A fresh report from Football Insider has offered an intriguing update on Everton’s long-running pursuit of Chelsea playmaker Conor Gallagher. Everton have now made an approach to try and sign the 22-year-old England international ahead of the 2022/23 season. The young Chelsea midfielder spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Crystal Palace and was one of the Premier League’s rising stars as he enjoyed a fine spell, scoring eight goals from 34 top-flight appearances, helping Palace to a comfortable 12th-place finish.

Michael Essien started his career as a professional footballer at French club Bastia in 2000 on the back of his spell as a youth player at Liberty Professionals in his native Ghana.His Bastia debut came as a substitute for club skipper Laurent Casanova during a league game against Metz on September 30, 2000.Essiendidn't command a place in the Bastia XI on a regular basis immediately as he was deployed in positions across the back four. His debut campaign at Bastia ended with one goal in 13 league matches. The lone goal came during the 3-2 defeat to Metz.

Former Brazil and Chelsea defender Alex has revealed that he has undergone heart bypass surgery after four blocked arteries were discovered. The 39-year-old retired from the sport in 2016 after a long and successful career playing for Chelsea, PSV Eindhoven, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan. Alex' former club Santos posted on its social media channels a video of the former defender at a hospital in an undisclosed location as he recovers on Friday.

Chelsea icon Michael Essien has had his say on Callum Hudson-Odoi’s new look as the winger returned to training following an injury absence. The 21-year-old has now missed a total of 14 games since picking up an Achilles problem back in March. The timing of the injury was rather unfortunate as he had started more and more games in his preferred left winger role up until that point.

Michael Essien was delighted that the Black Stars of Ghana pulled off an impressive feat as they qualified for the World Cup 2022 tournament in Qatar at the expense of West African rivals Nigeria. Michael Essien took to his official Twitter account to celebrate the World Cup qualification at the expense of Nigeria at the end of last month.

Ex-Chelsea and Real Madrid midfielder Michael Essien was a key player for Ghana during his playing days. He scored nine goals in 59 games for Ghana over a 12-year period. He was part of the Ghana squad that qualified for the FIFA World Cup tournament for the first time at the 2006 edition in Germany before they were eliminated by five-time champions Brazil at the last 16 stage. Michael Essien was suspended for the round of 16 game with the Brazilians which ended in a 3-0 defeat.

Michael Essien played his first game for the Ghana senior team careerduring an international friendly encounter with the Pharaohs of Egypt on January 4, 2002. The game was in preparation for the 2002 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Mali. Michael Essien made his competitive debut for the team during the group stage clash with Morocco on January 21, 2002.

French teams Lyon and Paris Saint Germain (PSG) were both keen on signing Michael Essienfrom Bastia in the summer of 2003. In the end, Michael Essien snubbed PSG in favour of Lyon in a €7.8m transfer. PSG offered a better transfer feefor Essienthan Lyonand it was accepted by Bastia, but the player preferred a move to Lyon.

French club Bastia signed Michael Essien as a teenager in the summer of 2000 and he was given his professional debut during a league match with Metz on September 30, 2000. He came on as a substitute for club captain Laurent Casanova.

It has been revealed that Ghanaian football icon Michael Essien was a massive fan of ex-Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane who has moved to management and punditry since he retired as a player several years ago.

Michael Essien spoke about his admiration for Keane during an interview with The Sun in 2005 as the midfielder said that he supported Manchester United as a boy while growing up in his native Ghana. He stated how overjoyed he was when Manchester United offered him a one-week trial at the age of 17. In the end, the midfield powerhouse could not sign for the Red Devils due to work permit issues. Michael Essien could have started his European career at Manchester United if not for work permit. While he was on trial at Manchester United, Essien was unable to speak to the big players at the club.

Ghanaian football icon Michael Essien has hailed the world's first malaria vaccine which could prevent thousands of deaths especially amongst children.

Several years before he became a known name on the Premier League scene, Michael Essien was a barefoot kid in Ghana who scored regularly against goalkeepers with goalposts made of stacked rocks. Like what was obtainable with other children in the world at the time, a young Michael Essien suffered from malaria several times.
Essien said that he's still alive and kicking after surviving malaria as a child, but he knows that 260,000 African kids are not as lucky. To this effect, the malaria vaccine is a blessing to the continent and Michael Essien shares the same opinion. According to him, the impending rollout of a new vaccine is a very good thing for Africa.