Papers: Rodri pushing for Real Madrid move
McInnes targets 'two or three' signings before Rangers' season opener
Rangers boss Derek McInnes speaking after pre-season friendly win over Saint Ettiene:
"It is clearly a team we want to strengthen. Those conversations have been had with the recruitment team and the board. We are actively working to try and get things done.
"Ideally before West Ham on Sunday, but certainly if we can get two or three things done before next week's game that will help us.
"I don't think there's any team that are going to get everything they want, certainly ahead of the first game of the season. The transfer window goes on for a few weeks yet.
"I'm enjoying the players we've got. They're working extremely hard, but there are obviously clear areas we can try and identify and improve on. I'm confident if we get the ones we've looked at, they will help our cause this season."
Aberdeen interested in Hibs' Cadden
Latest from Your Site News' Anthony Joseph:
Aberdeen have expressed an interest in Hibernian right-back Chris Cadden.
The Dons are looking to strengthen in that position and have identified the Scotland international as one of their main targets.
Cadden, 29, joined Hibs in 2021 from Columbus Crew.
He has one year left on his contract.
New signings shine, absentees and exciting youth - Spurs kickstart pre-season
Tottenham made a winning start to pre-season with a 1-0 victory over newly-promoted League One side MK Dons at Hotspur Way.
The win came courtesy of a stunning volleyed goal from new Spurs signing Mateus Fernandes.
He was one of three summer arrivals on display as Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi used 21 players across the 90 minutes.
Here Your Site' Declan Olley assesses Spurs' first pre-season friendly
MLS investigating Inter Miami over 'tampering allegations'
Major League Soccer have said they are investigating Inter Miami over allegations of tampering which could impact the signing of Casemiro.
winner - who left Manchester United at the end of last season - on a deal through the 2027 MLS Sprint campaign, with an option to extend to June 2029.
Yet the league then said in a statement that it had launched an investigation and was gathering all relevant information and would refrain from further comment until the review was complete.
MLS confirmed Inter Miami and LA Galaxy had reached a settlement over Casemiro's Discovery Priority rights, but said the terms "will be released upon conclusion of the tampering investigation".
Under MLS rules, clubs must negotiate discovery rights with any team that previously listed a player before signing him outside the draft or free agency. The Galaxy had held rights to Casemiro before he opted to join Miami instead.
The league did not specify potential penalties or a timeline for when the investigation might conclude.
In their statement announcing the signing, Inter Miami said the club had acquired his discovery rights from the Galaxy as part of the deal.
LA Galaxy said on social media platform X that they had "reached a settlement for the Discovery priority to sign Casemiro, and the terms will be released upon conclusion of the tampering investigation currently open with Major League Soccer."
Swansea closing in on Opoku
Latest from Your Site News' Anthony Joseph:
Swansea City are closing in on the signing of Zulte Waregem winger Joseph Opoku.
Its understood the clubs have agreed a deal in the region of 6m, plus add-ons.
Opoku, 20, has completed a medical with the club at their pre-season training base in Austria.
The Ghana U20 international scored 10 goals and provided six assists in all competitions last season.
Just completes Swansea move
Elijah Just has completed his move to Swansea from Scottish Premiership side Motherwell.
The New Zealand international has joined in a move worth 6m plus add-ons and has put pen to paper on a three-year contract.
Speaking to the club's media, head coach Vitor Matos said:
"We're very excited to bring Elijah into the team. He can play in more than one position and his versatility will be a great fit in the side.
"Elijah joins us after performing well in all aspects of our recruitment process, and after a brilliant performance at the World Cup and we are very happy to have him with us."
Why UEFA rules make Garnacho move complicated
Latest from Your Site News' James Savundra:
The deal for Alejandro Garnacho to move from Chelsea to Aston Villa is not a straightforward one.
Both clubs were recently fined by UEFA for breaching financial sustainability regulations. They are walking a fine tightrope to avoid further heavier sanctions. Last year, Chelsea entered a four-year settlement agreement with UEFA and therefore remain subject to UEFA's stricter financial guidelines - despite not being in European competition this season.
Villa were able to bank an enormous profit from yesterday's sale of Morgan Rogers to Chelsea. A profit which will go a long way to ensuring they are compliant with both UEFA and Premier League's differing financial constraints this season. But the club also need to rebuild their squad following multiple departures to ensure they are ready to compete on all fronts this season.
Alejandro Garnacho was made available for transfer by Chelsea this summer. Villa were looking for a winger. Unai Emery admired the Argentinian. A permanent deal would seem straightforward.
However, that would compromise Villa when it comes to booking that huge British transfer record fee from Chelsea. That's because of UEFA guidelines which - to simplify slightly - deem that two players being transferred in opposite directions counts as a 'player exchange transaction' if a) they are concluded in 45 days of each other and b) have the same or similar payment obligations, deadlines or dates.
If the Garnacho and Rogers deals were deemed as a single player exchange transaction, then Villa's profit would be reduced in UEFA calculations to the net difference in fees. Chelsea were seeking 42.6m for Garnacho this summer. Easy to see how much of a chunk that would take out of the Rogers profit.
So how about a loan with an obligation to buy? A mechanism that allows Chelsea to guarantee they achieve a permanent sale but circumvents the player exchange transaction rules. Sadly, that wouldn't work either. UEFA are clamping down on the multitude of loopholes that previously existed. They deem that if a 'condition is considered to be virtually certain, then the player's registration must be recognised by both clubs as a permanent transfer from the inception of the loan agreement'. Therefore, we'd still have a player exchange transaction.
So, the deal struck today for Garnacho to join Villa appears to work for all parties - sort of. Chelsea believe the conditions to make Garnacho's move to Villa permanent are 'easily achievable'.
However, there still remains a small risk for the Blues. There has to be enough jeopardy in the deal to ensure UEFA are satisfied that a permanent move is not a foregone conclusion from the outset. The Blues will hope there's no repeat of what happened to Harvey Elliott at Villa Park last season. A talented player left warming the bench as his main employers watch his future selling price plummet.
Therefore, seeing a resurgent Alejandro Garnacho flying down the left wing in claret and blue will be a good sight for both Villa and Chelsea.
