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It’s been another big week in world football, with some big completed moves and some huge offers being lodged. In today’s briefing, we take you through the nine biggest stories of the last five days, which includes a 19-year-old talent heading to an Italian giant, Barcelona’s bid to bring back a former star to the Camp Nou and an England international making a switch to La Liga.

Matthijs De Ligt has long been linked with a move away from Ajax this summer after a fantastic season in which he led the Eredivisie side to the Champions League semi-finals and impressed whilst playing for the Dutch national side. And this week, his next destination was confirmed – the 19-year-old has completed his move to Serie A side Juventus. The Old Lady paid £67.8m for the centre-back, who has signed a five-year deal with his new club and will earn a basic £14.5m a season.

The English player abroad is not a path well trodden in recent years, but Jadon Sancho’s performances at Borussia Dortmund appear to have inspired others to try their luck in another European league. The latest is Kieran Trippier, who has completed a move to Atletico Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur. Los Rojiblancos have paid £20m for the England international, who has signed a three-year deal to stay at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Marko Arnautovic’s departure for Shanghai SIPG has increased West Ham’s need to bring in a new striker this summer. Fortunately for the Hammers, they do not need to look any further. The Irons have signed Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt for a fee of £45m, with the 25-year-old signing a five-year deal with the London outfit. The former Utrecht striker contributed to 32 goals in all competitions last season for the Bundesliga side as they reached the Europa League semi-finals.

Borussia Dortmund have had a busy summer, having already brought in five new faces. The biggest of those was the capture of Mats Hummels, who BVB re-signed from Bayern Munich. Of course, this means that some players will need to be moved on to make space for the fresh recruits. One of those who has departed the Signal-Iduna Park is Abdou Diallo, who has signed for PSG. The Ligue 1 champions have paid a fee of £29m to the German outfit for the centre-back, with the 23-year-old putting pen to paper on a five-year contract.

As a professional footballer, it should be obvious that using your position and inside information to make bets is a no-go. Not for Daniel Sturridge though, it appears. On Thursday, the former Liverpool striker was banned from all footballing activities until July 31st. He was found guilty on two of 11 counts for which he was charged –  he had instructed his brother to bet on a possible move Sevilla, and then given him insider information. The 29-year-old will also have to pay a fine of £75,000.

Neymar has not had the best of times at PSG recently, and is reportedly looking for a move this summer. A return to Barcelona seems most likely, and now there has has been an update in the saga that could run until the end of the summer. It is being said that the Catalan club have made an offer of £90m offer plus two players for the Brazil ace. The Ligue 1 outfit have apparently been given the choice of taking two of Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Ivan Rakitic, Nelson Semedo, Malcom and Samuel Umtiti. However, it is understood that the Qatar-owned side want over £200m for the 27-year-old.

Newcastle had been previously linked with a whole host of names as they looked to replace Rafa Benitez, who left his role as the club’s manager last month. Earlier this week, though, they finally filled the vacant position. The new Toon boss is none other than Steve Bruce, the former Sunderland manager. The 58-year-old has signed an initial three-year deal with the North-East side. He said upon his appointment, “I’m delighted and incredibly proud to be appointed as head coach of Newcastle United. This is my boyhood club and it was my dad’s club, so this is a very special moment for me and my family.”

RB Leipzig already have a young squad, and now they have added another up-and-coming talent to their ranks. It has been confirmed by the club themselves that they have signed Christopher Nkunku from PSG on a five-year contract. Die Roten Bullen have reportedly paid €13m (£11.7m) for the France U21 international, who scored 11 goals in 78 games from the centre of the midfield for the Ligue 1 side.

It was always clear that Salomon Rondon would no longer be a West Brom player at the end of the current transfer window. Finally, his new club has been revealed. The Venezuela international has joined former Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez at Chinese Super League side Dalian Yifang. The 29-year-old has moved to China for an undisclosed fee, the Baggies confirmed on their official website. It brings an end to a four-year spell at the Hawthorns for the former Zenit St Petersburg striker.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Aston Villa are eyeing a move for Juventus’ Mattia Perin this summer.

What’s the word?

Villa ramped up their preparations for the new season on Wednesday by confirming their ninth signing of the summer as they brought in Trezeguet from Kasimpasa before making it ten on Thursday with Douglas Luiz joining too.

It’s been an exceptionally busy market for the Villans who have also clearly been in the market for a goalkeeper.

Earlier in the window they had a bid rejected for Neil Etheridge and Tom Heaton whilst moves for stoppers like Alex McCarthy and Jack Butland have also been touted.

However, their latest target in that department appears to be Perin.

Di Marzio has laid down claims that Villa want to sign him and Juventus’ sporting director Fabio Paratici is in England to potentially discuss terms.

Perfect for Smith

In one particular manner, Perin would be perfect for Aston Villa and Dean Smith, especially if you take into account the way they played last term.

The Villans were one of the best passing teams in the division and kept possession excellently, maintaining an average of 53.4% throughout the campaign. In terms of their overall pass success, it was 79.8%.

That final statistic was one which put them third out of everyone in the Championship.

Therefore, if we focus on the £11.7m-rated ‘keeper, he’d be ideal.

In Serie A last term, the 26-year-old only played nine matches but he finished the season with a remarkably impressive pass success of 75.3%, something which would be brilliant for Smith’s passing style of play which he’s implemented.

Based on that number, he’d be fully equipped to help the Midlands outfit play from the back, something their previous targets can’t do as well.

Butland finished last season with an average rate of 56.6% whilst Heaton was even worse. He ended the campaign with a number of 46.2% which could severely hinder the team if they chose him instead.

If you consider this area of their respective games, Perin would undoubtedly be the better signing.

Rangers fans have ripped Borna Barisic to shreds on Twitter following their lacklustre draw to Progres Niederkorn on Thursday evening.

The result may have meant the Light Blues qualified for the next stage of the Europa League and will meet Danish outfit FC Midtjylland for a place in the play-off round of the competition, but Steven Gerrard was far from happy with what he saw.

“It’s just one of those nights. I won’t even watch this game back,” he said, as quoted by BBC Sport.

“Looking back 12 months, I remember Shkupi being a grind, Maribor being a grind, and we’re going to have to play better.”

Barisic is one individual who is clearly going to have to play better moving forward, should he be given the chance to do so, although Football Insider reported he had given his chances of remaining at Ibrox a boost recently. The Croatia international was hooked at half-time because of fears of ill-discipline and the opportunity he may have presented the referee in brandishing another card.

“I took Borna off at half-time because I can’t take any risks with him. It wasn’t even a foul, the guy just ran into him but they were fouling all night long,” Gerrard was quoted as saying by the Daily Record.

The Scottish Sun were not kind in their ratings for the left-back, as they handed him a measly four out of ten as they wrote: “The Croat has yet to convince Steven Gerrard. Booked after just nine minutes, rather harshly to be fair, the Gers boss took no chances and hooked the left-back at half-time…4.”

Indeed, fans were also unforgiving in their assessment of the 26-year-old’s performance, with many of them taking the opportunity to slate him.

Here are just some of their reactions…

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Yesterday’s Ligue 1 transfer roundup consisted of interest in Montpellier’s Ruben Aguilar as well as Monaco’s pursuit of Mattia Perin and Andre Silva. Today’s edition is comprised of Yusuf Yazici being chased by Lille as well as the latter’s desire to capture Celtic’s Jozo Simunovic. Also, Liverpool have their eyes on Francois Kamano.

Lille in talks for Yazici

Report: Trabzonspor’s president Ahmet Agaoglu has been talking of Lille’s hunt for Yusuf Yazici. He said that negotiations are in progress, with the French club having offered €15m (£13.8m) for the Turkey international’s services. However, this is a long way off what Trabzonspor want, Agaoglu added.

Verdict: Yazici is a man in demand this summer, with Manchester United also said to be keen. The 22-year-old did not have his best campaign in the Super Lig last time out, but interested parties will be more impressed by the attacking midfielder’s 2017/18 season during which he scored 10 goals and provided five assists. Lille have a lot of money to spend towards the end of this transfer window following the recent sales of Nicolas Pepe and Rafael Leao and so they should be able to get closer to Trabzonspor’s demands. With just Jonathan Ikone in attacking midfield, more depth is needed if Christophe Galtier’s team are to be competitive both in the league and in Europe next season.

How likely is the deal? 7.5/10

Lille eye Simunovic

Report: According to The Daily Record, Lille are also said to stepping up their attempts to sign Celtic’s Jozo Simunovic. Les Dogues have entered into talks with the Scottish Premier League outfit but as of yet, they have been unable to complete a deal.

Verdict: With the windfall from those two sales, Lille are beginning to flex their muscles as they look to bring reinforcements in. Simunovic was not a guaranteed starter for Celtic last season, playing just 30 games in all competitions, but a lot of that was down to injuries which blighted his campaign. Still, the 24-year-old contributed enough to help the Bhoys win the famed treble-treble. Neil Lennon and co do not necessarily want to sell him so a good offer would need to be lodged. Lille do already have five centre-backs, but Jose Fonte is now 35, whilst Edgar Le (TRT Spor via Sport Witness) and Antoine Soumaoro have both been linked with moves away from the club, which may mean another defender is required.

How likely is the deal? 7/10

Liverpool consider late Kamano bid

Report: As per The Sun, Liverpool are weighing up a late bid for Bordeaux’s Francois Kamano. Jurgen Klopp and co are said to be considering a £20m deal for the 23-year-old as they look to bring in cover for their attack.

Verdict: Whilst Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are undisputedly Klopp’s first-choice trio in attack, it is always good to have other options. Last season, Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri played the role of back-up options to positive effect, but a third replacement would mean that the German manager has two players in each offensive position should disaster strike. And the Guinea international would not be a bad choice, either. He netted 10 goals in Ligue 1 for his side last term, as well as three in the Europa League. Les Girondins are short at left-wing though so would need to bring in a replacement should Kamano move to Merseyside.

How likely is the deal? 6/10

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Katic said: “At least you didn’t steal it from anyone. Great Job bro”

This, of course, refers to the fact that Goldson pinched Katic’s goalbound effort when it was just about to cross the line in Rangers’ pre-season friendly against Marseille.

Just look at his face.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Alasdair Gold has said Tottenham could well go back in for Paulo Dybala in January, but it all depends on Paris Saint-Germain.

What’s the story?

During a QnA for Football.London, the outlet’s Tottenham correspondent was immediately asked if the club will try again to sign Dybala in the winter transfer window.

“All eyes will be on PSG,” he said, before explaining the situation in more detail.

“Were it not for the image rights mess, Paulo Dybala would be wearing a Tottenham Hotspur shirt right now.

“In an ideal world Spurs would look to return for the Argentine in January or try to do a deal for him in the coming weeks for the player to join in the winter as they work on sorting out the image right problems.”

He then went on to say that a potential deal could hinge on one factor, that being PSG’s interest in the player.

The 25 year-old is at risk of being left out of Juventus’ Champions League squad, says Gold, and PSG could well swoop for him if they lose Neymar, knowing full well they have the cash reserves to solve those pesky image rights issues.

Difference-maker

Make no mistake about it; a January move for Dybala would be sensational for the Lilywhites.

Whatever you think of his sub-par season last term, or the fact that Maurizio Sarri is bizarrely considering leaving such a talented player out of his Champions League squad, this is still a proven winner with experience under the brightest of lights.

He has racked up 78 goals and 30 assists in 182 games for Juve, has played in a Champions League final and has nine major trophies under his belt already, including four league titles.

Considering it was after Christmas that Tottenham fell away from Manchester City and Liverpool last season, signing a proven winner who knows how to stick the ball in the net under pressure could just be the difference-maker to tip them over the edge to becoming legitimate contenders.

If PSG do not complete a deal for the Argentine this summer, a January move should be top of the priority list for Daniel Levy and Mauricio Pochettino.

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This summer, Leeds brought in six players on loan from various clubs. The trouble with that, however, is that only five of them can be included in the matchday squad.

Initially, Eddie Nketiah missed out against Nottingham Forest but after scoring against Salford, Jack Clarke was the unfortunate victim of the five loan ruling against Wigan.

He was left at home as the Whites travelled to the Latics in what was a 2-0 win.

On the face of it, his loan back from Tottenham after a move earlier this summer feels rather worthless, especially if he won’t get the game time and it seems as though Leeds supporters have similar sentiments, sharing their thoughts on the winger.

The 18-year-old was branded a broken man as his temporary switch to Elland Road was described as a pointless loan. Another word to describe the situation was wasted.

One fan expressed his concerns by suggesting that since he’d moved to a Premier League club he’d lost confidence.

Clarke started just four times in the Championship last term, scoring twice and assisting a further two strikes, per WhoScored. His end product has been somewhat unpredictable, completing just 0.4 crosses per 90 minutes throughout 2018/19.

An improvement on that this term seems unlikely if game time continues to be restricted.

Here’s the best of the debate.

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Southampton welcome Fulham to St Mary’s on Tuesday evening in what will be the Saints’ first taste of Carabao Cup action this season, and it could well be a tougher game than it looks on paper.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men recorded their first victory of the season last time out against Brighton, but the Cottagers have also enjoyed a decent start to the campaign under Scott Parker with three wins out of five in the Championship.

The tie will hand Hasenhuttl the chance to get a few fringe players some game time, so let’s take a look at who we think the Austrian will select in his starting lineup…

A much changed lineup from the one that started against the Seagulls, but Hasenhuttl cannot waste this opportunity to get some players up to speed.

We think the former RB Leipzig boss should hand Alex McCarthy a first start of the season.

Ahead of the 29-year-old stopper it would be good to see how summer signing Kevin Danso fares in his natural centre-back position – the loanee played at left-back against Brighton.

Ryan Bertrand was dropped for that game, so he should be handed a chance to prove himself again whilst it would be wise to get Cedric Soares some match fitness under his belt.

Ahead of the midfield two who started against Brighton, we think four players should be given their first starts of the campaign.

£15m summer signing Moussa Djenepo scored his first goal for the club with a screamer at the Amex after coming off the bench, whilst Sofiane Boufal also grabbed an assist in that game as a substitute – both men deserve to start against Fulham on the back of their impressive cameos.

Stuart Armstrong has made two appearances from the bench this term but would benefit from a first start as the likes of Che Adams and Nathan Redmond are rested.

Michael Obafemi, 19, who has one appearance so far this term, should be handed a start to see if he can impress.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

After seeing all the excitement of an opening-day win over rivals Chelsea fade into a distant memory, Manchester United head to Southampton on Saturday with a lot to prove.

The Red Devils’ creditable 1-1 draw away at Wolves was overshadowed by the infamous penalty saga, and all sense of a good start to the Premier League campaign firmly disappeared with an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.

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Heading into the game at St. Mary’s, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must contend with some serious injury concerns as he looks to kick his side back into gear. Keeping that in mind, here is a look at how United could potentially line up against the Saints.

Despite a costly error in the dying stages last time out, David de Gea will remain United’s number one. In front of him, the majority of the back-four should stay the same, but an injury to Luke Shaw will bring about an enforced change. The much-maligned Ashley Young came on as a substitute for the England international at Old Trafford last weekend, and barring an incredible show of faith in teenager Brandon Williams, will likely get the nod at St Mary’s.

For all the drama surrounding Paul Pogba at the moment, the Frenchman has been one of United’s better players in the opening stages of the campaign. He was imperious against Chelsea, and despite his penalty miss at Molineux, came out of the game with some credit. Alongside him, Scott McTominay should keep out Brazil international Fred once more.

Further forward is where Solskjaer could really ring the changes. Jesse Lingard has become a laughing stock for his lack of contribution to the side, and his anonymous performances could finally see him dropped. That decision could see veteran play-maker Juan Mata enter the fray from the start, whilst Anthony Martial’s injury will force a further reshuffle.

Marcus Rashford will surely get the nod to play as the side’s number nine, whilst Daniel James may switch over from the right-flank to a more familiar role on the left-hand side. As such, it could result in just a second league start for 17-year-old prodigy Mason Greenwood. The teenager stole the show on the club’s pre-season tour this summer and has already made himself a firm fan favourite.

If Solskjaer does make these popular changes for the clash on Saturday, there will be no doubting the travelling faithful will feel confident of getting a positive result.

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By all accounts, Real Madrid have not really had the best of starts in their brand new 2019/20 La Liga season.

After the first three games they played, Los Blancos drew two and won only one, leaving them with five points and fifth in the table, above Barcelona but below their city rivals, Atletico Madrid.

And last weekend they travelled away from home to face Villarreal, who proved to be a difficult opponent as Zinedine Zidane’s troops only managed to clinch one point after a 2-2 draw.

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Still, if there was one positive many of the fans would take away from that game, it would definitely be the 24-year-old Ferland Mendy.

The left-back replaced Marcelo in the lineup and made his official debut for Real Madrid. He was purchased from Olympique Lyon just recently and it seems that the fans, so far, are satisfied with what the Frenchman can do.

You can see a collection of tweets below showing their reactions to Mendy’s maiden performance for the Galacticos.