Areola: Bastia have signed France Under-21 international Alphonse Areola on loan from Paris St Germain. Areola has had few opportunities to impress at the Parc des Princes but played 35 matches to help Lens gain promotion to the top flight last season.
Mashaba: Ephraim Mashaba was re-appointed as coach of South Africa’s national team, the fourth time he has taken the helm of Bafana Bafana. Mashaba has had two previous caretaker spells with the senior team and was the permanent coach between Aug. 2002 and Nov. 2003.
Nene: Nene will be playing for Verona next season after having played for Cagliari since summer of 2009. Verona confirmed the arrival of Miguel Da Silva Anderson, better known as Nene, after the Brazilian forward’s contract expired last month. Last season, Nene, 31, scored five goals in 23 Serie A matches.
Released: Preston North End have announced that all of their players arrested earlier this year in connection with alleged spot-fixing have been released from bail. Six of the club’s players, including captain John Welsh, were named in a number of reports as having been arrested in April as part of an investigation being conducted by the National Crime Agency. Keith Keane, Bailey Wright, David Buchanan, Ben Davies and Graham Cummins were the others.
Van Aanholt: Sunderland have announced the signing of Holland defender Patrick van Aanholt from Chelsea. The left-back has joined the Black Cats on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Van Aanholt, 23, is Sunderland’s fourth new recruit of the summer, following on from the arrivals of Billy Jones, Costel Pantilimon and Jordi Gomez.
Parma: Parma’s appeal against their exclusion from the Europa League this season in favour of Torino has been turned down. In 2013-14, Parma finished ahead of Torino in the final standings but they were denied a UEFA licence by the Italian federation due to financial irregularities. Parma had seen various appeals turned down, including the last one in front of the State Council.
Malta Summer Cup: Naxxar vs Pieta 0-2.