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Aston Villa sign Mbaye and Harwood-Bellis as Newcastle get Fernandez-Pardo
Gabriel Jesus completes move from Arsenal to Barcelona
Harvey Elliott joins Valencia on loan from Liverpool
Aston Villa completed the signings of Ibrahim Mbaye and Taylor Harwood-Bellis on deadline day, with Unai Emery confident the club’s radical summer overhaul has left Villa in position to replicate their recent success. Villa, who have lost both of their Premier League games this campaign, have qualified for the Champions League in two of the past three seasons and won their first major trophy in 30 years after lifting the Europa League.
The £47m arrival of the 18-year-old winger Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain and £25m deal for Harwood-Bellis from Southampton represented Villa’s ninth and 10th summer signings respectively. Villa had generated more than £300m from the sales of nine players, six of whom started May’s Europa League triumph in Istanbul; Morgan Rogers, Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Lucas Digne and Emiliano Martínez all departed Villa Park in recent weeks, Rogers and Martinez joining Chelsea.
Watkins’ £50m exit to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal, after rejecting Villa’s offer of a new contract, led to Villa signing Nicolas Jackson for an initial £47.5m that could rise to a club-record £65m. Earlier in the window, Villa signed Johan Manzambi for a club-record £52m from Freiburg but the Switzerland midfielder is yet to make his debut as he continues his recovery from a knee injury he sustained at the World Cup.
After Monday’s 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal, Emery struck an upbeat tone. “We are happy how we are closing the transfer window,” said Villa’s manager. “We are not regretting anything and the players who are joining are players that should be enough to rebuild the team with the structure we want. I think we replaced the players as we planned.”
Zion Suzuki, a £30m arrival from Parma, made his Villa debut against Arsenal and Villa’s new No 1 accepts the task of replacing Martínez is a “good challenge”. “It was my priority to play games so that is why I made the decision and I played in Belgium for one year, in Parma for two years,” said the 24-year-old, who joined Villa after a move to PSG collapsed in the final stages. “In the end I am here and playing for Villa. I just wanted to come here for this club. There are so many expectations. It is not easy to play after [Martínez] but I want to help the team and be like him.
“It was very important to play in Serie A for two years and now I am confident. I made good steps and now I am here to play for the club. I want to enjoy this moment and help the team. I am really looking forward to [playing in] the Champions League but before that, I want a first Premier League win to get some momentum.”
Newcastle, meanwhile, concluded a “transformational” transfer window by securing the target that topped their shopping list in May with only hours of the transfer window remaining.
Continue reading...Pirelli unveils unique trophies for 2026 Italian Grand Prix
Created by the artist duo known as Vedovamazzei - Stella Scala and Simeone Crispino - the trophies are titled "FRAGILE". Made via a 3D printing process using nylon powder, the trophies are ...Keep reading
Tony Romo pleads no contest to OWI charge in Wisconsin, vows to return to CBS
Less than a week after an unnamed spokesperson issued a statement on behalf of former Cowboys quarterback and CBS broadcaster Tony Romo, Romo has addressed his July arrest for operating while intoxicated directly.
On Tuesday, Romo posted a statement on Instagram. In the message, he discloses that he has pleaded no contest. He also explains that pain medication from multiple back surgeries created an "over-reliance" on alcohol.
Romo also vows to return to CBS, "in time." It's unknown wheter CBS is on board with that part of the plan; the network placed him on leave eight days after the incident, and it has promoted J.J. Watt into Romo's spot on the top NFL broadcast team.
Here's the full text of Romo's statement:
"Football has shaped nearly every meaningful part of my life. I played for more than 20 years, including 14 in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys. After my retirement, CBS gave me the profound honor of staying close to the game through broadcasting.
"Playing taught me the power of relationships, the strength of a team, and the toughness to face failure head-on with honesty, resilience, and the determination to do better.
"This is one of those moments when I am leaning on everything football taught me.
"This morning, I faced a recent personal failure by pleading no contest to a civil offense for OWl in Wisconsin. I own this completely.
"Multiple back surgeries ended my career earlier than I expected and left me with constant, debilitating pain. That pain led to a dependence on pain medication, and my efforts to get off those medications led to an over-reliance on alcohol.
"As I have taught my three young sons: when you fall short, you stand up and take full responsibility. This is an important first step. The harder and more important step is examining the path that brought you here and making the changes necessary to move forward.
"That path requires honesty.
"None of this is an excuse. These are my failures, and I take responsibility for them.
"The past month has been difficult, but it has also been personally significant. It has required me to confront and own my mistakes fully — to the Lord, to myself, to my family, and now to the public.
"I am working closely with a team of doctors to address my health and make the necessary changes. I am deeply grateful for the support of my family, my friends, and the NFL community including players, coaches, and owners. Your encouragement has meant more to me than you know.
"As I turn my attention to my health, my family, and, in time, my return to CBS, I kindly ask for privacy during this period."
We wish Romo the best as he addresses the issues that led to the OWI charge. And we applaud him for speaking on the issue directly, and not through an unnamed P.R. firm. Owning the situation is perhaps the biggest step toward resolving it.
Whether Romo's candor resolves the situation with CBS to his satisfaction hinges entirely on CBS.
Chris Ballard had a colorful description of the NFL-to-college transfer portal
As the chaos continues over whether certain players released by NFL teams can return to college football, various NFL figures have been asked for their views on the situation.
During a Tuesday press conference, Colts G.M. Chris Ballard said his team was approached by no rookies asking to be waived so that they could pursue a fifth season at the college level.
Ballard added this regarding the phenomenon, via Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star: “That’s the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard.”
He's far from alone in that opinion. It is a ridiculous outcome. But it's a direct result of NCAA mismanagement, flowing from the implosion of decades of antitrust violations.
The powers-that-be in college football are banking on sentiments like "that's the stupidest shit I've ever heard" creating sufficient momentum to turn the Protect College Sports Act into law — giving the system the antitrust exemption is badly wants while also limiting the freedom and earning capacity of the players.
Trent McDuffie never believed he could be teammates with Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald
Six months ago, Trent McDuffie was on the Chiefs, Myles Garrett was on the Browns and Aaron Donald was retired. Now they're three key members of the Rams' defense.
McDuffie was traded to the Rams in March, Garrett was traded to the Rams a couple months later, and Donald just came out of retirement. McDuffie told Andrew Siciliano of NFL Media that he wouldn't believed it was possible for Rams General Manager Les Snead and head coach Sean McVay to bring all three of them onto the same team.
"I probably would’ve said you’re lying, for real," McDuffie said. "There's no way you can get me. There's no way you can get Myles. There's no way you can get A.D. But, hey, hat off to Les. Hat off to Sean. Those guys are masterminds and they did it."
The 25-year-old McDuffie has already been a first-team All-Pro once and won Super Bowl rings twice in his first four NFL seasons -- and he's the least accomplished of the trio: Garrett has been named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year two of the last three years, while Donald is one of only three players in NFL history to win Defensive Player of the Year three times. Most teams don't add even one player with those kinds of credentials to their defense in an offseason. The Rams added three. McDuffie is still having a hard time believing it's real.