Transfer news: David de Gea delight at joining Manchester United


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Manchester United

David de Gea spoke of his pride yesterday after agreeing to join Manchester United on a five-year contract. De Gea, the Spain Under 21 goalkeeper, flew to Manchester on Monday for a medical and although the deal is still to be completed, he has agreed to leave Atletico Madrid for Old Trafford and take Sir Alex Ferguson's summer spending beyond £50 million (Dh292.5m).

More Transfer Talk

Follow the latest summer transfer moves and stories here.

The 20-year-old Spaniard is rated as one of the brightest prospects in the game and is expected to fill the void left by the retirement of Edwin van der Sar. De Gea, told MUTV: "I can't wait to start playing here. When a club the size of Manchester United comes in for you it obviously makes you very, very happy. I saw their interest as an extra motivation to work even harder to show off my ability. It's a great privilege to be part of a club like United."

Steve Bruce, the Sunderland manager, yesterday landed a major transfer coup when he snapped up Connor Wickham, the teenage Ipswich Town striker. The 18 year old headed for Wearside last night to undergo a medical after Sunderland's offer of £8.1m, potentially rising to £12m, was accepted.

Talks over a four-year contract have now been concluded with Bruce having got his man after striking decisively to land a player who had previously been linked with Liverpool - the club he supported as a boy - Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.

Manchester City have pulled out of the race to sign Alexis Sanchez, the Udinese winger, according to Roberto Mancini. The Chile international is a target of Barcelona and is under contract with Udinese until June 2014. "I have spoken to Sanchez," Mancini, the coach, told Sky Italia.

"He said he was open to the idea of coming to City but then we have pulled out [of negotiations]. After our last offer, we are out of the race." Udinese, meanwhile, confirmed the winger, 22, would prefer a move to Spain. "The will of the player is to go to Barcelona," Gino Pozzo, the son of Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo, told Corriere dello Sport. "The negotiations are going forward."

Wolverhampton Wanderers will have to increase their offer for the Reading defender Matt Mills to around £4m if they want to secure his signing, according to reports. The midlands club have offered £3m for 24-year-old Mills, who is believed to be keen on a move. A centre-back is a priority for Wolves.

Jody Craddock, who will be 36 next month, has signed a new one-year deal and his experience is regarded as being an important factor in a young squad. Wolves have also let French centre-back Steven Mouyokolo, 24, join French club Sochaux on loan.

West Bromwich Albion

Roy Hodgson, the West Brom head coach, is confident the midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu will remain at The Hawthorns. Hodgson has played down fears that Mulumbu could be tempted away from West Brom because of the interest shown in him by Italian club Fiorentina.

Mulumbu was one of Albion's outstanding performers last season and also weighed in with seven goals to make him their second-highest scorer after Peter Odemwingie. "Youssouf Mulumbu has a long contract that has to be respected — and he has given no indication that he plans to break that commitment," said Hodgson.

"Talk of a transfer is just fantasy at the moment. It will be difficult for anyone to take him. Mulumbu will not go, at least not for another year."

Closing the loophole on sugary drinks

As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.

The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
 

Not taxed:

Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.

The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

THE 12 BREAKAWAY CLUBS

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

Skoda Superb Specs

Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol

Power: 190hp

Torque: 320Nm

Price: From Dh147,000

Available: Now

Graduated from the American University of Sharjah

She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding

 

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):

Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Match will be shown on BeIN Sports

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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania

Rating: 4/5

Quick pearls of wisdom

Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”

Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.” 

The specs: Hyundai Ionic Hybrid

Price, base: Dh117,000 (estimate)

Engine: 1.6L four-cylinder, with 1.56kWh battery

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power: 105hp (engine), plus 43.5hp (battery)

Torque: 147Nm (engine), plus 170Nm (battery)

Fuel economy, combined: 3.4L / 100km

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

Ad Astra

Director: James Gray

Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones

Five out of five stars 

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2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier

The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier

Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets

Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs

Table

1 UAE 5 5 0 10

2 Qatar 5 4 1 8

3 Saudi 5 3 2 6

4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4

5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2

6 Maldives 5 0 5 0

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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.