MADRID // Newly-crowned Uefa Champions League winners Barcelona have signed right-back/winger Aleix Vidal from Sevilla, the Catalan club announced on Sunday.
The treble winning club are banned from transfers until January 2016 which means Vidal cannot play for his new club for at least six months.
Barcelona defeated Juventus 3-1 on Saturday to add to their Primera Liga and Spanish Cup triumphs.
“FC Barcelona and Sevilla have reached an agreement over the transfer of Alex Vidal. The 25-year-old will sign for five seasons, until June 30, 2020,” read a Barca statement.
The transfer fee is reportedly between 10 and 20 million euros.
Vidal will be introduced as Barcelona’s newest signing following a medical on Monday ahead of a presentation at the Camp Nou close to midday local time.
Vidal is seen as a natural successor to Brazilian Dani Alves, who could leave the club, after helping Sevilla to the Europa League in May.
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has indicated he would be open to a move to Manchester United if David de Gea leaves for Real Madrid. Lloris is reportedly on a United shortlist of possible replacements for De Gea, who is said to be considering his future with only one year left on his Old Trafford contract and Madrid keen on taking him back to Spain. In comments carried in The Sun newspaper, Lloris said: "For the moment there is a goalkeeper at United and we are watchful of his situation. You have to keep a certain calm with all this. If things should happen then they'll happen naturally." Lloris, 28, joined Spurs from Lyon in 2012 and has made 99 Premier League appearances. He is under contract at White Hart Lane until 2019.
Real Madrid
Javier Hernandez is looking for consistent playing time next season, whether it is at Manchester United or any other club. The Mexico international spent the 2014/15 season on loan at Real Madrid but made just 11 starts in all competitions for the Spanish giants. Real turned down the option to make his stay permanent this month and the 27-year-old forward will be heading back to Old Trafford, where he has one year left on his contract. Hernandez told Spanish sports newspaper Marca: "I want to join a team where I can play and have minutes. If it's at Manchester United or another team, I will be equally happy. My priority is to play."
Aston Villa
Aston Villa have offered a new contract to defender Ron Vlaar but released striker Darren Bent, the club have confirmed. Vlaar’s current deal expires at the end of the month and manager Tim Sherwood has previously underlined his desire to keep him at Villa Park. Vlaar admitted after Villa’s FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool in April that Sherwood’s appointment as manager had changed things for him at the club and he was considering staying. The Midlands clubs have also confirmed the exit of £24 million (Dh134.4m) record signing Bent. Bent will be released after scoring 25 goals in 72 appearances following a club record transfer from Sunderland in 2011.
Juventus
Andrea Pirlo has brushed aside speculation that he will leave Juventus this summer despite reports linking him with Major League Soccer. The Italy international cried after his team’s Uefa Champions League final defeat to Barcelona on Saturday. “Were my tears a goodbye to Juventus? No, they were for the defeat,” Pirlo told Sky Sport Italia. “It is the kind of opportunity that I will rarely get again.” The 36-year-old midfielder made 33 appearances for Juventus in all competitions this season, one in which they won the domestic league-and-cup double for the first time since 1995. Pirlo, who won the Champions League title with AC Milan, joined Juve in 2011 and has won four straight league titles with the Turin giants. The veteran midfielder is under contract with Juve for another season.
Cerezo Osaka
Uruguay's most-capped player Diego Forlan is unlikely to be offered a new contract by Japanese club Cerezo Osaka, local media reported yesterday. The 36-year-old striker, who played 112 games for Uruguay and scored 36 goals before announcing his international retirement earlier this year, has expressed a desire to remain in Japan. "If possible I wanted to sign off by getting Cerezo promoted to the J-League first division, but a contract's a contract," Forlan told Japan's Nikkan Sports. "I've done everything I could. I don't know what the future holds but I'd prefer to stay in Japan."
However, after an illustrious career at Manchester United, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid, Forlan, who is also a columnist for West Ham United
West Ham hope to make an announcement on their new manager “within the next 48 hours”. They appear close to appointing a successor to Sam Allardyce, who left Upton Park at the end of the season. Slaven Bilic is reported to have been interviewed about the vacancy over the weekend, with the likes of Rafael Benitez, Jurgen Klopp, Carlo Ancelotti and Unai Emery all said to have been under consideration.
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