Crystal Palace have made a formal offer to Augsburg to sign defender Chrislain Matsima, according to Sky Sports Germany.

The Eagles are looking to be active in the market for their new manager Pierre Sage, as they prepare to enter a new era at Selhurst Park following the departure of Oliver Glasner when his contract expired at the end of the last campaign.

The club have already agreed a deal to allow defender Maxence Lacroix to join Chelsea for around £52m, with a medical scheduled to take place today (Friday 24 July), and now the south London club have made their move to bring in his replacement.

Crystal Palace Make Matsima Bid

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Matsima, who has been described as ‘exceptional’, has been identified as Crystal Palace’s top target to replace the France international, and the club have now made their first formal bid to Bundesliga outfit Augsburg for his services.

According to Florian Plettenberg, Palace have tabled a €20m (£17m) offer for the 24-year-old, but Augsburg have immediately rejected. It’s currently unclear what their valuation for the defender is, but it’s stated that they are expecting Palace to return with a fresh offer later today, suggesting a deal is not far from being done.

In fact, Crystal Palace already have a full agreement in place with the defender about bringing him to the Premier League, and the player is very keen on making the move.

Matsima was a regular starter under Thierry Henry for the French Olympics team in 2022, as they reached the final and earned a silver medal, and he has continued to develop in recent years. Having come through the ranks at Monaco, Matsima has spent the last two seasons with Augsburg, and he is now ready to follow Lacroix from the WWK Arena to Selhurst Park.

Sage Needs Ready-Made Stars

Hannah Mckay via Reuters

Palace are in a big summer of change currently, having lost Glasner and Lacroix this summer, which follows losing Marc Guehi in January. A new manager will have his own ideas and philosophies, but if he is going to continue the club’s progress in recent years then he needs to be backed.

So far the club have brought in Oscar Mingueza on a free transfer, but Sage will need more than that to be successful, and bringing in a player like Matsima to replace Lacroix will help bridge that gap.

Steve Parish is keen to keep hold of top stars like Adam Wharton in the rest of the window, and it’s clear that they are now ready to start making moves to bring in fresh blood to the squad.

Former boxing world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has revealed the real reason why he will fight Poland’s Mariusz Wach in Thailand today for the inaugural WBC Metta Humanitarian Belt.

The bout is set to take place at the Max Muay Thai Stadium in Pattaya at around 10pm local time, or around 4pm in the UK. Unusually, Fury is set to fight first on the six-fight card and the entire event will not be broadcast.

The match-up is viewed as a tune-up before a slated all-British superfight against rival Anthony Joshua in November.

That November bout is, however, contingent on both men winning their respective fights this weekend, with AJ scheduled to compete against Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga on Saturday at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.

The 37-year-old Manchester-born fighter has said that he wanted to give something back to Thailand and its people as he has been training there since December.

Fury has announced he will donate $250,000 to the Father Ray Foundation in Thailand to support disadvantaged young people.

Tyson Fury Explains Thailand & No Broadcast Decision

“Yeah, it’s for the WBC Humanitarian Belt, that’s all the funds that we receive for the fight, from the tickets and what have you,” the Gypsy King said in an exclusive interview with SunSport.

“They’ll go to a charity called the Father Ray Foundation, supporting children with mental health, mental disorders, mental problems, starving kids, homeless, all that sort of stuff, whatever they’ve got,” he said. “A very good cause, for sure.

“I’ve been training here since December. Great people, good place, give something back,” he added. “I thought on a big show, I’d never had a proper fight, never had a big fight here, a boxing fight.”

Fury’s last fight was broadcast live on Netflix in April. In the bout, he beat Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov via unanimous decision. However, this fight is viewed very much as a formality. Wach is 46 years old and has won only three of his last 10 fights.

The World Boxing Council specially created the WBC Metta Humanitarian Belt for the fight to recognise the ‘extraordinary humanitarian service and the positive impact boxing has beyond the ring.’

“Fury’s humanitarian work in Thailand has become a defining part of his legacy. His upcoming boxing event in Pattaya has been transformed into a major charitable initiative, with the British champion donating 100% of the proceeds from 1,500 VIP ticket sales to organisations supporting starving, underprivileged, and homeless children throughout Pattaya,” the WBC said in a statement.

FIFA’s stance over replaying Argentina and Spain’s World Cup final has been revealed after a petition reached nearly 100,000 signatures.

Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste suffered a 1-0 defeat to La Roja at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 19th. Ferran Torres’ extra-time winner meant the reigning European champions became two-time world champions.

Controversy ensued throughout a tense battle as Enzo Fernandez received a red card for two reckless bookings. Several refereeing decisions upset Argentine players and supporters.

So much so, a post-match brawl unfolded when Argentine midfielder Leandro Paredes threw punches at Spain’s Gavi. Other incidents also took place as the South American nation reacted furiously to their loss.

How FIFA Will Respond to World Cup Final Petition

REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli

An Argentine fan, Gisela Sanchez, has since created a petition on Change.org asking FIFA to replay the World Cup final. As of Friday morning, it sits at 95,710 signatures, with those signing in agreement with Sanchez’s issues about Slovakian referee Slavko Vincic.

Sanchez claimed that several decisions Vincic and his officiating team made impacted the outcome of the final. She wants FIFA to review incidents and irregularities, claiming ‘this isn’t just a matter of justice for Argentina, but for the future of world football.”

The chances of FIFA deciding to replay the final are all but certainly ruled out because petitions on platforms such as Change.org have no legal or regulatory authority over FIFA competitions. Despite the tens of thousands who took issue with Vincic and his team, a World Cup result can’t be overturned because fans are unhappy with refereeing decisions.

Only under “extraordinary circumstances” would a replay be required, and football governing bodies usually only consider replays in rare cases involving specific rule violations. Even if the petition reaches hundreds of thousands of signatures, it will have no legal or binding effect on the result.

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni refused to blame Vincic for his team’s defeat and insisted that Spain were the better team on the day. His and Messi’s futures are in doubt and Nicolas Otamendi has announced his international retirement.

‘Argentina Out’ Petition Makes History

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Mark J Rebilas

This isn’t the only petition to have been created in the aftermath of a controversial World Cup and final. Another one has demanded that Spain be permanently banned from future global tournaments and this has been much more popular.

A website called ‘Argentina Out‘ included said petition and has been signed by over 23 million people from 170 countries in under a week. The creator wrote: “FIFA ignored us but Spain delivered. Thank you Spain.”

While it has now been closed, it nearly achieved the Guinness World Record for the most signed petition in history. The current record of 24,319,181 signatures from 166 countries is held by ‘Jubilee 200 ‘, which was a campaign launched in 1997 calling for unbearable debts to be cancelled in the poorest countries.

Argentina were villainised during the World Cup campaign with rival fans believing they were handed preferential treatment. The actions of some of their players upset other nations, including England’s Jude Bellingham, who took issue with Valentin Barco after a semi-final defeat.