Crystal Palace will pay French club RC Lens €5 million ($5.8m) for their manager Pierre Sage, sources have told ESPN.

After days of negotiations between the two clubs, a deal was agreed in principle on Tuesday.

Sage, 47, had already agreed personal terms with the Conference League champions but he still had two years left on his contract at Lens.

Pierre Sage took Lens to French Cup glory in his only season at the club.

Joseph Oughourlian, the owner of the French Cup winners, was disappointed to see his head coach leave after just one season in charge but respected his desire to join the Premier League club.

Sage has had a rapid rise to the top in the last 2½ years after taking Lyon from the bottom of the table to contenders for the European places, before coaching Lens to their first ever French Cup trophy and second place in the table, pushing Paris Saint-Germain almost all the way in the title race.

The 47-year-old subsequently won the Ligue 1 Manager of the Season award.

He became the leading contender for the job after Palace failed to lure outgoing Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola to Selhurst Park. The Spaniard has since taken charge at Liverpool.

In January, departing manager Oliver Glasner confirmed his intention to leave the club after accusing chairman Steve Parish of abandoning him and his squad. The German has recently been linked with a move to AC Milan.

Palace will be looking to build on an unprecedented amount of success after Glasner led them to three trophies in 12 months, culminating with a Conference League final victory over Rayo Vallecano which will see the London club play in next season’s Europa League.

Referee Omar Artan has vowed to officiate at the 2030 World Cup after arriving home in Somalia following his ban from entering the United States.

The 34-year-old – Africa’s referee of the year in 2025 – was set to be the first Somali to referee at a World Cup finals but was denied entry at Miami International Airport on Monday despite holding a diplomatic passport and a single entry US visa.

No reason for his repatriation has been given by US immigration authorities, but Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list introduced by President Donald Trump.

He arrived back in Somalia on Wednesday, landing at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu where he was greeted by government officials and representatives of the Somali Football Federation, as well as fellow referees and local residents.

Artan is expected to attend a public event at Mogadishu Stadium later on Wednesday afternoon and watch a match between Heegan and Dekadaha.

“I’d like to thank the officials, ministers, MPs and everyone. I want to thank my country and people for their support. The encouragement I received here, I know I’ll get more support outside [the airport],” Artan said, translated into English by the BBC.

“Everything is pre-destined. Fifa supported me well and were in touch with me until I reached Mogadishu.

“I promise you that I’ll be officiating you in the next World Cup. Somalia, everywhere, I’m letting you know.”

Artan, who was named the Confederation of African Football (Caf) men’s referee of the year in 2025, was one of 52 referees selected for the tournament.

However, his “dream” came crashing down as he attempted to travel to the on-pitch officials’ base in Florida, with Artan telling the New York Times, external he had faced an 11-hour immigration interview and was detained for several hours before be was put on a flight back to Istanbul, Turkey.

Speaking to BBC World Service, Andrew Giuliani, who leads the White House Task Force on the World Cup, said: “While I can’t go into the derog [derogatory information] on that I can tell you it was the right decision by customs and border patrol and I support that decision.”

It was not possible for Artan to stay outside the United States and referee matches played in Canada or Mexico, with all on-pitch officials based in Florida for training, preparation, and security.

Trump placed a full entry ban under any visa category for 12 countries, including Somalia, in June 2025.

Two days before the World Cup draw in December 2025, Trump drew widespread attention for comments made about Somalia in the lead up to a planned immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, which has a large Somali community.

“With Somalia, which is barely a country, you know, they have no anything,” he said.

“They just run around killing each other. There’s no structure.”

He added that Somali immigrants should “go back to where they came from” and that the US would “go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage to our country”.

On arriving home, Artan urged Somalia’s youth not to lose hope in their country in the face of his treatment, stating: “Let’s all defend Somalia’s honour. We all belong to Somalia whether it’s bad or good.

“That flag is ours and so is the passport – let’s defend it.

“The youth shouldn’t be demoralised about their country. Despite this happening to me, I’ll still stand for my nation.

“I want to continue my journey from here and urge the youth to do the same.”

Hundreds of people gathered at the Mogadishu Airport to give a warm welcome to Omar Artan.

Some in the crowd carried banners with supportive slogans while others wore specially made hats bearing pictures of the referee, who has quickly become an icon in his homeland.

There were also social media celebrities who posed for photos with Artan and live-streamed the welcome on their platforms.

Amid the celebratory reception, there was also visible anger that the first Somali appointed as a World Cup referee had been denied entry to the United States.

For his part, Artan was very happy with the welcome he received. The determined look on his face backed up the statements he has made about continuing his career and he told friends that he is ready to start training right away.

After the press conference, he was given a grand farewell. Thousands more people are expected to greet him at the Mogadishu Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. Another hero’s welcome is on the cards.

The first batch of Nigerian nationals to be evacuated from South Africa is expected to arrive in Lagos tomorrow morning.

According to the updates provided by the Spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, an Air Peace plane will depart the Oliver Thambo International Airport in Johannesburg today with 268 people.

The update reads: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to inform that the first batch of Nigerian nationals that will be evacuated from the Republic of South Africa due to Xenophobic attacks

“The evacuation operation will be undertaken by Air Peace Airlines.

‘’The Federal Government has fully funded the evacuation exercise; consequently, all affected Nigerians will be repatriated at no cost to them.’’

The ministry assured Nigerians that the Federal Government, through relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs), has put in place necessary reception and support arrangements for the would-be returnees.

It added that ‘’upon arrival, the evacuees will undergo documentation and profiling procedures and will receive the appropriate assistance and support before being reunited with their families.”

More than 1,000 Nigerians indicated interest in leaving South Africa following the Xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals.