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    Forgotten Premier League star, 36, who played over 200 times linked with shock takeover of non-league club

    NATIONAL LEAGUE club Gateshead have been linked with a shocked takeover move by Victor Anichebe.The former Everton and Sunderland ace is reportedly heading a consortium to buy the club.Ex-Everton star Victor Anichebe is reportedly leading a consortium to buy GatesheadCredit: GettyGateshead have been owned by fans since 2019Credit: GettySupporters have owned Gateshead since 2019 after they were relegated to the sixth tier due to financial irregularities.The Heed then returned to the National League under the guidance of ex-Newcastle star Mike Williamson, also guiding them to a win in the FA Trophy.However, the club could soon be in line for a change of management.It comes after a report from the Chronicle claiming Anichebe was considering a takeover.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLThe retired 36-year-old has been spotted at several matches at the Gateshead International Stadium.Anichebe had spells at Everton, West Brom and Sunderland, scoring 38 goals in 250 games for the three clubs, including 27 Premier League goals from 204 appearances.Speculation over a deal first came to light following a claim by Yeovil manager Mark Cooper when he alleged someone had agreed a deal with his player Frank Nouble to join Gateshead.He said: “Frank wanted to go to Gateshead. Somebody from Gateshead approached him that we’ve now found out, has no influence or doesn’t own the football club.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS”I think this person did a deal with Frank’s agent, which obviously unsettled Frank. “Which it would do because he had a good deal going to Gateshead. And then, it went quiet. We then found out that there was no deal.Where are they now: The unusual careers of former footballers”The person doing the deal with Frank’s agent and Frank had no jurisdiction to do the deal, because as far as I’m aware he doesn’t yet own Gateshead.”Really disappointing from Gateshead’s side of it and feel sorry for Frank really, but he wanted to go.”He made it clear he wanted to go and play for Gateshead, we granted that wish, but it’s fell through, so we’ll wait to see what happens.”But the club are remaining tight-lipped on any potential deal.The Chronicle report the club responded with a “no comment” reply when asked about the takeover.SunSport have contacted the club for comment.Who are these famous footballers? More

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    Inside Newcastle’s transfer plans with £50m star replacing Marc Guehi as main target and keeping Isak top priority

    NEWCASTLE have made keeping Alexander Isak their top priority – and have Dean Huijsen as their number one defensive target.The £150m-rated Swedish striker Isak secured his place in Geordie folklore after firing them to victory in the Carabao Cup Final.Dean Huijsen has impressed at Bournemouth this seasonCredit: GettyAlexander Isak helped Newcastle to Carabao Cup gloryCredit: RexIsak, who cost £63m from Real Sociedad in 2022, is under contract for another three years and will start talks over a new deal this summer.But both Arsenal and Liverpool are plotting summer swoops and now Barcelona have joined the long-list of admirers.Newcastle are expecting more noise from those clubs interested to try and unsettle their talisman.But Toon chiefs have no intentions of letting him go and their Saudi chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has even ordered them to resist any offers for his favourite player.READ MORE NEWCASTLE NEWSMeanwhile, after missing out on Crystal Palace’s England international Marc Guehi last year, they are ready to battle it out to land Bournemouth’s Huijsen.The 19-year-old has enjoyed a brilliant breakthrough season with the Cherries and has the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Real Madrid all wanting him.The Spanish U21 ace has a release clause of £50m in his Bournemouth contract and Toon are willing to meet that figure.They want to keep Fabian Schar, who is discussing an extension to his current contract that expires in June.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSAlthough club captain Jamaal Laschelles could depart.He will also become a free agent but the 31-year-old has been sidelined all season after undergoing cruciate surgery.Bournemouth star Dean Huijsen couldn’t be happier being nominated for Premier League player of the month More

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    Dream Team bosses in need of difference-maker should consider Dominic Solanke after international break

    THE Gameweek 29 deadline is still nine days away but it’s never too early for Dream Team managers to mull over their options.One player worth due consideration is Dominic Solanke (£4m).Is Solanke being unfairly overlooked by Dream Team bosses?Credit: Dream TeamThe Tottenham striker currently features in just 5.3% of teams, making him a potential differential for gaffers who might need to think outside the box as the season enters the business end.Granted, Gameweek 29 might be too soon to recruit the England international as Spurs are not among the seven teams with two fixtures to fulfil.Plus, their lone commitment comes in the form of a trip to Stamford Bridge.Chelsea haven’t been at their best lately but they remain fourth in the Premier League table, ten places higher than Ange Postecoglou’s side.It would therefore be a stretch to deem Solanke’s Gameweek 29 as favourable.But Dream Team bosses could describe the following Gameweeks in such terms.Postecoglou may be helped by favourable league fixtures preceding the Europa League quarter-final legsCredit: AlamyIn Gameweek 30, Spurs will host relegation-bound Southampton in the league before welcoming Frankfurt to North London in the Europa League.Then in Gameweek 31, they travel to 17th-placed Wolves before flying to Germany for the second leg of their European quarter-final.Most read in FootballAs it stands, Spurs are one of just five clubs with four fixtures across Gameweeks 30 and 31.And favourable league opponents should make their top performers extremely viable for the bulk of April.Solanke is an intriguing prospect as he is first-choice striker for the team that, for all their issues, remain second top scorers in the Premier League this season.Solanke has 21 goal involvements in 33 games for Spurs this seasonCredit: EPAThe 27-year-old has racked up 204 points via 11 goals and ten assists in 2024/25.This breaks down further to one goal involvement every 120.8 minutes in all competitions.Furthermore, Solanke averages 6.2 points-per-game since his transfer from Bournemouth; only Son Heung-min (£4.7m) boasts a superior rate among his team-mates.This is all to say that Solanke is seemingly well placed to capitalise on Spurs’ favourable schedule, although Frankfurt are not to be underestimated.Kulusevski is expected to return after the international breakCredit: GettyDespite far too many disappointing performances as a collective, Spurs players have generally done well in Dream Team this season.Pedro Porro (£4.5m) ranks fourth among defenders at present while Dejan Kulusevski (£4.4m), James Maddison (£4.2m) and Brennan Johnson (£3.3m) are all among the top 15 midfielders.The Swedish playmaker will be an excellent option for Gameweeks 30 and 31 if he recovers from injury in time, as expected.Captain Son actually leads the way with 260 points to his name, putting him fourth among all forwards.READ MORE SUN STORIESThe South Korean superstar hasn’t always passed the eye test in recent months but his tangible output of 11 goals and 14 assists speaks for itself.However, it’s worth noting that his minutes have not been guaranteed of late whereas Solanke has completed 90 minutes in three consecutive outings.Score PredictorPlay Score Predictor with Dream Team this season!FREE to play£250 weekly prizePredict scores of five selected Premier League fixtures and earn points for accuracyMost points wins weekly cash prizePLAY NOW More

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    Napoli ‘make contact with Man Utd over Rasmus Hojlund deal that would open door to stunning swap transfer’

    MANCHESTER UNITED striker Rasmus Hojlund has emerged as a target for Napoli, according to reports.The 22-year-old is being heavily linked with a move away from Old Trafford prior to the summer window.Napoli are considering a swoop for Rasmus HojlundCredit: AlamyMan Utd could attempt to sign Victor Osimhen as a replacementCredit: GettyHaving scored just eight goals in 39 appearances for United so far this season, the striker has failed to impress new head coach Ruben Amorim and the club hierarchy.He was even listed among the group of “inherited” players that Sir Jim Ratcliffe considered to be “not good enough” during an interview last week.As the co-owner plots a rebuild, Hojlund is expected to be let go for a fraction of the £72million fee they paid for him.Italian outlet La Gazzetta dello Sport has claimed that Napoli want to sign him.READ MORE ON MAN UTDMan Utd allegedly want £50m for the striker, who is understood to be open to a return to Italy.Napoli believe that convincing Hojlund to complete the switch will not be difficult.Should the Denmark international swap United for Napoli this summer, it may open the door for a huge swap deal that could see Victor Osimhen head the other way.The 26-year-old was loaned out to Galatasaray last year after being axed from the Napoli squad.Most read in FootballJoin SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plusin-depth coverage and exclusives from Old TraffordHojlund has struggled to impress this seasonHe is set to return to Naples at the end of the season but will likely be sold before the 2025-26 campaign kicks off.And talkSPORT has reported that Osimhen could become a target for United.Man Utd legend spotted consoling Rasmus Hojlund and giving Man Utd striker pep talk after 14-minute cameo vs Arsenal Transfer journalist Alex Crook said: “I think (Victor) Osimhen is the most likely because I think he’s going to be available for the type of price that United can afford.”I think his wage demands have come down from where they were a year ago, obviously he’s been playing in Turkey, and I think he has that proven pedigree.”So it wouldn’t surprise me if Hojlund goes back to Italy, and there’s interest from the likes of Napoli I’m told, and Osimhen comes in the opposite direction.”Osimhen has scored 26 goals and provided five assists in 30 appearances this term for Galatasaray.Man Utd ratings vs LeicesterMANCHESTER UNITED leapfrogged Tottenham into 13th in the Premier League by beating Leicester.Rasmus Hojlund was left to run in behind and shoot low into the bottom corner from an angle to open the scoring on 28 minutes.The Danish striker had not found the net since December 12 – a run of 21 matches.Alejandro Garnacho saw a goal chalked off for offside but there was no taking his snap-shot finish off him on 67 minutes.And skipper Bruno Fernandes rounded off the comfortable 3-0 win in style in the closing stages.Here’s how SunSport’s Graham Hill rated the Man Utd stars. More

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    ‘They tried to put me away’ – Sol Campbell reveals why he quit Spurs for Arsenal after arrest for dressing room bust-up

    SOL CAMPBELL has claimed he left Tottenham after they tried to “get one over him” after his arrest for a dressing room bust-up. The former defender sent shockwaves through football when he quit Spurs for Arsenal in 2001.Sol Campbell came through the ranks at TottenhamCredit: GettyThe former Tottenham defender did not see eye to eye with Lord SugarCredit: BBCCampbell, 50, ran down his contract before signing for the Gunners on a free.The East Londoner had come through the ranks at Tottenham, but decided to make the unthinkable switch to Arsenal after growing disillusioned following a legal case.Appearing on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, Campbell told Gary Neville and Co: “The main thing for me was that they never paid the youngsters who grew up proper money.”If someone is bought in, they’d put him on big money, but players coming up through the ranks who would be the future of the club, they wouldn’t want to pay them. It was bizarre.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS”Going forward, it was four years [my contract]. The next four years was a difficult moment, because I’m moving up in the right direction and my contract was winding down.”The thing for me was that I had a problem in a particular game which lingered on for 15 months, and it all started from a game against Derby County away, with two years left [on my contract].”The problem was that you had Colin Calderwood, who was playing alongside me, and he was having a barney all day long in the game against [Francesco] Baiano, and I didn’t know why.”I scored the winner, game finished 1-0, everyone was happy, and I’ve gone off the pitch. As I’m walking into our changing room, he [Colin] runs past me and jumps into the Derby County changing room, looking for Baiano.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS”So, everyone’s jumped in, and I’ve said, ‘F*** him, whatever, let’s get back into the changing room.’ I said it three times.”Three weeks later, David Pleat comes to me and says I’ve got a letter saying that someone [a steward from Derby County] has broken their arm or wrist, and I said, ‘What, what do you mean? I’ve done nothing’ – I went in [to the changing room after the game].Sol Campbell furious as tenant ‘cheats him out of £1.5million’ after renting out massive £23m 8-bedroom Chelsea mansion “Three weeks later, it goes on and on and the steward who broke his wrist is looking to press charges. I was thinking, what is going on here as I’d done nothing.”So, it rolls on and on, I’ve got affidavits and people have got to come in for character witnesses, and then I got drafted up there – I’m in the Derby police station, it’s a mess.”I’m then getting fingerprinted, and my picture taken and at the same time there is people asking me for autographs. “I was thinking, ‘Am I getting arrested for something I’ve not done?’ That went on for 15 months and I was thinking why it went on for so long because I’d not done anything.”Just before the case, I had an internal lawyer [from Tottenham] who said there was a snippet, a Lord getting bound over. “I said, ‘What do you mean getting bound over?” Bound over means you admit it, pay a fine, and it all goes away.”But I said I wouldn’t do it, I live and die by my words – I’ve not done anything. I left it, things go on and the case is about a month away and Tottenham say they’re pulling out – pulling out funding, not paying for anything, so I had to pay for everything.”My lawyers start looking through all the paperwork and couldn’t understand how it had all gone on for such a long time because [someone said] you’re in front [during the incident], another person said you were on the side – it was all over the place so how had it gone on for such a long time?”Ten days before the case, they drop out and the case is dropped. In the paperwork, there was an old fax when they’d sent it to me and back in the day you saw a name scrubbed out and then a Derby County player put in there.”I was supposed to have done this [incident] at ten-to-five, but on the hospital report he’d [the steward] had done it at half-past-ten, pre-match. He’d done it [broken his arm or wrist] pre-match.”‘A CRAP DEAL’Quizzed if Tottenham chiefs knew that the steward had suffered his injury before the game, Campbell added: “Either the hierarchy did or the lawyers. It was trying to get one over me, so if it came out, I’d sign a crap deal. I think it was all about the deal.”The former England international, feeling that Spurs had tried to use the Derby incident in contract negotiations, added: “They wanted to get one over me or have leverage over me. It’s like Virgil van Dijk going through his contract situation now, trying to pin something on him now – it’s the same thing.“In the Sky documentary, you’ve got David Pleat saying that Alan Sugar wanted to take me out of the first team, and out of England, to slap me on the wrist so I’d come to my senses and sign a crap deal.”Once that happened [the legal incident], I didn’t have time for that [signing a new contract] – they literally tried to put me away for no reason.”You start thinking to yourself about how people are innocent and get put away for something they hadn’t done.”For me, going around to banks or wherever, people look at me and think I’ve bust someone’s wrist, but it was someone else, a South American player. It’s sad, it’s unbelievable. You’re a young boy, coming out, and they’re trying to pin that on you.”READ MORE SUN STORIESOn what pushed him to sign for Tottenham’s fierce rivals, Campbell revealed: “For me, the episode of trying to frame me for no reason, that really governed my decision, and I wanted to win.”And further quizzed if he made the move to get back at Spurs, he added: “Not revenge, but when you look at it, I’d been done over for no reason. I hadn’t decided where I was going but my mindset shifted after that.”Campbell joined Arsenal from TottenhamCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

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    Criminal who infamously tried to rob Ozil and Kolasinac of £200,000 during Arsenal days now partially blind after attack

    A CAREER criminal who tried to rob ex-Arsenal aces Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac is now partially blind after losing an eye in a brutal jail attack.Ashley Smith, 34, and his accomplice attempted to steal around £200,000 worth of luxury watches from the Premier League stars in July 2019.Thugs attempted to rob the former Arsenal duoCredit: PA:Press AssociationSead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil played for the Gunners togetherCredit: Getty Images – GettyAshley Smith has opened up on the incidentCredit: YouTube/The BlueTick ShowCCTV showed Bosnia and Herzegovina hardman Kolasinac, 31, fighting them off as German Ozil, 36, protected his wife in his Mercedes G-Wagon.Smith, who was armed with a knitting needle in Hampstead, north west London, was jailed for 10 years in November 2019 – before his term was cut to six years on appeal.Footage filmed the night before his sentencing showed the thug being attacked in his HMP Pentonville cell as he pleaded: “It weren’t me though. I swear to god. I can’t see.”The Sun can now reveal he lost the use of his left eye following the revenge attack for a robbery near where he lived in Islington, north London.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSSmith claimed he had no involvement in the crime and was targeted for warning his co-defendant he was a marked man before coming to the prison.He told The Blue Tick Show: “He was beating me up basically saying I robbed someone’s mum. I was like bruv, I don’t know what you’re talking about.“The yout got me good, still. Savaged me, recorded it. I didn’t even know it got recorded. I’ve gone to hospital, come out of the cells, collapsed, told the screws I’ve fallen out the bed.”He added: “My eye. The yout took my eye but it’s life man. I just think, you know, all the skullduggery that I’ve done and got away with has caught up to me now.Most read in Football“On the video you can’t see his face. He’s back on road. I wish him the best of luck. It is what it is. It’s life man. I thank god I’ve still got my other eye.“I cried. I broke down. I lost my eye. A yout took my eye for something that I didn’t do.Mesut Ozil shows off incredible body transformation in new video as ex-Arsenal star takes fans inside insane workouts“Like my nan would have said, what goes around comes around and you can’t cry when you’re out robbing. When you’re out robbing and s*** goes wrong, there’s consequences.”The dad-of-one was on licence for a 42-month sentence for a burglary in 2017 when he tried to rob the Arsenal players outside Kolasinac’s house.The soccer stars were pursued by the thugs on a stolen moped during a high-speed chase before they called the police from a Turkish restaurant in Golders Green.Smith and his accomplice Jordan Northover, 31, who was sentenced to 18 years, both admitted attempted robbery at Harrow Crown Court. More

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    Champions League giants ‘ready to WITHDRAW 70,460-seater stadium from hosting World Cup’

    ATLETICO MADRID are prepared to pull out of hosting games at the 2030 World Cup, reports claim.As many as 23 venues have been proposed for the biggest show in sport in five years’ time- which will be held across a record SIX countries.Atletico Madrid are prepared to withdraw from hosting games at the 2030 World CupThe club won’t push for the Metropolitano to be one of the 32 stadium venuesSpain, Portugal and Morocco will be the main hosts in 2030 in a year where the World Cup will celebrate its 100th anniversary. It is the first time the competition will be played in Spain for 48 years, and its first time ever in the latter two.For its centenary celebrations, the first three matches of the 2030 World Cup will be held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.This is to commemorate the first World Cup final in 1930, where hosts Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2 in the final.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSThe final venues for the tournament have not been confirmed, although most grounds are bidding for a spot.But Atletico Madrid are reportedly shelving their 2030 World Cup hosting bid.The LaLiga club won’t push for the Metropolitano to be one of the 32 stadium venues, according to Spanish outlet Relevo.It comes as Fifa requires stadiums to be available more than a month before the 2030 tournament for its preparations.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSBut Atletico are keen to exploit the commercial benefits of hosting concerts and events during the peak summer calendar.Reports claim that Atletico would lose around £20million by not being able to use its stadium during June and July.Inside £49m ‘Stadium of the Year’ which saw world record set and is more popular than the Bernabeu And club believe that hosting one or two group stage matches is not worth losing out on the concert money.Meanwhile, Atletico are also predicting that they’ll likely play second fiddle to fierce city rivals Real Madrid in 2030.The new and iconic Bernabeu will compete with Barcelona’s Nou Camp to host the World Cup final. Meanwhile, Valencia’s Nou Mestalla Stadium is set to have its World Cup hosting rights restored after work restarted following 16 years.The skeleton of what had been dubbed “the world’s best stadium” had been lying dormant as construction work halted in 2009.The aim is to complete the 70,000-capacity stadium by the summer of 2027 after the club unveiled its sixth set of plans since the original announcement in 2006.READ MORE SUN STORIESAnd the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Rafael Louzan, has now suggested the ground will be one considered for 2030.Meanwhile. the Metropolitano has all-but been confirmed as the host stadium for the 2027 Champions League final, according to the president of the Spanish football federation (RFEF).2030 FIFA World Cup venues – proposed full listAnoeta Donostia, SpainCamp Nou Barcelona, SpainGran Canaria, SpainLa Cartuja, SpainLa Rosaleda SpainRiyadh Air Metropolitano, SpainNueva Romareda, SpainRCDE Stadium, SpainEstadio Riazor, SpainSan Mamés, SpainSantiago Bernabéu, SpainEstádio da Luz, PortugalEstádio do Dragão, PortugalEstádio José Alvalade, PortugalAdrar Stadium, MoroccoHassan II Stadium, MoroccoFez Stadium, MoroccoMarrakesh Stadium,MoroccoPrince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, MoroccoIbn Batouta Stadium, MoroccoEstadio National del Paraguay, ParaguayEstadio Monumental, ArgentinaEstadio Centenario, Uruguay More

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    Ex-Juventus star Han Kwang-Song mysteriously disappeared for three years, thanks to North Korea’s nuclear bomb tests

    HAN Kwang-Song was a teenage sensation courted by Liverpool and Manchester City.In only his second senior game in European football, Han beat former England goalkeeper Joe Hart to become the first North Korean to score in Serie A.He spent a brief spell with JuventusCredit: AlamyHan Kwang-Song currently plays for DPRK Premier League club April 25Credit: GettyBarely two years later the striker joined Italian giants Juventus.But a mysterious chain of events was already in motion that would wreck Han’s promising career and deliver him back him to obscurity.Han, who once had the world at his feet, finds himself a virtual prisoner of global politics.He is back in North Korea and playing for army team April 25 in the domestic league, leaving the pariah state only for national team games.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLBut even that is better than being stranded abroad for three years by the Covid-19 pandemic and being forced to train on his own at an embassy, with his promising career in ruins.It was a trip to Barcelona that set Han on the road to short-lived stardom.North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un loves using sport as a political tool – just like his dad Kim Jong-Il, who once claimed to have hit a 38 under-par 34, including several holes in one, in his first ever round of golf.At the Pyongyang International Football School, the motto is said to be: “Better than Messi.”Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSThe regime was looking for an academy in Europe to train their best young footballers and chose Fundacion Marcet in Barcelona.Coaches travelled to Pyongyang and selected 18 players, including Han, to go to Catalonia in the autumn of 2013.Football icons’ strange hobbiesJose Ignacio Marcet, president of the academy and a former Barca and Real Madrid player, explained how the young visitors took time to adapt.Marcet said: “They couldn’t take losing. They understood that the norm was to win.“Because of this we had to teach them that losing and making errors was vital in the learning process and it’s one of the keys to success.“Week by week they began to change their mentality.“They became more relaxed and quickly started to adapt to the dynamics of Spanish culture.“The players that left were completely different to ones they were when they arrived.“I think we managed to leave a mark on a country that doesn’t easily take in foreign influence”.Some of those youngsters made a mark on the global football stage less than a year later.Han was previously scouted by Man City and LiverpoolCredit: GettyNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-unCredit: ReutersDeranged dictator Kim Jong-un has been ramping up weapons testsCredit: AFPHan scored the equaliser as North Korea’s under-16s came from behind to beat South Korea 2-1 in the final of the Under-17 Asia Cup in September 2014.He continued his European football education at an academy in Perugia as part of a collaboration between the North Korean government and agency Italian Soccer Management, but could not officially play because of Fifa rules about the transfer of minors.Nevertheless City and Liverpool were among those to show interest in his progress, with Reds chief scout Barry Hunter reportedly travelling to meet the player and his representatives.In 2016, Han was close to joining Fiorentina with compatriot Choe Syong-Hok, who had scored the winner in that Asia Cup final.But instead he went on trial at Cagliari in February 2017 and was so impressive for the youth teams that by April he was making his senior debut against Palermo.And in Cagliari’s next match, at home to Torino, he made history after coming on as an 81st-minute substitute.With his team trailing 1-3, Han beat Hart in the Torino goal. It was particularly big news because one of Italy’s biggest football embarrassments, at the 1966 World Cup of 1966, was a defeat by North Korea.Han said: “I feel at home here. I’m very happy and I would like to thank the manager, my team-mates and the club.”Yet the political issues that would eventually send Han into football exile had already surfaced.International team-mate Choe’s time at Fiorentina had ended after four months because it was found that his salary was being funnelled back to the North Korean authorities.Similar concerns were raised about Han’s wages, especially after he signed a five-year professional contract with Cagliari in June 2017.But for now he was free to continue his promising career – albeit with some interference from back home.Han went on loan to Serie B side Perugia where his goals had to do the talking for him – because the North Korean regime blocked an interview on Italian television.Perugia president Massimiliano Santopadre said: “A call from a shadow ministry figure arrived and it blocked everything.“Negotiating, like on the transfer market, was impossible, too, because Pyongyang want to talk only and exclusively with Han.”The situation with their government has become even more rigid and their footballers have been prohibited from appearing on TV, otherwise they would have repatriated him. Han is scared.”Whatever his fears, the striker kept doing well and after two seasons at Perugia, he went on another loan, this time to Juventus’ Under-23 side and with an obligation to buy at the end of the two-year deal.Han, in a written post via the ISM International Scouting Center, said: “It has been a long way but finally I can say my dream came true [after] scoring my first goal in the Serie A and becoming the first North Korean to wear such an important shirt as Juventus’.”Juventus called Han up to the bench of the first team in October 2019 and on January 2 202,0 they bought him from Cagliari for around £3m.But only six days later, the 21-year-old was sold on for twice the price to Qatari side Al-Duhail.What was going on? Well, let’s rewind to the end of 2017, the year Han arrived in Cagliari.In June of that year, Han had made his senior debut for North Korea in a friendly against Qatar.But in September, his country carried out its sixth nuclear test, prompting the United Nations Security Council to announce further sanctions.In November, North Korea upped the ante still further by launching an intercontinental ballistic missile.So in December, the UN announced that all North Koreans working and “generating foreign export earnings that the DPRK…uses to support its prohibited nuclear ballistic programs” would have to be sent home by December 22 2019.Given the stipulations of Resolution 2397,  it remains unclear how Cagliari, Juventus and Al-Duhail got away with selling and buying Han in January 2020.And only Han knows what was going on in his head, but on the pitch he scored five goals in 16 appearances as Al-Duhail won the Qatar Stars League and finished runners up in the Cup.But Han’s appearance as a substitute in the final game of the 2019/20 season, on August 20, would be the last time that the wider world saw him for more than three years.Official documents and the odd media report are all there is to fill in the blanks.UN records show that Han’s contract with Al-Duhail was terminated by early 2021, in compliance with the prohibition on employing North Koreans.Yet Han could not even go home because his homeland had closed its borders completely in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.There is allegedly evidence that he flew from Doha to Rome on January 26. And then the trail goes cold and relies on hearsay for nearly three years.An article in China quoted a former North Korean international player named An Yingxue as saying: “Han Guang-shong was trapped in the North Korean Embassy in China due to the pandemic and trained alone for about two to three years.“It is a pity that Han Guang-shong could not return to the North Korean football team to participate in the game earlier during his time in China.”But the first time anyone in the outside world knew for sure what Han was doing and where, was when North Korea finally resumed competitive football in September 2023 after a gap of nearly four years.Han played the first half of a 1-0 defeat in Syria in the opening game of the second round of Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.In early 2024, Japanese media reported that Han was back in North Korea and playing for the April 25 Sports Club.The team’s name derives from the date that Kim Il-Sung, grandfather of Kim Jong-Il, established the predecessor of the Korean People’s Army in order to fight the Japanese occupiers.Multi-sports institution April 25 belongs to the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces and all its players are considered army officers.Little is known now about the life and career of footballer/soldier Han, who is still only 25.His last international appearance was on November 19 last year in a 1-0 home defeat by Turkmenistan that left North Korea rock bottom of their group in the third round of World Cup qualifying.The game, like earlier “home” matches, was staged in Laos, because of what the regime described as “security concerns”.READ MORE SUN STORIESNorth Korea finally re-opened to limited numbers of tourists last month after a gap of more than five years.But the door seems to have slammed shut on Han’s dreams of becoming a global football star. More