Payet: West Ham joint-chairman David Sullivan has vowed not to let Dimitri Payet leave this month. France star Payet last week rocked the Hammers by telling them he wants to quit the club. The 29-year-old, who signed a bumper £125,000-a-week five-year contract last February, is understood to want a move back to former club Marseille. Sullivan said: “The board’s position is that we do not want to sell Dimitri for financial or any other reasons, and we will not sell Dimitri in the January transfer window.”
Gollini: Atalanta completed the transfer of goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini from Aston Villa on a two-year loan. The 21-year-old arrives as a replacement for Marco Sportiello who joined Fiorentina on Friday. Gollini began his career with Fiorentina before joining the Manchester United youth academy in England. Following two seasons with Verona, he returned to England with Aston Villa last summer.
Schlupp: Jeffrey Schlupp, one of the heroes of Leicester City’s Premier League-winning campaign, has become the first signing of Sam Allardyce’s new reign at Crystal Palace. The 24-year-old Ghanaian international winger has moved from the champions on a four-and-a-half year contract for a fee reported to be in the region of £12 million. Schlupp missed out on Ghana’s African Nations Cup squad this month.
Lasagna: Striker Kevin Lasagna signed for Udinese yesterday but will stay in the Serie B with Carpi until the end of the season, reports said. Sampdoria were also believed to be interested in the 24-year-old but Udinese beat them to his signature in a deal worth almost €5 million. Carpi will continue to play Lasagna until next June before the loan deal is over. This season Lasagna played 21 matches in Serie B and scored nine goals.
Chelsea: Sacking Jose Mourinho and his staff in 2015 cost Chelsea £8.3 million, about a third of what the club had to pay out when he left Stamford Bridge the first time in 2007. The 2015 figure is revealed in the club’s full accounts for 2015/16, a disastrous campaign on the field for the Londoners and an expensive one off the field. Despite record turnover of £329.1 million and a £49 million profit on player trading, Chelsea still managed to post a £70.6 million loss.