Category: Transfer News

Aston Villa have completed the signing of striker Ollie Watkins from Brentford for a club record fee of £28m, which could rise to £33m with add-ons.

Watkins was the Championship’s joint-top scorer last season with 26 goals.

The 24-year-old is Villa’s second signing of the transfer window following the £16m arrival of defender Matty Cash from Nottingham Forest.

“Ollie has developed into one of the most sought-after strikers in the country,” said Villa boss Dean Smith.

“We are looking forward to seeing him show his great qualities in an Aston Villa shirt.

“He is a hugely determined character who has both the ability and personality to succeed at the highest level.”

Watkins will be reunited with Smith, who signed the forward from Exeter when he was Brentford manager.

The fee for him is a record for a Championship player. Although Manchester City paid Bournemouth £40m for Nathan Ake last month and Tottenham spent £30m on Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko in August 2016, neither had played in the Championship before moving back to the Premier League.

“I am so excited to join Aston Villa and to reunite with Dean Smith as my head coach,” said Watkins.

“I want to do something special here and score some goals.”

Smith had been determined to improve his striking options after his side only secured Premier League safety on the final day of last season.

The club missed out on signing Callum Wilson from Bournemouth this week as the England striker moved to Newcastle for £20m.

Villa’s previous record signing, Brazilian striker Wesley, scored five goals in 21 games in the league after his £22m moved to Villa last summer before suffering a serious knee ligament injury in January. He is still regaining his fitness.

Villa ended the season with Mbwana Samatta and Keinan Davis as their main options up front. Samatta only scored twice after joining in January, including a goal at Wembley as Villa lost the Carabao Cup final 2-1 to Manchester City. Davis has never scored a Premier League goal.

Smith’s side scored 41 top-flight goals last season, but only six came from forwards – including five from Wesley.

Chelsea are on the verge of finalising a deal for Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, according to a report.

The Blues have been linked with a number of keepers since the end of last season due to the shaky form of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Having already added six new outfield players to their squad ahead of the 2020-21 campaign, The Athletic claims that a new keeper is now incoming at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea technical director Petr Cech is said to be leading talks with Rennes and a breakthrough appears to have been reached, with the clubs apparently agreeing a fee for Mendy.

The 28-year-old, who could cost more than £20m, has spent just one full season at Roazhon Park after joining from Ligue 1 rivals Reims last year.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s spending is not expected to stop there as a new holding midfielder either Lille’s Boubakary Soumare or West Ham United youngster Declan Rice is supposedly also on Frank Lampard’s radar.

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.

Arsenal have finally confirmed the £27million signing of defender Gabriel Magalhaes – as the club unveiled him during a live clip on social media.

The Brazilian has signed a long-term deal and will wear the number six shirt as he becomes Mikel Arteta’s fourth major signing of the summer.

The club had teased fans by announcing that David Luiz and Willian will be joined by a ‘special guest’ in a group chat video, showing a picture of both players alongside a silhouette with a question mark, saying: ‘You don’t want to miss this one!’

They hinted that both players would reveal their fellow Brazilian as a Gunners player with the quote: ‘I’m not sure I can talk about it yet… Let’s call him!’

The clip starts with Luiz congratulating Willian on his move to the Emirates, with the winger replying: ‘I’m so happy we will soon be together. Let’s go full throttle and win trophies.

Luiz then says ‘It’s so good that our little Brazilian family keeps growing’, and adds that he has ‘heard the family will get even bigger’. The pair then mention Magalhaes before deciding to invite him into the call to ask if he has joined.

The defender appears in an Arsenal shirt, saying ‘what’s up boys?’ as he is welcomed by his compatriots. ‘I’m so happy to be here with you guys. Let’s make it count,’ he adds. ‘I cannot wait, let’s win trophies. We’ve already started well!’

Speaking about his new signing, manager Mikel Arteta said Magalhaes had ‘outstanding qualities’ to make the team stronger defensively.

He said: ‘He has many qualities which will make us stronger as a defensive unit and as a team. He has proved with Lille that he is a defender with many outstanding attributes and we are looking forward to watching him grow as an Arsenal player.’

Technical director Edu added: ‘We are delighted to have signed Gabriel. He is a player we have been studying for a while and he was in demand from many clubs, so we are proud to have agreed and completed this transfer with Lille and the player.

‘Gabriel is a player of high quality and Mikel and his coaches are looking forward to integrating him into the club.’

Arsenal emerged as front runners to land Magalhaes after agreeing a deal to sign him earlier this month – beating off competition from the likes of Napoli, Manchester United and Chelsea.

Leicester City are set to make Belgian international wing-back Timothy Castagne their first signing of the summer.

Reports from Castagne’s home nation say an £18m deal, potentially rising to £21.5m, has now been agreed with his club Atalanta, with the 24-year-old signing a five-year contract at the King Power Stadium.

While naturally a right-sided player, Castagne is equally comfortable on the left and he will help City cope with the departure of Ben Chilwell, who left the club last week in a £50m move to Chelsea.

The foxes wanted to get a deal for Castagne done before he joined up with Youri Tielemans, Dennis Praet, and the Belgian national team ahead of their Nations League games over the next week.

Reports from Belgium say the King Power side had looked at Castagne last summer, but have now made their move and will bring him in to strengthen their full-back and wing-back ranks. City have James Justin, Luke Thomas, Ricardo Pereira, and Christian Fuchs in their senior squad, but the latter two are ruled out until at least October with injury.

Operating as cover for both the right and left wing-backs at Atalanta last season, Castagne played 33 games in all competitions – providing two goals and three assists – as the Bergamo club finished third in Serie A and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

He spent his youth days at Genk, where he was a team-mate of Wilfred Ndidi.

At the start of the summer, he said his dream was to play in the Premier League.

Speaking in May, Castagne said: “I’ll tell the truth, if I could choose my next destination, I’d lean towards England. I like that Premier League style of football, but I don’t have a preferred club. They are all good.”

Leeds United have agreed a deal with Valencia to sign forward Rodrigo Moreno.

The Spain international, 29, had a loan spell with Bolton in 2010-11 and initially joined Valencia on loan from Benfica in 2014.

He went on to score 59 goals in 220 games for the La Liga club, helping them win the Copa del Rey in 2018-19.

“Valencia want to thank Rodrigo Moreno for his commitment and effort over the last six seasons,” the club tweeted

“We wish him all the best in this new stage of his career at Leeds United.”

Rodrigo, who was born in Brazil, has scored eight goals in 22 games for Spain since making his debut in 2014.

Leeds won the Championship by 10 points last season to secure their return to the Premier League after a 16-year absence.

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of youth prospect Zavier Mbuyamba from Barcelona, with the 18-year-old signing a three-year deal.

The central defender was without a club after the end of his contract at the Nou Camp, and will initially join the club’s development squad as part of his development at the club.

Chelsea were said to be interested in the transfer last summer, but were prevented from making a move for the defender due to the transfer ban imposed on the club.

The teenager instead joined Barcelona, where he played for the club’s U19 side, making four appearances in the UEFA Youth League for the Spanish giants.

He started his career in his native Netherlands with MW Maastricht Youth.

Mbuyamba has also made one appearance for the U19 Netherlands team, playing the full 90 minutes of the 3-3 draw with Mexico back in November.

The defender has been referred to as the ‘new Van Dijk’, standing at 6 foot 5in with a composed style similar to that of the Liverpool star.

In a statement on their official website, Chelsea confirmed the signing.

“Chelsea Football Club can also confirm the signing of Xavier Mbuyamba from Barcelona. The 18-year-old signed a professional contract at Cobham earlier this week and will join our development squad ahead of preparations for the new campaign,” they wrote.

“A Dutch Under-19 international, Mbuyamba is a tall right-footed central defender who enjoys playing with the ball at his feet and is equally as strong in the air. He joined his local team MVV Maastrict as an Under-9 and progressed through the age groups before signing at the Nou Camp last summer.

“After being watched closely by the Blues, the Dutchman has made the switch to west London, committing himself to the club until at least 2023.”

New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman is set to prioritise the signing of Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum this summer, reports say.

The 57-year-old Dutchman was named as Quique Setien’s replacement on a two-year deal on Wednesday. He has left his role as Holland boss and was unveiled at a press conference at the Nou Camp.

Koeman has been drafted in following Setien’s swift exit in the wake of last Friday night’s humiliating 8-2 Champions League drubbing by Bayern Munich.

He is the third man to take charge this calendar year, with Setien having only succeeded Ernesto Valverde in January.

Koeman will inherit a side which finished five points behind LaLiga champions Real Madrid and failed to win a major trophy this season for the first time since 2013-14.

And the former Southampton and Everton boss will be tasked with revamping the squad this summer, while getting the best out of a host of talented footballers already at the club.

But a report from a Dutch publication, AD claims that Koeman sees Wijnaldum ‘as a building block for Barca’s resurrection’ and features ‘very high’ on his ‘wish list’.

The Netherlands international only has a year left on his contract at Anfield despite being integral to the Reds’ march to the Premier League title this campaign.

His contract status ‘makes it affordable’ for Barcelona with sources ‘in the area around’ Wijnaldum telling AD that ‘there are serious whispers that Koeman recently urged the player not to sign in Liverpool’.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Jeff Hendrick is close to joining Newcastle United after leaving Burnley.

The 28-year-old, who has 54 caps for his country, left the Clarets in June and is a free agent.

He was signed by Burnley manager Sean Dyche for a then club record fee of £10.5m in 2016 but was unable to agree a new contract.

Hendrick would represent Newcastle’s first signing since the collapse of the proposed takeover in July.

Manager Steve Bruce has said previously that he hopes to bring in a couple of signings before the transfer window closes on 5 October.