forces will surely take the club to bigger and greater heights. In this respect, it is a red-letter day in the history of this iconic institution," Swapan Sadhan Bose, Chairman, Mohun Bagan Football Club (India) Pvt. Ltd. said in an official statement.
"I can assure millions and millions of Bagan supporters spread across the globe, that the poetry will continue. Now that the prose is ready to lend a helping hand," he added.
The newly formed club will come into existence from June 1 and will be a part of the ISL from the 2020-21 season.
Chelsea youngster James handed five-year deal
Chelsea have handed 20-year-old defender Reece James a long-term contract until 2025, the Premier League club said in a statement on Thursday.
James is one of several young homegrown players to have thrived in Frank Lampard's first season in charge at Stamford Bridge, benefiting from the transfer ban which prevented the club from buying new players in the close season.
He has made 18 appearances since returning from a successful loan spell at Championship side Wigan Athletic, scoring on his debut against Grimsby Town in the League Cup and netting in a 4-4 draw with Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League.
"It has been my dream to be here at Chelsea and play week in week out and to have a contract for another five-and-a-half years is living the dream again," James told Chelsea's website.
Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia added: "The smooth way Reece has fitted into the team so quickly despite missing the start of the season has been clear for everyone to see.
"The fact another exciting young player is part of the future of the club is a result of great work by our Academy, our loans department, our new coaching staff and of course the player himself."
Bordeaux stunned by Pau in French Cup
French third division side Pau pulled off a remarkable 3-2 win after extra-time over top-flight Girondins de Bordeaux on Thursday to reach the last 16 of the French Cup.
Senegalese winger Mamadou Lamine Gueye struck the decisive goal in the 117th minute, giving Pau the lead for the third time in the game.
Pau broke the deadlock midway through the first half through Moustapha Name while Yankuba Jarju restored their advantage right before halftime after an equaliser by Bordeaux's Josh Maja.
Bordeaux striker Nicolas de Preville forced the extra period with a goal in the 82nd minute but Pau, who are fourth in France's Championnat National, outlasted the Ligue 1 side to pull off the latest in a long line of upsets in the competition.
