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David Luiz is on the verge of a Chelsea return, two years after being sold to Paris Saint-Germain for £50 million (Dh241m).
Chelsea and PSG announced terms had been agreed for the Brazil defender to return to Stamford Bridge from Parc des Princes.
“Chelsea Football Club and Paris St Germain have agreed terms for the transfer of David Luiz back to London,” Chelsea said on their official website.
“The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.”
Luiz won the 2012 Uefa Champions League and 2013 Europa League with Chelsea before moving to PSG prior to the 2014 World Cup.
His likely acquisition was part of a busy deadline day for Chelsea, who signed Marcos Alonso from Fiorentina and loaned Juan Cuadrado back to Juventus for three years.
Alonso, a 25-year-old Spaniard, is no stranger to English football, having played for Bolton Wanderers from July 2010 to July 2013. He also spent five months on loan at Sunderland in 2014.
No financial details of the deal were disclosed, but British media reported that the fee for Alonso was in the region of £23 million.
“I’m very happy. It’s a step up in my career and I think this is the perfect place for me to continue developing. It’s time for me to win some titles,” the Real Madrid academy graduate told Chelsea’s website.
Juventus on Wednesday announced Cuadrado had joined on loan until June 2019 for an annual fee of €5 million, with the option for the deal to be made permanent for €25m. The 28-year-old winger spent last season on loan with the Turin side.
The terms of the deal take Cuadrado to the end of the four-and-a-half-year contract he signed on joining Chelsea in February 2015.
Manchester City clear the decks as Bony, Nasri, Hart and Mangala leave on loan
Manchester City de-clogged some of its depth Wednesday ahead of the transfer deadline by loaning Samir Nasri to Sevilla, Wilfried Bony to Stoke City, Joe Hart to Torino and Eliaquim Mangala to Valencia
Frenchman Nasri has joined Primera Liga side Sevilla on a season-long loan deal, both sides confirmed on Monday.
Nasri scored 27 goals and won two Premier League titles in five years in Manchester, but after an injury-plagued 2015/16 season, new City boss Pep Guardiola had criticised his condition when he returned to pre-season overweight.
“The attacker arrives on loan from Manchester City until June 30 2017 without an option to buy,” Sevilla said in a statement.
Ivory Coast striker Bony joins Stoke City on a season-long loan. He has made 44 appearances for Ivory Coast, scoring 13 goals, and was a member of the team that tasted glory at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.
He was signed by City to provide backup for Sergio Aguero, but young Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho moved ahead of him in the pecking order.
Bony has not featured for City this season under new manager Pep Guardiola.
He follows Joe Hart in leaving the Etihad Stadium on loan on transfer deadline day. Hart earlier finalised a move to Italian side Torino.
“Everyone at City would like to wish Wilfried the best of luck,” City wrote on their website.
Bony is Stoke manager Mark Hughes’s fourth new recruit after Wales midfielder Joe Allen, Egyptian winger Ramadan Sobhi and Irish defender Ryan Sweeney.
Mangala, 25, moves to Spain on a season-long loan to Valencia, the clubs announced on Wednesday.
He joined City from Porto for a reported £32 million in August 2014 but has struggled to establish himself after making 48 Premier League appearances under the club’s former manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Mangala, who has not featured for new manager Pep Guardiola this season, played at Euro 2016 on home soil, won the League Cup with City last season and arrives at Valencia as a replacement for Shkodran Mustafi, who joined Arsenal on Tuesday.
Marseille and Tottenham Hotspur trade players
Tottenham Hotspur and Marseille traded players on Wednesday, with midfielder Georges-Kevin Nkoudou moving to the Premier League club on a five-year deal and Clinton N’Jie joining the Ligue 1 side on a season-long loan.
Nkoudou, 21, a France youth international capped to Under 21 level, scored five goals in 28 league games last season as Marseille finished 13th.
“#NkoudouSigns but I’m 40 years old now so I’m not sure to be as quick as I used to be,” Nkoudou joked on his Twitter account after the protracted negotiations between the clubs finally ended on transfer deadline day.
Cameroon international N’Jie, 23, joined Spurs from Lyon in August last year but suffered with injury and featured only eight times in the league last season.
Tottenham, who have five points from three games, next visit bottom club Stoke City on September 10.
Bruno Martins Indi links up with Stoke on season-long loan
Stoke City have signed Netherlands international Bruno Martins Indi from Porto on a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old defender, who played at the 2014 World Cup when the Dutch finished third, made 23 appearances in the Portuguese league last season as Porto finished third in the standings.
“We have been aware of Bruno for quite some time now, as many other clubs around Europe have been,” Stoke manager Mark Hughes told the club’s website.
“He is a very accomplished defender who has a lot of experience at a very high level, including playing for Holland during their good run at the 2014 World Cup.”
Stoke, who have also signed striker Wilfried Bony from Manchester City on loan, have loaned out defender Philipp Wollscheid to Bundesliga club Wolfsburg on a season-long deal.
Stoke are bottom of the league with one point from three games and next host Tottenham Hotspur on September 10.
Burnley smash club transfer record to sign Hendrick
Burnley broke their transfer record for the second time in two weeks on Wednesday when they announced the signing of Irish midfielder Jeff Hendrick from second-tier Derby County.
The fee involved was undisclosed, but British media reports said Burnley had paid around £10 million (Dh48m) for the 24-year-old Republic of Ireland international, who has signed a three-year contract.
It eclipses the reported figure of £8.5m Burnley paid Anderlecht for Belgium midfielder Steven Defour two weeks ago.
“The Premier League was a big draw for me and it’s where I aspire to be after the summer I’ve had,” said Hendrick, who was a member of Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad.
“Burnley did so well last year, going unbeaten for five months, and how much they wanted me this summer was a real positive for me.”
Burnley manager Sean Dyche said: “After a protracted deal, we have got a main target of ours and we welcome Jeff to the club and hope he does well.
“He is someone who can add to our strength in midfield and he’s a player who is still learning and still developing and is someone who we think we can work for us now and in the future.”
Burnley, promoted from the Championship last season, are 13th in the Premier League table after three games.
Balotelli linked with Nice
Liverpool’s outcast Italian striker Mario Balotelli was to have a medical at French side Nice on Wednesday amid transfer deadline day talks between the clubs, l’Equipe newspaper reported.
The 26-year-old could be sold or loaned to Nice, the report said. Once one of the biggest hopes in Europe, Balotelli has not played for Italy since the 2014 World Cup and has been told he is not wanted by Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp.
A Nice official told l’Equipe no agreement had been reached and that the medical was “to save time” if an accord could be found.
“If the situation works out, maybe late in the day, it will be done. If we don’t agree with Liverpool, he will leave again,” the official added.
Nice want a permanent transfer but a loan was also possible, the club official was quoted as saying. Balotelli spent last season on loan at AC Milan but the Italian side chose not to extend the deal.
Arsenal midfielder Gnarby joins Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen have signed the Arsenal midfielder Serge Gnabry, the German club’s official Twitter account said on Wednesday.
Arsenal teammates and German internationals Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil “spoke very positively about the club” he was quoted as telling a news conference.
“I’ve come to Bremen to get some playing time, develop further and help the team,” he added.
Gnabry joined Arsenal in 2011 from his local club VfB Stuttgart as a 16 year old but played only 10 league games in five seasons.
He helped Germany win a silver medal at the Rio Olympics this year.
Monaco offload Love and Tisserand
Monaco confirmed the departure of out-of-favour striker Vagner Love to Turkish side Alanyaspor on Wednesday and the sale of defender Marcel Tisserand to Bundesliga outfit Ingolstadt.
Former Brazil international Love, 32, spent just seven months in Ligue 1 after joining Monaco in January and had yet to make an appearance this season.
He has signed a two-year deal with Alanyaspor after Monaco released him from his contract, while Dr Congo international Tisserand will move to Ingolstadt for a fee reportedly in the region of five million euros ($5.6 million).
The 23-year-old, who spent the past two seasons on loan at Toulouse, started in Monaco’s 1-0 win over Nantes earlier this month but was unlikely to feature regularly in Leonardo Jardim’s side.
Togo’s Romao joins Olympiakos
French-born Togolese midfielder Alaixys Romao has joined Olympiakos on a two-year deal with an option for another season, the Greek champions announced on Wednesday.
Romao, 32, was a free agent after leaving Marseille, where he spent the last three and a half years.
Previously with Lorient, Romao is a Togo international.
“It is a great challenge for me to change country, culture and championship. I am here to win titles,” said Romao.
Eliminated from the Champions League in the third qualifying round by Hapoel Be’er Sheva of Israel, Paulo Bento’s side are in the Europa League group stage and will come up against APOEL Nicosia, Young Boys of Bern and Astana of Kazakhstan in Group B.
Riviere leaves Newcastle for Spain
Newcastle United striker Emmanuel Riviere has joined Spanish club Osasuna on a season-long loan with an option to buy, the English Championship club announced on Wednesday.
Riviere, 26, signed from Monaco in July 2014, but has made only 31 appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals. His last competitive appearance was at the beginning of March.
The club are currently 14th in Primera Liga after two matches of the season.
* Agence France-Press
