Argentine winger Alejandro Dario Gomez has moved from Catania to Metalist, signing a four-year deal with the Ukrainian club.
The 25-year-old attacking midfielder said he preferred Metalist, the Ukraine league runners-up, to Inter and Fiorentina and Spanish side Atletico Madrid.
“Metalist was the most persistent club in the negotiations and that’s why I’m here,” Gomez said.
Having been a part of the Argentinian attacking force at Catania, Gomez perfectly fits into the Metalist playing schemes as six of his compatriots have already joined the Ukrainians.
One Direction singer joins Rovers
Singer Louis Tomlinson of boy band One Direction has signed for English Championship side Doncaster Rovers on a non-contract basis and could play for their development squad this season, the club has announced.
Tomlinson 21, heart-throb to millions of teenaged girls around the world, has also been given squad number 28 which qualifies him to play for the club’s first team in the second tier of English soccer, although that is unlikely to happen.
“This has always been a childhood dream for me,” said Tomlinson, whose band are one of the biggest in the world and are preparing for a worldwide tour starting next May.
Della Valle slams Milan’s Ljajic offer
Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle has suggested the fee reportedly offered by Milan for Adem Ljajic falls well short of the club’s valuation.
Reports said Milan have made a €7 million bid for the Serbian attacking midfielder, who has scored 17 goals in 86 appearances for La Viola and has opened contract talks in Florence.
Della Valle said: “If we have received an offer, then it was very far away from the player’s value.
“The player has expressed to me his desire to stay and we’ll see what happens with the contract talks.”
Bastos set for Al Ain switch
Brazil international Michel Bastos is to leave Lyon and join Al Ain, the United Arab Emirates club have confirmed.
The versatile left-sided player spent the second half of last season on loan at Schalke and was scheduled to remain there this season, but has instead agreed a reported three-year deal with Al Ain.
A statement on Al Ain’s website read: “The club have finally reached an agreement with Lyon about the transfer of the Brazilian Michel Bastos.
“He is scheduled to arrive at Abu Dhabi Airport on Saturday (today) so as to complete the procedures to join Al Ain.”
Gomis on his way to Newcastle
Olympique Lyon have reached agreement with Newcastle United over the transfer of striker Bafetimbi Gomis (picture) to the Premier League side, the Ligue 1 club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas said yesterday.
Newcastle will pay up to €10 million for the 27-year-old, who scored 16 league goals for Lyon last season, Aulas told French paper Le Journal du Dimanche.
“We agreed on Newcastle’s offer for an eight million euros transfer plus two million in bonuses. The club has come to accept the player’s salary claims,” Aulas was quoted as saying.
“The deal is now subject to an agreement over the agents’ fees,” he added.
Liverpool table bid for Costa
Liverpool have made a bid for Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa but a deal to sign the Brazil international remains some way off.
Press Association Sport reported that an offer in excess of £21 million has been made, which should be enough to trigger the release clause in the 24-year-old’s contract.
Costa scored 20 goals in 44 matches for the Spanish club last season but the summer arrivals of strikers David Villa and Leo Baptistao have increased com-petition for places up front.
Manager Brendan Rodgers admitted this week he still has money to spend and was focusing on bringing in the best they could.
Coventry facing liquidation
The bleak future facing Coventry City looked even worse yesterday when it emerged that their parent company Coventry City Football Club Limited was likely to be liquidated following a creditors’ meeting.
The 1987 FA Cup winners, who spent an unbroken 34 years in the top flight from 1967 until 2001, are due to kick off the new season today in League One against Crawley Town.
Their immediate future is clouded in uncertainty, however, after Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), the owners of their home ground the Ricoh Arena, rejected proposals which would have brought the club out of administration.