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RYAN FRASER JOINS CALLUM WILSON AT NEWCASTLE.

Newcastle have completed the signing of Ryan Fraser on a free transfer.

The Scotland international left Bournemouth at the end of last season after his contract expired and has signed a five-year deal with Steve Bruce’s side.

The 26-year-old is the second ex-Bournemouth player to join the Magpies on Monday, following Callum Wilson’s £20 million ($26m) transfer.

Ex-Aberdeen winger Fraser spent seven years with the Cherries, having joined in 2013 when they were in League One.

He made 208 appearances for the club as they ascended to the Championship and then the Premier League, where they spent four years before their relegation last term.

The winger says the decision to return to the English top-flight with the St James’ Park outfit was a “no-brainer” after penning a long-term contract.

“I’m absolutely buzzing for it – I came down to see the place the other day and it was all just good things; the manager, the place, the fans, the messages I’ve been getting,” Fraser told Newcastle’s website.

“It was just a no-brainer, really, to play in such a big stadium with such passionate fans, and being back up in the north again is big as well.

“So I’m really looking forward to it and I just can’t wait to show everyone what I can do, help the team and help us get back to where we belong.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle manager Bruce is excited to see Fraser in action for his side next season.

“I’m delighted to bring Ryan to Newcastle United. We have held off big competition to get his signature and that says a lot about what this club has to offer,” Bruce said.

His ability and his contributions on the pitch speak for themselves and I’m looking forward to seeing him getting to work in a Newcastle shirt.

“He has wonderful chemistry on the pitch with Callum Wilson, which excites me, and I hope it excites our supporters ahead of the new season.”

Newcastle, who finished 13th in the Premier League in 2019-20, will start the new campaign with a home match against West Ham on September 12 and host Brighton the following week.

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BARCELONA AND JUVENTUS NEAR AGREEMENT FOR SUAREZ MOVE TO ITALY.

Barcelona and Juventus are negotiating a fee that will allow Luis Suarez to make the move to the Serie A champions.

According to reports, the Uruguay international, Suarez has already reached a personal agreement over a three-year contract worth €10 million (£9m/$12m) per season with the Turin giants.

Suarez is set to sit an Italian language exam in the coming days to get a passport to allow him to make the move.

The 33-year-old is in the final year of his contract at Camp Nou, which will automatically renew for a further year should he feature in more than 60 per cent of matches.

New Barca boss Ronald Koeman has decided Suarez has no place in his plans for the future and the attacker called for clarity on his place in the squad from president Josep Maria Bartomeu last month.

The Catalan side could release Suarez but it would cost €14m (£13m/$17m) to terminate the former Liverpool star’s contract, which is far from ideal considering the financial issues the club has had to contend with amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Barca are already plotting a move for Inter star Lautaro Martinez to take Suarez’s place and partner fellow Argentina star Lionel Messi up front after the latter confirmed to Goal on Friday that he will stay despite his desire to leave for free this summer .

Koeman’s side have also been linked with a move for Lyon and Netherlands star Memphis Depay, who recently suggested he would be open to leaving the French side in the current transfer window. Lyon coach Rudi Garcia admitted on Sunday that he would not stand in the 26-year-old’s way if Barca made an offer.

Juve, meanwhile, are in need of a new forward after new coach Andrea Pirlo confirmed Gonzalo Higuain will leave a year before his contract expires.

Suarez joined the Blaugrana from Liverpool in 2014 and has scored 198 goals in 283 appearances as he helped them to four La Liga titles and a Champions League crown.

He scored 21 times in 36 games in all competitions last season as they finished second in the Spanish top-flight and crashed out of Europe’s top club competition at the quarter-final stage with an 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich.

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CARABAO CUP DRAW; ARSENAL TO FACE CRUNCH TIE WITH LEICESTER CITY.

Arsenal will travel to Leicester City in the Carabao Cup third round, while Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United all face potentially tricky away ties after the draws for the second and third rounds were made on Sunday.

Jürgen Klopp’s side will face either Bradford or Lincoln City, while Tottenham could face a short trip to Leyton Orient – or a much longer journey to Plymouth, who knocked QPR out on Saturday. United will visit either Luton or Reading, while Chelsea will welcome the winner of Middlesbrough v Barnsley in round three.

Holders Manchester City will host Bournemouth or Crystal Palace, who meet in one of the headline ties in the second round draw’s southern half.

West Ham will host Charlton, Premier League returnees Fulham take on Ipswich and Brighton face Portsmouth in a south-coast derby.

In the northern section, EFL newcomers Harrogate Town have earned a tie at West Brom after beating Tranmere on penalties. Aston Villa face a short but testing trip to Burton Albion, Salford City go to Goodison Park to play Everton, and Burnley take on Sheffield United in an all-Premier League tie.

On Sunday, Brentford beat Wycombe on penalties in the first match at their new stadium to set up a second-round trip to Southampton. Bees defender Ethan Pinnock headed in the first goal at the Brentford Community Stadium, but his poor pass allowed Daryl Horgan to equalise for the Championship newcomers.

In the shootout, Luke Daniels saved Scott Kashket’s spot kick to give Brentford the advantage, and Marcus Forss scored to earn a 4-2 win on penalties.

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WOLVES SIGN LYON DEFENDER, MARCAL.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have bolstered their defensive options with the signing of Fernando Marcal from Lyon.

The 31-year-old, who can play at both left wing-back and centre-back, has arrived at Wolves on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

After starting out his career in his native Brazil with Gremio, Marcal moved to Portugal, where he played for Torreense in the second tier and then Nacional in the Portuguese Primera Liga.

Following spells on loan from Benfica with Gaziantepspor and Guingamp, Marcal joined Lyon in 2017.

He made 42 Ligue 1 appearances and helped the French side reach the semi-finals of last season’s UEFA Champions League.

Marcal will report for testing on Monday a week before Wolves’ opening match of the season at Sheffield United.

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REAL MADRID’S BRAHIM DIAZ JOINS AC MILAN ON LOAN.

Real Madrid midfielder Brahim Diaz has joined AC Milan on loan for the 2020-21 season.

The 21-year-old signed for Real from Manchester City on a six-and-a-half-year contract in January 2019.

He joined City from Malaga aged 14 in 2013 and made 15 first-team appearances.

AC Milan, who finished sixth in Serie A in 2019-20, announced Diaz will wear the number 21 shirt.

He made six La Liga appearances in 2019-20, all from the bench, as Zinedine Zidane’s side won the title.

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CHELSEA ANNOUNCE £89M SIGNING OF KAI HAVERTZ.

Chelsea have announced the signing of Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen for a total fee of £89 million.

The German passed his medical earlier today and will join Frank Lampard’s team immediately.

This makes it Chelsea’s sixth signing after signing Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen for a total fee of £89 million.

Havertz joins Ben Chilwell, Thiago Silva, Hakim Ziyech, Timo Werner, and Malang Sarr as the new Chelsea additions for the upcoming 2020/21 English Premier League season.

The 21-year-old German joined the Bayer academy in 2014 and has spent six years at the club. In the 2019/20 season, Havertz scored 18 goals and created nine assists in 45 games and was deployed primarily as a central attacking midfielder.

The issue now will be about the balance in the side and how Frank Lampard fits all his new attacking players into the starting XI for the big games.

Lampard will have a lot of different options on his hands, but with the amount of congested fixtures this season, there will need to be some rotation.

However, Chelsea don’t seem to have finished with their transfers with reliable sources linking them to Edouard Mendy from Rennes. The Senegalese keeper has a price-tag of £30 million which Chelsea are ready to use.

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MESSI TO STAY AT BARCELONA.

Lionel Messi has put to bed the biggest potential transfer saga this summer by committing his future to Barcelona in a statement on Friday, confirming a dramatic u-turn after initially telling the club he wanted to leave.

“I wasn’t happy and I wanted to leave,” the player told Goal. “I have not been allowed this in any way and I will stay at the club so as not to get into a legal dispute. The management of the club led by Bartomeu is a disaster.”

It had earlier been reported the Argentine icon and Barca’s all-time top scorer would make his decision official as the club had made it known they would not sell him for less than the €700 million buyout clause in his contract.

“I’ll continue at Barcelona and my attitude won’t change, no matter how much I have wanted to go. “I told the club, the president, that I wanted to go.

I’ve been telling him all year. “I thought my time in Barcelona was over, sadly – I always wanted to finish my career here,” he said.

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“I DON’T WANT MESSI NEAR THE PREMIER LEAGUE” -ROBERTSON

Andy Robertson has declared that he doesn’t want Lionel Messi “anywhere near the Premier League” amid speculation he will quit Barcelona.

The Argentine told the Catalan club he wanted out following almost two decades on their books.

Manchester City have been the side most heavily linked with his signature given their financial might.

It would also allow Messi the chance to team up with Pep Guardiola once again following their historic four years together at Barcelona.

That would give Premier League fans the chance to watch Messi on a weekly basis, but after Liverpool ruled themselves out of the running for his services Robertson hopes he doesn’t come to England.

He joked: “I think Liverpool have ruled out that we could sign him so I don’t want him anywhere near the Premier League and hopefully it stays that way.

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CITY FOOTBALL GROUP ACQUIRES FRENCH LIGUE 2 SIDE TROYES.

Troyes have become the 10th club purchased by the City Football Group (CFG).

CFG owns Manchester City and is backed by the Abu Dhabi United Group, which was formed to buy the Premier League outfit in 2008.

The group also has stakes in New York City, Melbourne City, Yokohama F Marinos, Montevideo City Torque, Girona, Sichuan Jianiu, Mumbai City and Lommel SK.

Its latest acquisition is Troyes, who finished fourth in Ligue 2 last season.

The French outfit have bounced between the top two tiers in recent seasons, most recently suffering relegation in 2018, having played in the UEFA Cup – now the Europa League – after the turn of the century.

Troyes were reportedly the subject of interest from Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis earlier this year.

CFG managing director Ferran Soriano said: “We have been interested in French football for some time and have long admired ESTAC.

“We are therefore delighted to have completed the acquisition of our 10th club and to have a permanent presence in France.

“This is an important milestone for City Football Group, which proves that our model continues to adapt and develop in a relatively short period of time.”

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ATLETICO MADRID’S DIEGO COSTA, SANTIAGO ARIAS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, BOTH PLAYERS ASYMPTOMATIC

Spanish striker Diego Costa and Colombian defender Santiago Arias have both tested positive for Covid-19, their club Atletico Madrid said Thursday.

Before the resumption of training on Friday, the entire first team squad underwent tests except for Costa and Arias.

“The team has been tested except for those involved in international fixtures with their countries,” said an Atletico statement.

“Diego Costa and Santiago Arias, who tested positive during their holidays, are currently isolating and show no symptoms.

“Both players are staying at home complying with all protocols and measures set by the authorities and LaLiga.

“Therefore, they will not resume training on Sept. 4 and their return is expected after completing their quarantine.”