Manchester United
Multiple reports circulated around Europe on Monday morning indicating Javier Hernandez will sign for Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen from Manchester United, with England's Daily Mail first reporting the deal and Germany's online outlet of Kicker magazine later confirming.
The German report specifies Chicharito “will be officially presented on Monday” though stipulating the final details “are yet to be clarified”.
The earlier Daily Mail report said the Mexican striker would join Leverkusen for £12 million (Dh68m). Hernandez, after a yearlong loan to Real Madrid last year, was somewhat surprisingly involved in Louis van Gaal's United plans early this campaign, making a couple substitutions in both Champions League play-off round legs against Club Brugge and coming on against Newcastle United in the Premier League last week.
Read more: Richard Jolly on a stunted Manchester United side looking like an indictment of Louis van Gaal
Hernandez, 27, notably failed to convert a penalty against Brugge, and was denied on a couple of other close chances in his three appearances, seeming to doom his hopes of gaining favour this term under an already sceptical Van Gaal. He was told Friday he was allowed to leave the club.
Hernandez ends his United tenure with 37 goals in 103 league appearances. After arriving from Liga MX club Guadalajara in 2010, he was at first a minor sensation, scoring 13 times in 27 league appearances and another four times in the Champions League. He scored 10 league goals each of the following two campaigns before a tally of just four in 2013/14 with only six league starts signalled the end of his starring role at Old Trafford.
He scored seven times in 23 La Liga appearances for Madrid last season, four of them in a four-match stretch in April when he filled in for Karim Benzema in Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI. He went cold again, though, failing to score in six straight matches before adding to Real’s tally in a 7-3 win on the final day of the season. The club then declined to extend his tenure at the Bernabeu.
At Leverkusen he most joins a side stacked with playmakers, including recent arrivals Charles Aranguiz and Kevin Kampl, where he will be expected to provide goals after the team’s highest scorers last season were wingers Karim Bellarabi and Son Heung-min, departed this week to Tottenham Hotspur.
Atletico Madrid
Spanish international Raul Garcia is set to join Athletic Bilbao from Atletico Madrid after both clubs confirmed they had agreed a transfer fee on Sunday.
“Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao have reached an agreement in principle for the transfer of Raul Garcia to our club,” Athletic Bilbao said in a statement on their website.
“The definitive agreement between the clubs and the player depends on the player passing a medical and the formalising of the contracts.”
Garcia was a key player, scoring 17 goals as Atletico won La Liga and reached the Champions League final in 2013/14.
Also see: The National's Transfer Talk page
However, he wasn’t expected to feature heavily for Diego Simeone’s side this season after the arrivals of Jackson Martinez, Luciano Vietto and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco at the Vicente Calderon during the summer.
The 29-year-old watched Atletico’s 3-0 win at Sevilla on Sunday from the stands after being left out of the squad, but was remembered by his teammates as Koke and Gabi celebrated their goals by holding up eight fingers – Garcia’s squad number at Atletico.
*Agence France-Presse
Inter Milan
Inter Milan on Sunday announced the signing of 29-year-old Wolfsburg winger Ivan Perisic on a five-year deal.
A statement by Inter said: “FC Internazionale would like to announce the definitive transfer of Ivan Perisic from VfL Wolfsburg. The Croatian international has signed a contract with the club until June 30, 2020.”
Inter, who last year failed to qualify for European competition this season, sit third in Serie A after two successive wins.
*Agence France-Presse
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