Transfer news: Koundé to play for Barça for five years | Football

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sport">MONDAY 1 AUGUST

Koundé signs with FC Barcelona for five years

sport">1.35 pm: FC Barcelona has completed the arrival of Jules Koundé. The French defender signed a five-year contract on Monday, with a limited lump sum of 1 billion euros. According to Spanish media, Barcelona will pay around 50 million euros to take over the 23-year-old Koundé from Seville.

sport">“I chose Barca because it is a club with a very ambitious project,” said the 11-time France international, who confirmed that he could also go to top English club Chelsea. “But I waited for Barcelona to reach an agreement with Sevilla, because I wanted to go to this club from the beginning.”

sport">President Joan Laporta described Koundé as “a top-class player.” Koundé played football for Sevilla for three years, before that he played for Girondins Bordeaux in his own country. The defender won the Europa League in 2020 with Sevilla and the Nations League with France last year.

sport">Koundé is the third major purchase from Barcelona this summer after attackers Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha. Together they cost about 150 million euros. In addition, Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen came to Camp Nou on a free transfer. Barcelona’s spending pattern raises many questions in the football world, due to the financial problems that the club has been struggling with for some time. For example, Frenkie de Jong would have to be satisfied with a significant salary reduction if he wants to continue playing football at Barcelona.

sport">SUNDAY 31 JULY

Leipzig takes over defender Raum from Hoffenheim

sport">12:55 pm RB Leipzig has taken over defender David Raum from Hoffenheim. The 24-year-old left back signed a contract with the cup winner from Leipzig until June 30, 2027. He must replace former PSV player Angeliño, who will probably leave the club.

sport">According to German media, Leipzig will pay about 30 million euros for the German international, who still had a contract with Hoffenheim until mid-2025. “The club has made a lot of effort for me and the conversations with trainer Domenico Tedesco and general manager Oliver Mintzlaff quickly convinced that the move to Leipzig is the right one for me,” said the defender. “Here I can develop further in an ideal environment.”

sport">The day before, RB Leipzig lost the match for the German Supercup 5-3 to national champions Bayern Munich. Dutch footballers Matthijs de Ligt and Ryan Gravenberch made their official debut for Bayern in that match as substitutes.

Peter van den Berg youth trainer at Willem II

sport">11:30 am Peter van den Berg (50) is the new trainer of Willem II’s under 21. In that position, he succeeds Bruno Andrade, who will become assistant trainer at the Belgian Lommel.

sport">Van den Berg played football at Feyenoord, Vitesse and AZ, among others, and acted as head coach at RKC Waalwijk for a few years. After that he was trainer of Jong Feyenoord, assistant at Saudi Arabia under 20 and youth trainer at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

sport">SATURDAY JULY 30

FC Barcelona let defender Mingueza go to RC Celta

sport">10:22 PM: Defender Óscar Mingueza leaves FC Barcelona. The 23-year-old Spaniard, who until now only played football for the Catalans, switches to RC Celta from Vigo. Barcelona reports that Mingueza only has to pass the medical examination.

sport">Trainer Ronald Koeman let Mingueza make his debut in the first of Barcelona at the end of 2020. He then played 65 more official games, 19 of which were in the league last season. The defender made his debut in the national team of Spain last year.

FC Emmen sells midfielder El Azzouzi to Union

sport">5:26 p.m.: FC Emmen has sold Oussama El Azzouzi to Union, the number 2 in Belgium last season. The 21-year-old defensive midfielder played 36 games for the champion of the Kitchen Champion Division last season. El Azzouzi came over from FC Groningen a year ago and still had a contract for one year in Drenthe.

sport">“Oussama played in the starting eleven last season and with his dynamic as ‘6’ has attracted the attention of larger clubs,” said Emmen chairman Ronald Lubbers. “On Thursday the clubs reached an agreement on the conditions and after that Oussama traveled to Brussels to personally reach an agreement.” The Dutchman has signed a contract in Belgium for four seasons, with an option for another year.

sport">At the beginning of next month, Union will play in the third preliminary round of the Champions League against the Rangers FC of coach Giovanni van Bronckhorst. For Union, it will be the first European matches in 58 years.

Arsenal rent left back Nuno Tavares to Olympique Marseille

sport">12:18 pmArsenal will loan Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares to Olympique Marseille next season. The 22-year-old Tavares came over from Benfica last year.

sport">The defender made 28 appearances for Arsenal last season, which recently signed Oleksandr Zinchenko from Ukraine. The left back came over from Manchester City.

sport">Olympique Marseille finished second in France last season and will therefore play in the Champions League next season.

Heerenveen lets Van der Heide go to Roda JC

sport">11.10 am: SC Heerenveen lets Arjen van der Heide go to first divisionist Roda JC. The 20-year-old attacker, from the Frisian youth academy, has signed for three years in Kerkrade.

sport">“First of all, we would like to thank Arjen for his efforts at SC Heerenveen. He played here all his youth and eventually made it to the first team. That’s something to be proud of. This season, Arjen didn’t seem to have much perspective on playing minutes. It is therefore good for his own development to take another step now,” said Ferry de Haan, SC Heerenveen’s technical manager.

sport">Van der Heide played forty matches for SC Heerenveen.

sport">FRIDAY 29 JULY

Fortuna Sittard rents midfielder Musaba to TOP Oss

sport">2:33 pm: Fortuna Sittard will rent midfielder Richie Musaba to TOP Oss next season. “With increased competition in midfield, Musaba at TOP Oss will have the opportunity to make flying hours,” Fortuna writes.

sport">Musaba recently extended his expiring contract in Sittard until mid-2023, with an option for two extra seasons. “With the renewed contract in his pocket, the 21-year-old Gelderlander leaves on a rental basis for the club from the Kitchen Champion Division,” the club reports.

sport">The midfielder came to Fortuna Sittard in 2020. At the time, he was immediately placed with FC Dordrecht, for which he played 36 times.

Dani Mathieu signs with Willem II

sport">10:21 am: Dani Mathieu has signed a two-year contract with Willem II. The brother of TOP Oss player Justin Mathieu was trained by PSV. There he was plagued by many injuries. In 2020, the Tilburger made the switch to Willem II. In the practice campaign he left such a good impression that trainer Kevin Hofland wanted to keep him in the A-selection. This eventually resulted in a two-year agreement.

sport">THURSDAY 28 JULY

RKC hires Lobete from Celta

sport">8.28 pm: Julen Lobete can be admired at RKC Waalwijk next season. The forward of Celta de Vigo is rented for one season.

sport">Lobete (21) was trained by Real Sociedad, but was bought by Celta this summer. That club rents him directly to RKC.

FC Barcelona agree with Sevilla about the arrival of defender Koundé

sport">7:20 p.m.: FC Barcelona has received the desired reinforcement in the defense. The Catalan club reports on Thursday that it has reached an agreement in principle with Sevilla about the arrival of French international Jules Koundé, who still has to undergo a medical examination.

sport">The 23-year-old defender played for three years for Sevilla, which took him over from Girondins de Bordeaux in 2019 for 25 million euros. Koundé also went through the youth academy at that club.

sport">Spanish media report that Barcelona is paying around 50 million euros for Koundé, who was also in the interest of Chelsea. That amount can rise to 60 million due to bonuses.

sport">Barcelona strengthened itself earlier this transfer window with Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessié and Andreas Christensen.

SC Cambuur gets Bergsma and sees Kallon leave

sport">5:23 pm Leon Bergsma returns to the Netherlands. The 25-year-old central defender will play for SC Cambuur for the next three seasons, which will take over from Swiss club FC Aarau.

sport">Bergsma went through Ajax’s youth academy and in 2018 he won the title in the First Division with Jong Ajax. He then left for AZ, where he failed to make a breakthrough. After a rental period at FC Den Bosch, Bergsma moved to Aarau in 2020. The captain played almost eighty matches for that club.

sport">“Central defenders who are comfortable on the ball and who also naturally take on a leadership role on the field are rare and Leon is certainly one of those,” says technical manager Foeke Booy.

sport">Issa Kallon leaves SC Cambuur after five seasons. The attacker, who played 156 games for the Frisian club, continues his football career with the Chinese club Shanghai Port FC.

FC Groningen strengthens itself with Norwegian youth international

sport">4:16 PM FC Groningen has strengthened the selection with Isak Määttä. The 20-year-old Norwegian youth international comes from his own country from the club Aalesunds FK. Määttä, a left defender, signs a contract with FC Groningen for four seasons.

sport">Määttä played more than fifty league games for Aalesunds, scoring five goals. “By attracting Isak, we have now doubled the left back position and two young talented defenders, Määttä and Yahya Kalley, can compete with each other,” says technical director Mark-Jan Fledderus of FC Groningen.

Willem II also strictly midfielder Jesse Bosch

sport">2:00 p.m. Reinforcement again for Willem II. Midfielder Jesse Bosch, who left FC Twente free of transfer, will start working in Tilburg if he passes the medical examination.

sport">Willem II is making a significant impact on the transfer market with Lucas Woudenberg, Kostas Lamprou, Jeremy Bokila, Erik Schouten and Matthias Verreth as acquisitions.

Atlético Madrid take over Molina from Udinese

sport">13.00: Atlético Madrid have reached an agreement with Udinese on the acquisition of Nahuel Molina. The Argentine defender signs a five-year contract with the club from the Spanish capital.

sport">Molina (24) has played football for the club from the Italian Serie A in the past two seasons. He made 68 games in which he scored ten times and was good for seven assists.

sport">Molina usually plays as a right back, but can also play on the left. He started his youth career with Boca Juniors, where he played nine times in the main squad. After periods in Argentina with Defensa y Justicia and Rosario Central, he left for Europe in 2020. His performance at Udinese also earned him a selection for the Argentina national football team. Molina has now played seventeen international matches.

ADO Den Haag rents defender Hall from Feyenoord

sport">12:06 pm: Denzel Hall will play football for ADO Den Haag next season. The club from the Kitchen Champion Division rents the 21-year-old defender for a year from Feyenoord, where he went through the entire youth academy.

sport">Hall made his official debut for Feyenoord last season. He appeared in two league matches, both times as a substitute. In the youth of the Rotterdam club he already played under Dirk Kuyt, the new head coach of ADO.

sport">“The conversations with the club and the trainer gave me a good feeling and I am convinced that this is the right step for my career at the moment,” says the right back on the ADO Den Haag website.

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