Former Chelsea Manager Andre Villas-Boas, now managing Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, has made a "stunning" £60M ($76M) bid for Chelsea midfielder Oscar. The player has "fallen out of favour" with Chelsea Manager Antonio Conte. The club "will not be able to refuse" £60M for Oscar, whom Chelsea signed from Brasileiro side Internacional for £25M in '12. Villas-Boas was appointed manager of Shanghai SIPG at the start of November and "already has two Brazilians, Hulk and Elkeson, in his squad" (London TELEGRAPH, 12/13).
A week after Argentine referee Claudio Elichiri was assaulted during a "lower-league match in Argentina between Sarmiento and Sansinena," an official was assaulted at a regional league match in the province of Jujuy. Argentine referees union (SADRA) Secretary General Guillermo Marconi said that there have been 42 "violent incidents this season" (CLARÍN, 12/13).
The Confederation of African Football "opened a new chapter in ensuring a clean sport, by introducing medical check-ups of all teams" competing in the African Cup of Nations finals tournaments. The arrangement will start with the 16 teams that will compete at the 2017 AFCON tournament in Gabon next month (ALBAWABA, 12/12).
The FA has advertised for a new U21 head coach to succeed Gareth Southgate -- "with the goal of helping the country win the 2022 World Cup." The position is vacant following Southgate's appointment as manager of the senior team on a four-year deal. U20 coach Aidy Boothroyd replaced Southgate on a temporary basis (BBC, 12/13).
Spanish footballer David Villa launched his football academy in South Korea on Tuesday. Villa announced the inauguration of his DV7 Soccer Academy, which aims to help young children develop personal values through football. Villa: "My life has been all about football. I want my main endeavor in the future to be working with children and help their career with football." This is the eighth football academy set up by Villa. His other academies are in Spain, Puerto Rico, the U.S., Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic (YONHAP, 12/13).
