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Where are they now? The Man Utd U21 XI from Kobbie Mainoo’s debut

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Kobbie Mainoo’s start to life as a regular in Manchester United’s first team has been nothing short of a dream, but the midfield wonderkid wasn’t an overnight success.

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a breakout 2023-24 campaign under Erik ten Hag, earning Player of the Match on his Premier League debut, scoring a late winner away at Wolves, a scorcher in front of the Stretford End against Liverpool and making his senior England debut.We’ve looked back at the XI that started alongside him as he made his full Premier League 2 debut in November 2021 – starting in a 3-2 win against Leeds – and caught up with where those young colleagues are now.

GK: Matej Kovar

Joining United in 2018, Kovar progressed through the age groups and enjoyed a variety of loans, also impressing at under-21 level for United.

A changing of the guard in the goalkeeper department in the summer of 2023 aligned nicely with the young Czech, who had just won the league title with Sparta Prague, but he was sold during pre-season to Bundesliga champions-elect Bayer Leverkusen, following Andre Onana’s arrival.

Kovar has played a rotation role, but is about to become a Bundesliga champion and remains one of Europe’s top goalkeeper prospects. Thankfully, United have first refusal on any potential future deal.

RB: Marc Jurado

The Spanish full-back left Barcelona to join United in October 2020 and featured regularly, but left in the summer of 2023 and headed back to Barcelona, instead signing for Espanyol.

Jurado has played 25 times for Espanyol B this season.

CB: Teden Mengi

Highly rated by fans and staff alike at Old Trafford, injuries derailed what seemed otherwise to be a very clear pathway to United’s first-team, having made his senior debut in August 2020 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Mengi seemingly got lost in the shuffle following injuries and loan spells and left to join Luton in the summer of 2023. His debut season in the Premier League with The Hatters has been outstanding and he’s proven himself to be capable at the top level.

At just 21, the future looks bright for the England youth international, regardless of whether or not Luton survive the drop.

CB: Rhys Bennett

Local lad Bennett wore the captain’s armband and scored as United won the FA Youth Cup final in 2022 and has been in around the first-team, taking part in training and friendlies under Erik ten Hag.Injuries unfortunately ruled him out at the beginning of 2023 and again at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. He’s currently on loan with promotion-chasing Stockport County in League Two, but has made just one start since joining in January.

LB: Charlie Wellens

Wellens left United in the summer of 2023 after being with them since childhood and signed for League One Reading later that year.

The 21-year-old made his senior debut for the club in November, but has spent the bulk of his first season playing in Premier League 2.

CM: Martin Svidersky

Svidersky joined the club in 2019 and signed his first professional contract come the turn of the new year, but his progression slowed after a strong start and he was released in 2022 – the same summer as Ten Hag’s arrival.He penned a five-year deal with Almeria that summer, but suffered an ACL injury in early 2023 and returned to action in November. He’s currently out on loan at Murica, aged 21.

CM: Kobbie Mainoo

The star of the show. Main event Mainoo. 

RW: Amad Diallo

The Ivory Coast international ripped it up at under-21 level after joining United from Atalanta and after a tough loan with Rangers, he found his feet with Sunderland in 2022-23, finishing the campaign as the club’s Young Player of the Year.

It’s been quite the process and he’s still not fully there yet, but almost three years on from that £37million transfer, Amad is now a regular among the squad in Ten Hag’s first-team, scored a winner against Liverpool to send United to Wembley in the FA Cup and is very much adored by fans.

The 21-year-old has also been capped four times at international level. One to watch.

AM: Isak Hansen-Aaroen

Signing for United in 2020 after being pursued heavily by Solskjaer, Hansen-Aaroen was largely considered the crown jewel of United’s academy at the time and considered to be a top prospect by many.His performances at youth level reflected that, but after becoming concerned with a lack of opportunities to make it into the first-team, the Norwegian left to sign for Werder Bremen in January 2024.

LW: Anthony Elanga

Elanga was promoted under Solskjaer and quickly became Ralf Rangnick’s favourite player during his bizarre interim spell as manager, scoring away in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

He was sold to Nottingham Forest last summer for just £15million and has since proven to United that he’s more than just rotation fodder and a one-trick pony.

The 21-year-old has been capped 15 times for Sweden and has five goals and eight assists from 31 Premier League games this season.

ST: Charlie McNeill

There was a huge buzz around the club when McNeill swapped Manchester City for United in 2020, the local lad costing the Red Devils around £750k and arriving having scored hundreds of goals at youth level.

Stay away from violence during school sports competitions – Dr Amankrah

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Dr. William Kwame Amankrah, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, has cautioned second-cycle educational institutions to avoid violence and acts of hooliganism during sports competitions. 
 
They should at all times uphold sportsmanship, discipline and respect the rules of engagement at competitions. 
 
Dr. Amankrah, addressing the closing ceremony of the 2024 Ashanti Regional Inter-Schools and Colleges Athletics Super Zonals Competition, in Kumasi, reminded the students that the sports competitions were not avenues for brawls and confrontations. 
 
The age-old tradition of some schools bearing grudges against each other, which normally triggered vandalism at the least provocation, should cease, he noted. 
 
He warned that the authorities had resolved not to hesitate in meting out the appropriate sanctions to schools and students who misbehaved at sports competitions. 
 
It would be recalled that some forty-five (45) students of the Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI) were arrested by the police some six years ago, when the law enforcers tried to restore calm after the students clashed with other students during the Regional Inter-Schools’ Athletics Competition. 
 
Dozens were left injured in the incident, which triggered a public outcry at the excessive use of force by the police in their engagement with the students. 
Over the years, clashes among rival schools have created tension – some of them resulting in the destruction of property, including stadium seats, school buses, among others. 
 
Dr Amankrah advised the students to stay focused on building their educational and sporting careers. 
 
They should learn hard to justify the huge investment made in them by the Government as well as their parents. 
 
The 2024 Regional Athletics Super Zonals Competition saw Prempeh College emerging as champions of the boys’ division with 142 points, followed by OWASS (123 points) and T. I. AMASS (91.5 points). 
It was the fourth time since 1988 that Prempeh College had won the Competition, having emerged champions in 2019, 2006 and 2002.     
In the girls’ division, St. Louis SHS were crowned the winners with 150.5 points, followed by T. I. AMASS (114 points) and KASS (94 points). 
More than 40 schools participated in the Competition, involving some 22 events administered in accordance with the IAAF rules. 

Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2024: Africa Global Logistics (AGL) Joins as Bronze Sponsor, Highlighting Africa’s Supply Chain Transformation

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PARIS, France, April 10, 2024/APO Group/ — The multimodal logistics operator is shaping the future of Africa’s supply chains through several recent developments. The company launched its AGL Lobito Terminal in Angola this month, which has the capacity to handle more than one million tons of bulk goods per year and drive Angola’s transformation into a regional logistics hub. In Namibia, AGL was awarded the contract by the Namibian Ports Authority to oversee operations of the bulk terminal in the Port of Walvis Bay, ushering in a new era of trade facilitation and regional integration both for Namibia and the SADC region.

Organized by Energy Capital & Power, IAE 2024 (https://apo-opa.co/49krKXM) is an exclusive forum designed to facilitate investment between African energy markets and global investors. Taking place May 14-15, 2024 in Paris, the event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors and policymakers. For more information, please visit www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact [email protected].

With operations in 49 countries, AGL is expanding its presence beyond Southern Africa. In January 2023, the company secured 20 acres at the Naivasha Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Kenya to be used for cargo handling, with a view to supporting industrialization, facilitating international trade and simplifying cross-border logistics and customs procedures. The allotment reflects AGL’s efforts to increase its cargo business and make inroads in the East African market, leveraging reduced barriers to trade associated with the African Continental Free Trade Area. Last December, AGL also won the management contract for the São Tomé Port container terminal, aiming to improve the port’s efficiency by deploying comprehensive logistics solutions and integrated technologies.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Todd Boehly slammed over potentially unthinkable Chelsea sale – ‘They’re running the club into the ground’

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The London club will need to generate more than £100million from player sales come the end of the end of the season in order to avoid a Financial Fair Play (FFP) penalty and stand-in skipper Gallagher could be sacrificed given his status as an academy graduate- given his sale would be pure profit on the balance sheet.

That scenario would not go down well with Stamford Bridge fans though, with many Chelsea supporters viewing three England man as one of their best players this term in an otherwise disastrous campaign so far, scoring seven Premier League goals and adding five assists.

It was reported in February that Boehly is ‘not convinced’ by Gallagher and that Tottenham are hoping to poach the box-to-box midfielder in the summer transfer window, looking to take advantage of the fact that he’s out of contract in 2025.

“Chelsea selling Gallagher? If anything summed up the board of Chelsea, it is this,” former Blues star Petit told Genting Casino. “Can you believe that? They are running the club into the ground!

“Boehly has signed so many players that he may have to get rid of Gallagher, one of their most important players.

“He’s one of the only leaders, too, so it really is crazy to be a Chelsea fan right now. I’m happy I wasn’t around in the Boehly era.”

Unpopular Boehly needs to balance Chelsea books

American billionaire Boehly has not been particularly popular at Chelsea since BlueCo took control from Roman Abramovich back in May 2022.

Chelsea have spent over £1billion on players in the BlueCo era but they have massively struggled on the pitch. They currently sit ninth in the Premier League table and are 16 points off fourth place.

Blues fans also recently launched a campaign against their owners, depicting Boehly as a clown on mass-produced stickers with the words: ‘Get them out.’The Stamford Bridge outfit are under financial pressure after making a pre-tax loss of £90.1m. Boehly also travelled to Saudi Arabia earlier this year to raise funds for the club, looking for a new front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2024-25 campaign.

Devastating double Liverpool exit accelerates as Euro giant begins talks and Romano confirms ‘strong’ interest

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The future of Salah at Liverpool has been thrown into doubt, with his contract expiring in summer 2025 and iconic manager Jurgen Klopp leaving at the end of the season. The Reds managed to hold off any Saudi advances for the right winger last summer, even rejecting a huge £150million bid, though it remains to be seen whether they will keep him ahead of next season.

On Monday, it emerged that Fenway Sports Group CEO Michael Edwards is ‘ready’ to green light Salah’s exit, should the Egyptian make clear his desire to play in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that Saudi clubs are unlikely to match the £150m offer that was previously submitted. Instead, Liverpool will receive a starting bid worth £70m, due to the fact Salah will have entered the final 12 months of his contract.

talkSPORT’S report on Tuesday added that Salah remains happy on Merseyside and is not pushing to leave currently. But Saudi Pro League officials could change that by offering him unbelievable amounts of money.

Amid all the rumours, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has provided his take on Salah’s future. He has confirmed that there is concrete Saudi interest in the 31-year-old goalscorer, though talks are unlikely to begin until the end of the campaign.

“Despite some speculation to the contrary, I’m not aware of imminent proposals and I’m told nothing is happening now/April in general,” Romano said in his latest Daily Briefing column.

“Interest in Salah from Saudi remains strong but it’s not time for proposals, not even for talks from what I’m told.”

Luis Diaz could follow Mo Salah out of Liverpool

Luis Diaz is another top Liverpool star who might be on the move in the summer. The left winger’s camp are hoping to secure him a move to either Real Madrid or Barcelona, while Paris Saint-Germain are tracking his situation.

According to The Telegraph, PSG are the best-placed club to snare Diaz. Club officials from the French capital have even held discussions with Diaz’s agent about a possible move.

The Colombian is facing a ‘crossroads’ in his career, as he must decide whether to push for a new contract with Liverpool or try out a new challenge elsewhere.

While Diaz has become an integral player for Klopp since joining Liverpool in January 2022, there have been no talks between the two parties about a possible contract extension.

Diaz’s current terms run until June 2027, but it is more his wages and his feeling that he should be rewarded that could push him away.

50 years on the skin: Kandiga Chief praised for selfless leadership

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Naaba Henry Abawine Amenga-Etego II, the Divisional Chief of Kandiga community in the Kassena-Nankana West District, has held a grand durbar to celebrate 50 years as a chief of the area amidst praises of selfless leadership and community development.

In an atmosphere of colourful display of singing, drumming, dancing and cultural performances, the chiefs and people of the area marked the occasion with sacrifices and praises to God and their ancestors for preserving the chief for over 50 years.

Cultural troops, chiefs, political figures and people from all walks of life graced the occasion with many lauding the efforts of Naaba Amenga-Etego II for restoring peace between the Kandiga and Doba communities, who had engaged in land dispute over the years and for championing inclusive community.

It was held on the theme: “50 years of charismatic and selfless leadership: consolidating our unity for holistic development.”

Born on July 5, 1954, Naaba Henry Abawine Amenga-Etego II was enskinned chief of the area after the death of his father Naaba Akaguri Paul Amenga-Etego I, in 1972 and was subsequently gazetted as a chief in 1973 in accordance with the Chieftaincy Act, Act 81, 1961.

The Kandiga Skin is under the Mirigu Traditional Area and was started in 1906 when Naaba Aboyinga Anonkaabe was enskinned as the first chief of the area after the restoration of peace and stability after years of conflict.

Pe Ditundini Adiana Ayagitam III, President of the Upper East Regional House Chiefs, who was the guest of honour, congratulated and lauded Naaba Amenga-Etego II for dedicated service to the development of the community, particular in his resolving the land dispute between the community and Doba.

He explained that peace was the engine on which all development thrived and all stakeholders in the area needed to work together to consolidate the peace currently being enjoyed and inculcate the spirit of communal labour to develop the community.

On his part, Naaba Amenga-Etego II commended his people for contributing in diverse ways towards the development of the community over the years, which had impacted positively on the lives of everyone in the areas of peace and security, education, health, socioeconomic development and eradication of harmful cultural practices.

“From a single primary school in 1972 for all the children of Kandiga and neighboring communities, we now have close to 10 primary and Junior high schools serving the basic educational needs of Kandiga,” he said.

He urged the people to avoid sectionalism and work together to project the area, to attract the needed investment for accelerated development, adding “I encourage all of us to build a collective commitment to a more inclusive and supportive community culture that can attract and retain essential development initiatives from among ourselves or foreigners.”

Naaba Amenga-Etego II, however, noted that the community still lagged in terms of development and appealed to the government to take urgent steps for the creation of a new district out of Kassena-Nankana West to propel development.

He also appealed to the government to increase the infrastructure base of the Kandiga Senior High Technical School, extend electricity to more communities and rehabilitate major roads in the area.

Speaking on behalf of Mr Stephen Yakubu, the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Gerard Ataogye, the District Chief Executive for the area, indicated that the contribution of Naaba Amenga-Etego to the development of the area was huge and appealed to the people to rally behind the chief for more development projects.

Farmers in UWR sensitized on PFJ2.0 programme

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The Upper West Regional Department of Agriculture has engaged some stakeholders in the region to sensitise them on the second phase of the Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ 2.0) programme.

The engagement was to, among other things, expose the stakeholders to the PFJ 2.0 registration process and encourage them to in turn educate their communities.

Speaking at the event in Wa, Mr Peter Maala, the Upper West Regional Coordinating Director, who represented the Upper West Regional Minister, expressed hope that the sensitisation would help the people to have deeper understanding of the programme and how they could benefit from it.

“We will continue to create awareness and get more people to be aware of the PFJ 2.0 and its benefits so that more farmers will be enrolled,” he indicated.

He also expressed hope that the PFJ 2.0 would yield the expected outcome of increasing agricultural production and contributing to poverty reduction, especially in the Upper West Region.

Mr Huudu Abu, the Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Agriculture, indicated that the PFJ 2.0 had come to build on the successes of the first phase of the programme.

He said it was, therefore, necessary to educate the stakeholders on the PFJ 2.0 programme to enable them to appreciate the potential impact of the programme on farmers and its implementation modalities.

Mr Abu said that would also enable the stakeholders to extend the education to the farmers to benefit from it. 

He announced that registration of farmers for the programme was currently ongoing and there was the need for the farmers to know the requirement for the registration.

He encouraged institutions in the region, including government agencies and departments, to take advantage of the programme to help contribute to the goal of achieving food and nutrition security.

In a presentation, Mr Stephen Yelsung, the Upper West Regional Agricultural Extension Officer, noted that the registration of farmers for the PFJ 2.0 was done through a digital platform called the “Ghana Agriculture and Agribusiness Platform”.

He said it was necessary to enable the government to keep a database of farmers in the country.

Mr Yelsung stated that Ghana Card formed an integral part of the registration process and encouraged all farmers to acquire it to benefit from the programme.

He explained that a person was expected to have a minimum farm size of half an acre before he or she could be registered to benefit from the programme.

Mr Frederick Vuozie, the Wa Municipal Director of Agriculture, expressed hope that considering the benefits that farmers in the region derived from the first phase of the programme, they would embrace the second phase to further improve their livelihoods.

He explained that as a private-led programme, the challenges encountered with the first phase of the programme, including smuggling of the PFJ fertilizer, difficulty in accessing credit and mechanisation services and timely access to inputs, would be addressed.

Kuoro Osman Diewia Nankpa III, the Paramount Chief of the Pulima Traditional Area in the Sissala West District, raised concerns about the poor nature of roads in the Sissala area, which was affecting farmers in the area.

Heads of Departments and Agencies, representatives of farmer groups and associations among others participated in the event.

Fierce rainstorm rips off Yariga Basic school 

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A severe rainstorm that hit the Yariga community in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region over the weekend has wreaked havoc on a three-unit classroom block of the Yariga Basic school. 

The strong winds pulled down the classroom blocks and ripped off the roofing sheets of several buildings in the area. 

A visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the school saw the absence of pupils and students due to the situation, including unavailability of sitting spaces. 

Teachers in the combined classes were also having a tough time controlling the few pupils, who came to school. 

Mr Peter Kassah, Chairman of the Community Management Committee, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), that over 200 pupils would be forced to study under trees if there was no immediate support. 

He called on philanthropists and Krachi East Municipal Assembly to come to their aid. 

Mr Philip Kwadwo Bidaba, the Assembly member of Kwame-Akura East Electoral Area, said the situation was reported to the Municipal National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO). 

The Assembly man appealed to the authorities in the Municipality and Non-governmental Organisations to come to the aid of the school. 

Mr Jacob Desiavor, the Municipal NADMO Director, said they visited the school to assess the situation and reported to the then Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for possible solution. 

Speaking to the GNA, he said the MCE assured of resourcing the NADMO office to have the structure fixed when the Municipality was hit by his sudden death on Friday, April 5, 2024. 

MTN Ghana donates to National Chief Imam ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr celebration

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Accra, April 9, GNA – MTN Ghana as part of its corporate social responsibility has donated food items and an amount of GHS20,000 cash to the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, to commemorate the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The items donated included 25 bags of rice, 15 cartons of vegetable oil, 40 Packs of Mineral Water, 10 cartons of canned drinks, 20 packs of assorted soft drinks, and a ram.

Mr Salihu Abu, Senior Manager for Customer Relations and Credit Management, speaking during the donation, said the gesture reaffirmed the company’s commitment to supporting their customers across all religious backgrounds and cultures.

He said that similar donations were being made to all Regional Chief Imams in Ashanti, Western and Northern regions.

Mr Abu said during the festival celebration, MTN would set up stands at vantage points to provide customers with enhanced customer services.

“Customers will be able to do their sim change, register for MoMo and we also leverage on platforms to educate customers on Mobile Money fraud,” he added.

Mr Abu said the donations across the country were to affirm the company’s appreciation for customers support, patronage and loyalty to MTN.

He hinted that MTN Ghana Foundation had opened entries for the MTN Bright Scholarship scheme, which aims to assist students in public tertiary and vocational institutions with their financial commitments whilst in school.

The scholarship covers the cost of tuition, accommodation, stipend, and a laptop.

He said the deadline for submission of applications was on Friday, 31st May, 2024.

“Eligible applicants will have to apply only through the web portal at scholarship.mtn.com.gh. No hardcopy applications will be accepted”, he said.

However, he urged the Muslim community to be charitable towards the less privileged, and to learn to live in harmony with their neighbours.

He expressed his deepest condolences to his Eminence the National Chief Imam for the loss of his wife. “May Allah grant her the highest place in Jannah.”

His Eminence Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu expressed appreciation to MTN Ghana for the gesture and prayed that Allah rewarded their loyalty.

“Giving to children of God is a blessing because you have done Allah’s Will.”

He said donating for the cause of God was a blessing to Allah and prayed for success and prosperity to MTN Ghana.

Henry Fitz, two others charged for sexual extortion

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Henry Amponsah a.k.a as Henry Fitz and two others have been charged for conspiracy to commit crime, namely non-consensual sharing of intimate images, of Ms Serwaa Amihere, a Media Personality.

Other accused persons are Edem Saviour Ketti, a filmmaker and Candylove Kwakyewaa Ababio, a trader.

They were also charged with two counts of sexual extortion contrary to section 66(1) of Cyber Security Act, 2020 (Act 1038).

 Brief facts filed at an Accra Circuit Court indicated that the complainant was Ms Amihere. Ketti, resides at Adjiringanor and Ababio also resides at Achimota Kingsby in Accra.

According to the facts sheets, Henry Fitz is at large.

It said on December 3, 2023, the Complainant’s make-up artist – Colleen Nhyira Afful-Sam called to inform her that someone had texted her demanding an amount of GHS5,000 with the pretext that he had the complainant’s nude pictures.

It said that the said amount should be sent to an MTN mobile money account number – 0558247205, which bore the name Edem Saviour Ketti.

The facts explained further that, on April 2, 2024, another MTN number -0555252660 called and demanded an amount of GHS20.000.00 to be sent within a minute, or else he would post the nude videos of the complainant.

“Though he succeeded in taking the ransom, he still went ahead and posted the nude pictures of the complainant on social media handles,” it added.

It said on April 3, 2024, the complainant filed a complaint with the Police, and upon surveillance mounted, Edem was arrested at his hideout at Dzorwulu.

It also said that during the investigation, he admitted to using his Ghana Card to register the MTN mobile money account number 0558247205, which he handed to Ababio, who then gave the same number to Henry Fitz, and that he had been using the number till date in the design to sexually exploit the complainant and circulate her intimate images on social media handles and networks.

According to the brief, the case is still under investigation whilst efforts are underway to apprehend Henry Fitz.

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