Aston Villa
Scott Sinclair says he is the happiest he has been for a long time after sealing a permanent move to FA Cup finalists Aston Villa on Tuesday following an unsuccessful spell with Manchester City.
The 26-year-old winger – who has yet to represent England but played for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics – brought to an end his three years at City by signing a four-year contract with Villa for an undisclosed fee.
“This is the happiest I have been in a long time,” said Sinclair, who started only three games for Manchester City.
“I believe that will help me perform better and push on for this great club in the coming years.”
Sinclair, who played just five games for Chelsea during a five-year stay there from 2005-2010, never settled at City.
He moved there in an £8 million (Dh45.6m) deal following some eye-catching performances for Swansea City, who he had joined from Chelsea for just £500,000.
However, he has looked more like the player he was at Swansea since he went on loan to Villa in January and has scored three goals for them whilst also adding a creative touch, which has helped them retain their Premier League status and an FA Cup final date with Arsenal.
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AS Monaco
Monaco announced on Tuesday that Brazilian right back Fabinho's loan from Portuguese outfit Rio Ave has been made into a permanent deal.
The 21-year-old, on loan at the Principality side since July 2013, has signed a contract until June 2019.
Fabinho has been a regular fixture for Monaco this season, making 35 Ligue 1 appearances and reportedly attracting keen interest from Spanish champions Barcelona.
Fabinho is a Brazil Unuder 20 international and has earned a call up for the Copa America starting this month in Chile.
Monaco also said that defender Almamy Toure, 19, had extended his stay for four years.
Lille
Lille have parted ways with coach Rene Girard, the northern French Ligue 1 club announced Tuesday.
“Lille and its coach Rene Girard will put an end to their collaboration at the end of this 2014/15 season,” the club said in a statement.
“This decision was made by mutual agreement between the two parties, after two years of good cooperation.
“At a time for planning and working on the next project, Lille and Rene Girard took the decision not to extend their relationship beyond this season.”
Also departing with the 61-year-old Girard will be his assistants Gerard Bernardet and Nicolas Girard, with the club expecting to name a new coach before May 30.
Girard’s last match in charge of Lille will be against Metz on Saturday, the final match of the season.
Lille, who notably suffered a 6-1 rout away at champions Paris Saint-Germain last month, currently sit eighth in Ligue 1 on 53 points.
It means the club will miss out on European football next season, Girard having led them to a third-placed finish last season.
Swansea City
Swansea manager Garry Monk has revealed the club could take no further risks over Ki Sung-yueng's long-standing knee complaint.
The influential midfielder has had a limited role in recent weeks after an impressive campaign and Swansea revealed before Sunday’s 4-2 Premier League home defeat to Man City that he had undergone minor knee surgery.
“All players carry niggles and you have to decide whether you can manage it or it needs to be dealt with immediately,” Monk said.
“Ki has been fantastic and you want someone who has done that well to be part of it to the end of the season, but you do not want to take any risks.”
The South Korea captain fell out of favour under previous Swansea manager Michael Laudrup and was loaned to Sunderland last season, playing a pivotal role in reaching the League Cup final and winning their battle for Premier League survival.
But Monk told Ki he was a big part of his plans after succeeding Laudrup and the 26-year-old signed a new four-year contract last August which ties him to Swansea until 2018.
Ki has since enjoyed the most productive spell of his career – making 33 league appearances and scoring a campaign-best eight goals – and underwent surgery now to allow him to return in time for Swansea’s pre-season preparation.
“He came back from Sunderland last summer with a sore knee and we were advised he could have the operation then, but he had the World Cup coming up,” Monk said.
“Understandably he did not want to miss that so he went, and since then his knee has been fine.
“But it had flared up a bit in recent weeks. We have had to manage it and give him a rest but he has still contributed really well.”
Swansea conclude their season at Crystal Palace on Sunday having just missed out on Europa League qualification.
The Welsh club have managed their highest Premier League finish of eighth and best points tally, and winger Nathan Dyer said Swansea should keep pushing for European football after tasting it as 2013 League Cup winners.
“We want to strive for progress and to get to the top,” Dyer said.
“Obviously, we’ve been in Europe before and maybe at that time we weren’t quite ready.
“We had a great go and that’s something we’ll look forward to next season, trying to get there.”
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