Chelsea
According to a Sky Sports report, Chelsea will sell Filipe Luis back to Atletico Madrid as another report in the Guardian suggests Jose Mourinho's club continue to manoeuvre for Everton's John Stones.
The Premier League champions have apparently agreed to sell Brazilian left-back Luis, 29, to Atletico just a year after buying him from the 2013/14 La Liga champions. Sky said Chelsea would recoup most of their original investment, returning Luis to Spain "for around £800,000 less" than the £15.8 million (Dh90.4m) they paid just over 12 months ago.
After serving a leading role in Atletico’s league-winning defence, Luis arrived in Chelsea but rarely found a chance to play over standout left-back Branislav Ivanovic. Luis logged just 939 total league minutes in 15 appearances for Chelsea in 2014/15.
As Luis appears on his way out, Mourinho appears relentless in his pursuit of bringing Stones, 21, into the fold.
Read more: The National's Transfer Talk page
The Guardian report says Chelsea will increase their bid to "around £26m" for the England centre back. Everton manager Roberto Martinez has steadfastly maintained Stones would remain with his club, but the report suggests Chelsea could be prepared to make Stones a record English defensive signing, potentially in excess of £30m and the £29.1m Rio Ferdinand was paid for by Manchester United in 2002.
Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain have announced the signing of midfielder Benjamin Stambouli from Tottenham Hotspur on a five-year contract.
Stambouli, 24, joined Spurs from Montpellier but has opted to move on to the Ligue 1 champions after just one season at White Hart Lane.
Stambouli, who made 25 appearances for Spurs in all competitons, said: “I am delighted and very proud to become a member of the Paris Saint-Germain family.
“I wasn’t necessarily planning to leave the Premier League after one year but when a club with the dimension of Paris Saint-Germain calls you, it makes your choice a lot easier.
“That’s the moment when you can experience the power of attraction surrounding this club. I will now focus on my preparation.”
*Press Association
Atletico Madrid
Montenigrin international defender Stefan Savic signed for Spanish side Atletico Madrid from Serie A outfit Fiorentina on Monday, the buying club announced.
The 24-year-old – who won the Premier League title with Manchester City in 2012 – signed a five year contract for a fee reported to be around €9 million (Dh35.8m) by Italian media.
“We are delighted over this agreement with Fiorentina, because Stefan is a very promising player with a great future ahead of him,” said Atletico sporting director Jose Luiz Perez Caminero.
“He is a pacey and powerful defender, and is experienced despite his youth.”
Savic, who had been with Fiorentina since 2012, will fill the vacuum left by Brazilian international Joao Miranda’s departure to Inter Milan.
*Agence France-Presse
Olympique Lyon
Highly-rated defender Samuel Umtiti and midfielder Jordan Ferri have extended their contracts with Lyon, the Ligue 1 club announced on Monday.
Umtiti has extended his deal by two years and is now tied to OL until 2019, while Ferri’s new contract has been extended by three years and links him to the seven-time French champions until 2020.
21-year-old central defender Umtiti, who can also play as a left-back, is a product of Lyon’s youth system and has captained France at Under 21 level.
Ferri, 23, was also a youth academy graduate at the Stade de Gerland.
Both players were regulars in the side that finished runners-up in Ligue 1 last season to qualify for the Champions League.
Their new deals come after fellow youth products Clement Grenier, Nabil Fekir, Corentin Tolisso and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes put pen to paper on longer-term contracts earlier this summer.
Lyon are now hoping to persuade striker Alexandre Lacazette, the top scorer in Ligue 1 last season and France’s player of the year, to sign a new contract rather than be tempted by interest in him from leading clubs elsewhere.
*Agence France-Presse
Rangers
Rangers have completed the double signing of James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn from Wigan Athletic.
The pair have both signed three-year contracts with the Scottish Championship club. They join former Wigan teammate Rob Kiernan in moving to Ibrox this summer, along with former Hearts of Midlothian captain Danny Wilson and former Middlesbrough winger Andy Halliday.
Powerful former Sunderland and Leicester City forward Waghorn, 25, has struck eight goals in 18 months with Wigan while Tavernier spent the second half of last season on loan with Bristol City.
Tavernier told the club’s official website: “Rangers are a massive club and as soon as there was interest there was no thinking about it.
“The history of the club, what they have achieved in Europe and in Scotland made it an easy decision for me.
“It is a great opportunity to play up here and the recognition that you can get playing for Rangers is huge.”
Waghorn, meanwhile, said of manager Mark Warburton and the Rangers coaching staff:
“I hadn’t really met them on a personal level, but when I sat down with them and they got across their ideas and how they want to play, it was brilliant.
“It’s exactly how I want to play and how I see my football going. It was a no-brainer.
“I see myself being here for the long-term. The club has been through its troubles, but hopefully it is now on the right way. We have a good gaffer in and a good set of coaches.
“It’s a project, and with the players he has brought in there is only one way the club is going to go and that’s forward.
“So I’m really proud, really pleased, and grateful to be a part of it. Hopefully I can bring my best and do my best for the club.”
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