Ex-Villa defender Mellberg retires

Former Aston Villa defender and Sweden international Olof Mellberg has retired after an 18-year career.

The 36-year-old won league titles at AIK Stockholm and Olympiakos and also represented Racing Santander, Juventus, Villarreal and FC Copenhagen.

Mellberg said: “Today I ended my contract with FC Copenhagen, which will be the last in my football career.”

The centre-back was capped 117 times for his country before retiring from international football after Euro 2012.

He spent seven years with Villa, making 263 appearances, before leaving for Juventus in 2008.

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Tottenham to sign £4m defender Dier

Tottenham have agreed to sign Sporting Lisbon defender Eric Dier for £4m, subject to a medical.

The England Under-21 international, who was born in Cheltenham but moved to Portugal as a child, has made 30 appearances for the Lisbon club.

Dier, 20, was unwilling to sign a new contract with Sporting, with Spurs activating a 5m euro clause.

He will become Spurs’ third summer signing after Ben Davies and Michel Vorm from Swansea.

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Lazio sign Dutch defender De Vrij

Italian club Lazio have signed Netherlands centre-back Stefan de Vrij from Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee.

De Vrij, 22, played in all seven matches at the 2014 World Cup as Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands finished third.

The defender had been linked with a move to Manchester United, where he would have reunited with Van Gaal.

De Vrij said:”Lazio really proved that they wanted me and I am very happy I have made this move. I hope to become a more complete defender in Italy.”

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Barca sign £15.8m defender Mathieu

Barcelona have signed Valencia defender Jeremy Mathieu on a four-year deal for a fee of £15.8m.

Mathieu, 30, has won two caps for France and can play at left-back or centre-back.

He will replace former captain Carles Puyol, who has retired from playing after 15 years at the club.

A Barcelona statement said:  “The cost of the transfer of Mathieu is 20m euros and the buyout clause will be 50m euros.”

Mathieu made 126 league appearances in five seasons at Valencia, scoring six times.

Barcelona – who finished second in La Liga last season – have had a busy summer under new coach Luis Enrique.

They broke their transfer record to sign striker Luis Suarez from Liverpool for £75m, and also brought in midfielder Ivan Rakitic from Sevilla.

Goalkeepers Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Claudio Bravo have also arrived, while Cesc Fabregas, Puyol, Victor Valdes, Bojan Krkic and Alexis Sanchez have all left the Nou Camp.

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Defender sent home from Austria

French full-back Kevin Theophile-Catherine has left Cardiff City’s training camp in Austria because of a family bereavement.

Theophile-Catherine, 24, joined the Bluebirds from Rennes in August 2013.

Cardiff players wore black arm bands in their friendly against 1860 Munich out of respect for him and victims of the Malaysian air tragedy.

“We send all our condolences and think about Kevin,” said Cardiff boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“We had sad news, Kevin had to go back home, he lost a family member.

“I had a chat with him and, of course, we sent him home straight away.”

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Newcastle sign defender Janmaat

Netherlands right-back Daryl Janmaat has joined Newcastle United for an undisclosed fee from Feyenoord.

The 24-year-old, who has won 21 caps, becomes manager Alan Pardew’s fifth signing of the summer.

Janmaat underwent a medical at St James’ Park on Tuesday and arrives as a replacement for Mathieu Debuchy, who has completed his move to Arsenal.

“Daryl had an excellent World Cup and we’re looking forward to him continuing that form for Newcastle,” said Pardew.

Janmaat made five appearances at the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Brazil, where the Dutch finished in third place.

Born: 22 July 1989, Leidschendam, Netherlands

Club career: ADO Den Haag (2007-08), Heerenveen (2008-12), Feyenoord (2012-14)

Janmaat is known for his robust defensive qualities and made 79 tackles from 30 appearances in the Eredivisie league during 2013-14.

Pardew added:  “He is the perfect example of a modern full-back.

“He is someone who is good defensively but offers a real threat going forward as well.”

Janmaat made 63 appearances for Feyenoord over the past two seasons.

“This is the perfect club for me and I am looking forward to being with the team and getting started here.”

He is the latest man to join Pardew’s squad following the arrivals of Emmanuel Riviere, Remy Cabella, Siem de Jong, Jack Colback and Ayoze Perez.

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Dundee United sign defender Fojut

Dundee United have signed Polish central defender Jaroslaw Fojut, subject to international clearance.

The 26-year-old has agreed a two-year deal after leaving Norwegian club Tromso.

Fojut began his career at Bolton and had spells on loan at Luton and Stockport before joining Slask Wroclaw in his homeland in 2009.

“He is a commanding player who knows British football from his time at Bolton,” said manager Jackie McNamara.

Talking to the club website,  McNamara added: “Jaroslaw is a strong and aggressive player. He will add to our defence and I am delighted to have secured him.

“We now have strong competition in the central defensive area of our squad and that was something we knew we had to address this pre-season.”

In January 2012 Fojut signed a pre-contract agreement to move to Celtic, but the deal was cancelled after the player suffered a cruciate ligament injury.

Dundee United have also signed defender Callum Morris on a two-year deal after his contract with Dunfermline expired but they lost Gavin Gunning to Birmingham under freedom of contract.

The Tannadice club recently failed with a bid for Mansfield Town defender Ryan Tafazolli.

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Defender Hughes joins Brighton

Brighton & Hove Albion have signed former Newcastle, Aston Villa and Fulham defender Aaron Hughes following his departure from QPR.

The 34-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the Championship club and becomes Sami Hyypia’s first signing following his appointment as manager.

Hughes joined QPR in January and made 11 appearances for the R’s.

“We wanted to bring another experienced defender and Aaron fits the bill,” Hyypia told the club website. 

Hughes, who has won 90 international caps for Northern Ireland, began his career at Newcastle and made his first-team debut in 1997.

He joined Aston Villa in 2005 and then moved on to Fulham two years later. Hughes has made a total of 466 league appearances during the course of his career.

1997-2005: Newcastle United (279 appearances)

2005-2007: Aston Villa (64 appearances)

2007-January 2014: Fulham (250 appearances)

Jan-Jul 2014: QPR (11 appearances)

“I have played against Aaron a few times during my time at Liverpool and also for Finland, and I know his qualities and what he will give us,” Hyypia added.

“He has a very good footballing pedigree, is an intelligent player, and he has a great mentality and a good approach to the game.

“He has that experience I wanted to bring into the squad which, alongside our other senior players, will help our younger players continue to develop.

“Overall we still have some work to do in terms of recruitment, and we are all working hard to do that.”

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Fulham sign Swiss defender Voser

Championship club Fulham have signed Basel defender Kay Voser for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old has agreed a two-year contract at Craven Cottage, with an option for a further year.

The former Switzerland Under-21 international began his senior career at Grasshopper Club Zurich and moved on to Basel in 2011.

Voser made 28 league appearances last season and featured eight times in the Champions League.

He is Fulham’s fourth signing following their relegation from the Premier League.

Centre-back Shaun Hutchinson, striker Adam Taggart and right-back Tim Hoogland joined the west London club last month.

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