Swansea City have agreed a club-record fee with Atletico Madrid to sign striker Borja Baston, re-ports said yesterday.
The 23-year-old is believed to be due in south Wales for his medical this week as the Premier League club act fast to replace Andre Ayew, now at West Ham.
Baston came through the ranks at the Vicente Calderon but has blossomed out on loan in recent seasons – notably last term, when he scored 18 La Liga goals for Eibar.
A former Spain U-19 international, Baston began his time at Atletico as a goalkeeper but was eventually turned into a striker.
Cassano set for move to Serie B
Former Italy international Antonio Cassano is mulling over a move to Virtus Entella in Serie B.
The 34-year-old does not intend to call time on his career and a transfer to Italy’s second-tier league has been mentioned as a possible option to revive his career after spending most of last season on the Sampdoria bench.
TuttoSport reported that the move could happen this week, adding that Virtus would be happy to sign Cassano.
The veteran playmaker joined Sampdoria last season after two years with Parma.
Police investigate Hearts supporter
Police have launched a criminal investigation after a Hearts fan lunged towards new Celtic signing Scott Sinclair following his late winner at Tynecastle.
Footage of the goal celebration shows a fan standing up and moving his arms towards Sinclair as the winger celebrated his debut goal by running along the track in front of the Roseburn Stand towards the away supporters. There did not appear to be any contact.
Sinclair was booked for running into the Celtic supporters to celebrate his goal, which came hours after he completed his transfer from Aston Villa.
Hoeness vying for Bayern top job
Uli Hoeness is to stand in Bayern Munich’s next presidential elections in November, the club have announced.
The 64-year-old stepped down as Bayern president in May 2013 after it emerged he was being investigated for tax evasion.
He was subsequently sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison, although he was released early in February after 20 months behind bars and re-turned to the Bundesliga club as a supervisor of their youth deve-lopment scheme.
The election will take place at Bayern’s next annual general meeting in November and Hoeness is likely to be unopposed with Karl Hopfner, who took over his position in 2014, agreeing in “very friendly discussions with Hoeness” to step aside.
WHam pay record sum for Andre Ayew
Ghana striker Andre Ayew has joined West Ham United from Premier League rivals Swansea City for a club record fee of £20.5 million.
The 26-year-old has agreed a three-year contract with the option for an additional two years.
Ayew played a pivotal role in steering Swansea away from relegation last season, netting 12 times in 34 starts as Francesco Guidolin’s side finished 12th in the table.
He leaves Swansea one year after signing for the Welsh team on a free transfer from Olym-pique Marseille.
Ayew’s fee breaks the previous record of £15 million set when forward Andy Carroll joined from Liverpool in June 2013.
Balotelli move to Besiktas on hold
Liverpool’s hopes of selling Mario Balotelli or Christian Benteke to Besiktas seem to be fading.
The Turkish champions are on the lookout for a striker and had been linked with the Reds pair, who are peripheral to Juergen Klopp’s plans this season.
But chairman Fikret Orman distanced the club from the duo, suggesting Balotelli’s temperament and Benteke’s £32m asking price were sticking points.
“Balotelli is a major star but a troubled player. He has got an image,” Orman said.
“We are interested in other players as well. Ideally we want to sign a striker on loan.”
Midfielder Frimpong joins Arsenal Tula
Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong has signed a two-year deal with Arsenal Tula, the Russian club announced yesterday.
The 24-year-old former Arsenal player, who played six Premier League matches for the English Premier League club, has already been playing in Russia for FC Ufa since September 2014.
He made eight appearances last season and was sent off twice.
One of those dismissals came in July 2015, when he received a red card for showing his middle finger to Spartak Moscow supporters after he believed he had been the victim of racist abuse.
Spartak Moscow did not re-ceive any disciplinary action, while the player was given a two-game suspension.