West Ham United
West Ham United have signed Canadian defender Doneil Henry from Apollon Limassol of Cyprus, the Premier League club announced on Saturday.
Henry, 21, arrives for an undisclosed fee on what West Ham have described as “a long-term contract”.
“It feels good to be given the opportunity to come and train and see what it’s like to be part of a Premier League team and I just want to get started and get into the team real soon,” central defender Henry, who has won 14 caps for Canada, told West Ham’s official website.
Read more: The National’s Transfer Talk page
Henry started his career at Toronto FC and spent time training with West Ham in 2013 before being signed by Apollon Limassol and loaned back to Toronto.
He was recommended to West Ham manager Sam Allardyce by Toronto head coach Ryan Nelsen, the former Blackburn Rovers defender and New Zealand captain.
“I had a really good relationship with Ryan Nelsen and I always wanted to see what it was like to play at another level, the highest level, and I got the opportunity to come over here,” Henry added.
“Since then, I was just hoping to come back and now it’s happened, I want it to continue on and keep playing.”
West Ham said that Henry will go straight into their first-team squad and Allardyce is confident he can soon make an impact.
“Ryan was my captain at Blackburn for a couple of years and he rang us and told us about Doneil,” he said.
“He said this lad definitely has Premier League potential and he has everything he needs.”
Ajax
Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam have signed teenage goalkeeper Andre Onana from Barcelona on a three-year contract, Ajax said on Saturday.
The 18-year-old, originally from Cameroon, has been the subject of interest from several European clubs but has done a deal until mid-2018 with Ajax. His contract with the Spanish club runs out in June.
Onana has been in Barcelona’s youth system since 2010 and this season was promoted to their Under 19 side.
Onana played for Barcelona against Ajax in November in the Uefa Youth League, the continental youth competition for clubs competing in the Champions League, but he has not played a senior game.
Barcelona have another Cameroonian teenaged goalkeeper on their books. Fabrice Ondoa, 19, is expected to be first choice for his country at this month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals even though he has never played for his club’s first team.
Fiorentina
Fiorentina’s Brazilian goalkeeper Neto will leave the Serie A club this month or at the end of the season after rejecting a new contract on Saturday.
“Fiorentina announce that goalkeeper Neto today officially informed the club of his intention not to prolong his contract with the Viola. The decision is definitive,” said a statement from the Florence side.
“Neto was keen to make it known that his decision is entirely unrelated to financial motivations, with his desire to be free to decide his own future the sole reason behind his move.”
Media reports have linked champions Juventus with the highly-rated 25-year-old, who played in Brazil’s 2012 Olympic silver medal team, as Fiorentina weigh up whether to sell him now or let him leave for free in July.
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