Southampton have announced the signing of Ben Brereton Diaz from Villarreal for a reported fee of £7million.
Brereton Diaz, who featured in all three of Chile's Copa America fixtures last month, has signed a four-year contract at St. Mary's.
The 25-year-old ends a torrid spell with Villarreal, having failed to score in his first 20 appearances following his move from Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer last year.
Brereton Diaz spent the second half of last season on loan with Sheffield United, scoring six goals in his 14 Premier League outings.
During his time at Bramall Lane, he accumulated the second-highest expected goals (xG) within the Blades' squad (6.07), a total only bettered by Oli McBurnie (6.89) who played in seven more games and scored the same number of goals.
Southampton were on the hunt for attacking reinforcements following the departure of Che Adams to Torino last week, with the Scotland international leaving the club having scored 48 goals and adding 20 assists in 191 appearances for the Saints.
“I’m absolutely buzzing. It’s been smooth these past couple of days, and I’m happy to get everything sorted and signed. I’m really excited to meet everyone, it’s great to be involved with this great club," Brereton Diaz said.
“Watching the club when I was younger, it was always in the Premier League. Obviously last season, the way the team played, they went down but they bounced straight back up as a team.
"Also the gaffer as well – everything has aligned together, and I think it’s an amazing club. I can’t wait to get started.”
Brereton Diaz becomes Russell Martin's eighth arrival this transfer window following the signings of Adam Lallana, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Charlie Taylor, Ronnie Edwards, Nathan Wood, Yukinari Sugawara and Flynn Downes.
MFCR Old Road Jets win first ever SKNFA FA Cup title
MFCR Old Road United Jets clinched their first ever FA Cup title after defeating defending champions S L Horsfords St. Paul’s United 2-0 in the 2024 FA Cup finals at the National Bank Group of Companies Technical Center in St. Peters.
The goalscoring started off with a stunning Kendale Liburd strike from within the 18-yard box to give Old Road the lead in the 21st minute before Tiquanny Williams sealed the win in the 85th minute. Petrez Williams of St. Pauls was sent off in the 83rd min after receiving a red card.
This is Old Road’s second silverware in their history after winning Division 1 title some years ago when they earned promotion to the Premier League.
Coach Alexis Morris of Old Road was a guest recently on Island Tea morning show on WINN FM, where he said this victory is a great feat of the team and the community.
“It’s another great feat. Never before has that team won any silverware of that magnitude,” Morris said. With this victory, Old Road are now focusing on the Final Four playoffs with an aim to win the NBGC Premier League title.
Everton complete O'Brien signing from Lyon
Jake O'Brien has become Everton's fifth signing of the transfer window after his reported £16.43million switch from Lyon was confirmed on Tuesday.
O'Brien, who made 27 Ligue 1 appearances last season, has penned a four-year contract at Goodison Park ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
The Republic of Ireland international scored five goals in all competitions last term, including in Lyon's Coupe de France final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in May.
The 23-year-old defender kept seven clean sheets from his league outings last season, and will provide another solid defensive option for the Toffees next season.
O'Brien won 44 of his 69 contested aerial duels for Lyon, a total only bettered by his central defensive partner Duje Caleta-Car (57).
"I’m buzzing and so happy to have signed for Everton," O’Brien said.
"I've been dreaming of this kind of move in the Premier League, with such a historic club. It's a very exciting move for me.
"Everton is a huge club with a lot of history behind it and there's a big future as well.
"When the transfer window opened there were other clubs in for me but there was only one club I wanted to go to – it was Everton.
"They’ve shown the faith in me so now it's my turn to show why on the pitch."
Ukraine 0-2 Argentina: Almada and Echeverri on target but Albiceleste forced to settle for second in Group B
Thiago Almada and Claudio Echeverri helped Argentina secure a 2-0 win over Ukraine, but were forced to settle for second place in Group B at the Paris Olympics.
Argentina were among the pre-tournament favourites to win a third gold medal, and their individual quality in the final third ultimately shone through in Lyon.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, Argentina struck just two minutes after the break as Almada sent a curling effort beyond the grasp of Kiril Fesiun.
Ukraine threatened to snatch a point in the closing stages, but Echeverri secured the win in the first minute of injury time as he was quickest to react to Kevin Zenon's spilled effort.
But in the other game in Group B, Morocco swept aside Iraq as they emerged 3-0 victors, notching six points from their three games to top the group ahead of Javier Mascherano's side.
Argentina will face the winners of Group A in the last 16, which will be one of France, New Zealand or the United States.
Data Debrief: Argentina's individual quality the difference
Almada's stunning strike came with an expected goals (xG) of 0.03, once again showcasing his quality that has seen him shine for Atlanta United in the MLS this season.
Despite being the tournament's oldest player, Nicolas Otamendi showcased his experience at the back to help Argentina secure the victory.
The 36-year-old had the most touches (96), more accurate passes (85) and highest pass accuracy (97.7%) than anyone on the pitch.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
