Demba Ba heads to Turkey; Luis signing complete at Chelsea and other transfer news

Demba Ba moves to Turkey; Hull City introduce themselves to Europe; Benitez has Michu in his sights.

 Demba Ba is on his way from Chelsea in the English Premier League to Besiktas of the Turkish leagues. Gerry Penny / EPA
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CHELSEA

Chelsea striker Demba Ba has completed his move to Besiktas, the Turkish club have announced on their official website.

Besiktas claim the deal for the 29-year-old Senegal striker is worth 6million Euros (£4.7m).

Ba arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday to undergo a medical and pose with the number nine jersey he will wear next season.

In quotes on the Besiktas website, Ba said: “I’ve had a lot of positive feedback about Besiktas and Istanbul from my Senegalese friends in Turkey.

“To play in a Muslim country and in a new stadium is definitely very exciting.

“I know what my coach Slaven Bilic expects from me, and I am open to all sorts of competition.

“Since Besiktas fans like hard-working and spirited players, I wiill give everything I’ve got in order not to disappoint them.”

Also, Chelsea have completed the signing of Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid, the Premier League club have announced.

The London club reached an agreement to sign the left-back from the Spanish champions on Wednesday and have now agreed terms on a three-year deal.

“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Filipe Luis from Atletico Madrid,” read a statement on the club’s official website. “The Brazilian defender has signed a three-year deal and will wear the

No 5 shirt.”

HULL CITY

Hull City will begin their debut European campaign with a tie against either AS Trencin of Slovakia or Serbia’s Vojvodina.

The FA Cup finalists, who were beaten 3-2 by Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in May, were in the draw yesterday for the Uefa Europa League third qualifying round draw and look most likely to meet the Slovakian side, who have a 4-0 lead over Vojvodina from the first leg of their second-round tie.

MANCHESTER CITY

Yaya Toure has vowed to remain at Manchester City as he asked for an end to a summer of speculation largely begun by his own agent.

Toure and his representative Dimitri Seluk spoke to Sky Sports News on Friday to confirm the Ivory Coast international’s intention to honour his contract - which runs until 2017 - at the Etihad Stadium.

“The fans have always been good to me, they’ve always been good to my family,” Toure said. “I want to stay. I will always honour my contract. I don’t think about all this speculation. It’s a big pleasure to stay and enjoy the next season.”

Toure’s agent Seluk sparked speculation about his future just days after City lifted the Premier League title - claiming Toure was hurt by the club’s failure to mark his birthday - despite a video on the club’s website showing Toure being presented with a birthday cake.

Further stories followed as Seluk claimed his client had been shown a lack of respect by City, and he was strongly linked with Paris St Germain before, in recent days, rivals Manchester United emerged as another possible destination.

But Toure described the speculation as “disappointing” as he said he owed a debt to City fans.

“Everything is fine now,” he said. “There was a lot of speculation, you know. I think sometimes it’s quite disappointing. I need to do something for the fans, it’s important to let them know. They’ve done a lot for me. The team is preparing well and we will try to win again next season.”

LIVERPOOL

Liverpool forward Iago Aspas has completed a loan move to Spanish Primera Liga side Sevilla after passing a medical with the Europa League champions. The 26 year old, who only joined Liverpool 12 months ago from Celta Vigo for a fee of £9m, but made only five Premier League starts last season, will be officially presented at the Sevilla’s Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on Monday. The deal gives the Spanish side the option of offering Aspas a three-year permanent contract once the loan deal expires.

SUNDERLAND

Goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon is gearing up for a month-long battle with Vito Mannone for a place in the Sunderland team.

The 27-year-old Romanian left Manchester City for the Stadium of Light last month in the search for regular first-team football.

To achieve that this season, he will have to oust Italian Mannone, who was voted player of the season in 2013/14.

Pantilimon told the Sunderland Echo: “At this moment, I think everyone is fighting for their position. It’s normal for everyone to work hard, train hard and after that, we’ll see what happens.”

NAPOLI

Napoli manager Rafael Benitez has set a goal target for new signing Michu following his Serie A switch from Swansea.

Michu has joined the Italian club on a season-long loan from the Swans with an option to make the deal permanent next summer.

Benitez said: “I have told Michu that I expect a certain number of goals from him just to motivate him but he first has to adapt to the team and get to know his new teammates.”

LYON

Lyon could be forced back into the transfer market after learning that midfielder Gueida Fofana faces another six months on the sidelines after ankle surgery.

The 23-year-old was injured last season and had further surgery on the problem this week.

Lyon boss Hubert Fournier confirmed the news during a press conference to introduce 22-year-old defender Lindsay Rose, whose arrival from relegated Valenciennes was confirmed on Thursday.

Fournier said Rose was a player he had admired for a long time, and one who might be needed to step straight into the side with speculation continuing regarding the future of Samuel Umtiti, who is said to favour a move away from Lyon.

“He is a player that I first saw in Ligue 2,” Fournier said of Rose. “He caught my eye, he is very powerful. Unfortunately he had a season marred by a knee injury last year, but he is a modern player with a big physical capacity.

“This was done anticipating the possible departure of Samuel Umtiti. Lindsay arrives with a lot of humility but also a fierce determination to win.”

QPR

Harry Redknapp has revealed Rio Ferdinand showed a desire to join QPR despite offers from ‘two big London clubs’.

The 35-year-old signed a one-year deal at Loftus Road on Thursday and trained with his new team-mates for the first time on Friday morning.

Ferdinand won six Premier League titles during a successful spell at Manchester United but found himself a free agent when his last contract expired at Old Trafford.

The move to Rangers not only sees Ferdinand move back to the capital but also link up with Redknapp, the man who handed him his senior professional debut in 1996.

On signing his contract, Ferdinand expressed a passion for wanting to help keep newly-promoted Rangers in the top flight and Redknapp feels that, coupled with the turning down of bigger offers, proves the ex-England captain is up for the fight.

I think he is going to be a fantastic player for the club,” Redknapp said.

“He is a top-class guy. A great role model I think, I signed him as a 14-year-old so I know him better than anybody.

“He didn’t need convincing (to join) - he wanted to come to QPR. He spoke to two top London clubs, but he wanted to come here and to play. He could have went elsewhere and maybe not played at times.

BAYERN MUNICH

Germany’s World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm has retired from international football, a decision he says was made before the tournament in Brazil had even begun.

The 30-year-old announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect on Friday, but he knew before flying out to South America in June that it was going to be his last tournament for Germany whatever the outcome might have been.

“Over the course of last season, I made up my mind that I was going to end my international career after the World Cup,” Lahm said in a letter posted on the German federation website.

“I informed Germany coach Joachim Low of this decision on Monday at breakfast. I’m grateful and thankful that the end of my career coincides with winning the World Cup in Brazil with the national team.”

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