Sporting briefs

Cuadrado: Fiorentina have purchased half of winger Juan Cua-drado’s playing rights from Udinese following a successful season on loan in Tuscany. The 25-year-old Colombian originally joined Fio-rentina on a year’s loan for the 2012-13 Serie A season but the terms of the new financial agreement commit him to a second year at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Helenius: Aston Villa have completed the signing of striker Nicklas Helenius from Aalborg. Villa announced last week they were in negotiations with the Danish outfit over Helenius, adding that they expected to secure his transfer within 10 days. And so it has proved, with it being confirmed yesterday that the towering 22-year-old has put pen to paper on a three-year deal with the Midlands club.

Smith: Rangers have secured their sixth summer signing after con-firming full-back Stevie Smith has agreed to rejoin the club. The 27-year-old has been a free agent since he left MLS side Portland Timbers towards the end of last year.

Leicester: A boardroom shake up at Leicester is set to see Sir Dave Richards become the Champion-ship club’s new chairman. Richards, the former Sheffield Wednesday chief, will return to club football when he steps down from his role with the FA Premier League at the end of this month. The 70-year-old will replace Vichai Srivaddhana-prabha at Leicester.

Chedjou: Cameroon defender Aurelien Chedjou has arrived in Turkey to complete his move from Lille to Galatasaray. The centre-back, 28, was pictured in a Gala shirt after putting the finishing touches on a transfer reported to be worth between €6m and €8m. Chedjou played 34 games for Lille last sea-son, scoring three goals.

Danic: Lyon have signed midfielder Gael Danic from Valen-ciennes. The 31-year-old will complete the paperwork this week on a transfer worth up to one million euros. Danic was credited with 11 assists in Ligue 1 last season, a total bettered only by Marseille’s Mathieu Valbuena and Lille’s Dimitri Payet, despite missing more than two months with a broken arm.

Hanover: Hanover announced the signing of midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt from Borussia Dort-mund on a four-year deal. The 19-year-old spent just a single season with Dortmund, scoring once in five appearances following a move from Energie Cottbus.