 "Football transfer roundup: Marseille sign Kondogbia, Loftus-Cheek joins AC Milan, Barca release Umtiti")
Marseille have signed former France midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia from Atletico Madrid, the Ligue 1 club announced on Friday. The 30-year-old, who now represents the Central African Republic internationally, has reportedly signed a four-year deal. Kondogbia will team up again with new Marseille coach Marcelino, with whom he won the Spanish Copa del Rey while playing for Valencia in 2019. He spent three seasons with Atletico after leaving Valencia, winning the La Liga title with Diego Simeone’s men in 2021. Kondogbia made five appearances in friendlies for the France national side between 2013 and 2015 before switching allegiance. Loftus-Cheek signs for AC Milan from Chelsea Ruben Loftus-Cheek has signed for AC Milan from Chelsea, the Serie A club announced on Friday. Midfielder Loftus-Cheek arrives at Milan for a reported fee of around 21 million euros ($22.8 million) after spending his entire career as a Chelsea player, apart from two loan spells at Crystal Palace and Fulham. Milan said in a statement that Loftus-Cheek has signed a four-year contract which Italian media report is worth four million euros a season. The 27-year-old joins fellow England international and Chelsea Academy graduate Fikayo Tomori at the San Siro. He will replace Italy’s Sandro Tonali, who is set to move to Newcastle for around 80 million euros as Milan take a new direction without Paolo Maldini. Milan icon Maldini was sacked from his role as technical director alongside sporting director Frederic Massara earlier this month, a move which angered fans. Loftus-Cheek has 10 international caps although he hasn’t featured for England since 2018. He will not be the only Chelsea youth product to leave this summer as Mason Mount is set for a big-money move to Manchester United. Chelsea swoop for Jackson from Villarreal
Chelsea’s new-look strikeforce is taking shape after the Blues confirmed the signing of Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal on Friday. The Senegal international has signed an eight-year deal at Stamford Bridge after impressing in La Liga last season with 12 goals in 26 appearances. Jackson, 22, will cost a reported £32 million ($47 million). Chelsea’s co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: “We are excited to welcome Nicolas to Chelsea. He is a young player with big potential, as he showcased for Villarreal last season. “We believe he is ready for this next step in his career and look forward to him working with our new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, and his Chelsea teammates.” Chelsea have been busy in the first few weeks of the transfer window as they were forced to move on a number of players to meet financial fair play regulations after splashing over £500 million on new signings last season. Kai Havertz has crossed London to join Arsenal, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly joined the exodus of stars from Europe to Saudi Arabia, while Ruben Loftus-Cheek joined AC Milan on Friday. A deal has also been agreed between Chelsea and Manchester United for the sale of Mason Mount. However, they have also reinforced a blunt attack with Jackson set to battle French international Christopher Nkunku for the role as Pochettino’s first-choice number nine next season. Chelsea finished 12th in the Premier League last season, their lowest placing since 1994. Barcelona release Umtiti Barcelona have released injury-prone Samuel Umtiti from their squad before his contract term until the 2025/26 season. The Frenchman had joined the Spanish giants in 2016 from Lyon but after a stop-start progress at Camp Nou, he had been loaned to Lecce last season. He played 25 games for the Serie A side while also scoring four goals. “With two league titles and three cups, Samuel Umtiti is now severing ties completely with Barça, but will be taking away memories as fond as those that the club will have of him,” said Barcelona in a statement. Inter confirm Skriniar departure ahead of PSG switch Slovakia’s captain Milan Skriniar will leave Inter Milan as a free agent ahead of a move to Paris Saint-Germain after the Serie A club confirmed his departure on Friday. “Six seasons full of victories and accomplishments: here ends Milan Skriniar’s adventure in the Inter shirt,” Inter said in a short statement. Skriniar’s Inter contract expires on Friday, after which he will be free to move to French champions PSG. The 28-year-old won the 2021 Serie A title, two Italian Cups and two Italian Super Cups with Inter, who were also losing Champions League finalists earlier this month. Skriniar hasn’t played for Inter since March and had spinal surgery the following month. He missed a thrilling end to the season which also included victory over city rivals AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final. Relations between player and club had become strained at the turn of the year. Inter failed to sell him to PSG in the January transfer window and stripped him of the captaincy in February after he refused to renew his contract. (with inputs from AFP) Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .