Chelsea look set to put the disappointment of losing out on Romelu Lukaku by signing French midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko, according to the British media on Thursday.
Bakayoko, 22, who played a pivotal role in Monaco winning the French title and reaching the Uefa Champions League semi-finals last season, will cost the English champions up to £40 million (Dh190m), according to The Guardian newspaper.
The deal is conditional on him passing a medical. Bakayoko underwent keyhole surgery on his knee after the season ended and is likely to miss the Community Shield match with Arsenal and the first three Premier League games.
There had been speculation Manchester United might try and stymie the bid for Bakayoko, who made his senior international debut earlier this year, just as they did with Lukaku, as they broke the record for a deal between British clubs of £75m to prise him away from Everton on Monday.
However, Bakayoko, whom Monaco will make a tidy profit on having signed him from Rennes for £7m in 2014, had always made clear that Chelsea was his preferred destination.
Bakayoko's arrival, which Chelsea hope to conclude by the time they leave for Asia for a pre-season tour next Monday, should see Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic leave for a similar fee to that of the Frenchman.
However, Chelsea are not keen to sell him to the original suitors Manchester United, as relations between the two rivals have cooled considerably since the Lukaku affair.
Bakayoko's signing, joining veteran Argentine goalkeeper Willy Caballero and German defender Antonio Rudiger as new recruits, would not be the last for manager Antonio Conte.
The 47-year-old Italian, who along with his coaching staff are yet to sign new contracts offered at the end of last term, is hoping to conclude deals for Juventus' Alex Sandro and Spanish international striker Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid.
Morata is Italian Conte's preferred fallback option for Lukaku, having lured him to Juventus in 2014 before leaving to take over as national team coach, and would replace temperamental Spanish striker Diego Costa.
Morata told The Guardian earlier this year that he dreamt of playing under Conte because he was a man who had believed in him and understood him.
Costa, whom Conte told was not part of his plans, is likely to rejoin Atletico Madrid even though he would not be able to play for them until January because of the club's transfer ban.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
'Ashkal'
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
Stage 3 results
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 4:42:33
2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:03
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:30
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ
5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Diego Ulissi (ITA) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:56
General Classification after Stage 3:
1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 12:30:02
2 Tadej Pocagar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:07
3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana 0:01:35
4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:40
5 Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe
6 Wilco Kelderman (NED) Team Sunweb) 0:02:06
65
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SPECS
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
