Lee Johnson believes Hibernian have added “craft” and “nous” to their attack after signing veteran striker Adam Le Fondre on an initial one-year contract.

The 36-year-old Englishman, who has amassed 273 career goals, joins the cinch Premiership club after recently leaving Australian side Sydney, where he spent the majority of the past five years.

Prior to moving to the A-League in 2018, Le Fondre played for a range of English clubs, with his most prolific spells coming at Rochdale, Rotherham and Reading, where he played under Hibs’ current director of football, Brian McDermott.

“Adam brings craft to our new frontline and his experience and nous in the game will help develop our younger strikers,” boss Johnson told the Hibs website.

“Throughout his career he has a proven goal-scoring record and physically he’s in good shape. We look forward to working with him.”

The arrival of Le Fondre will help fill the void left by Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet, who was sold to Millwall last weekend. Hibs have the option to extend Le Fondre’s contract by a further year if they wish.

Dundee have signed “old-school” Mexican defender Antonio Portales, subject to the granting of a visa and international clearance.

The 27-year-old centre-back moves to Dens Park from Atlante, a second-tier side in his homeland.

The former Oaxaca, San Luis and Monterrey player made 45 appearances and scored nine goals in the season just finished, and recently-appointed manager Tony Docherty is delighted to add Portales to the Dark Blues squad as they prepare for their return to the cinch Premiership.

“The club were made aware of Antonio and our recruitment team watched him extensively,” Docherty told the Dundee website. “We then all agreed that he would make a great addition to our playing squad.

“He is someone who enjoys defending, he is a bit old-school in terms that he enjoys defending.

“He is effective in both boxes and has real ability to play out from the back. He displays real passion and desire in his performances and I think this is something that will really relate to the Dundee fans.”

Goalkeeper Elliott Parish has left St Johnstone after a four-year stint with the club.

The 33-year-old joined Saints from Dundee in 2019 and predominantly served as the Perth team’s back-up before taking on goalkeeping coach duties midway through the season just finished.

“Everyone at St Johnstone wishes Elliott all the best in his future career and thanks him for his service to the club,” Saints said as they confirmed his departure on Friday.

Parish made 27 appearances, the last of which came last December.

The former Bristol City, Blackpool and Colchester keeper was on the bench as understudy to Zander Clark for both finals as Saints won an historic League Cup and Scottish Cup double in 2021, while he made one appearance in the earlier rounds of each competition.

Former Dundee United manager Liam Fox has returned to boyhood club Hearts as their B Team coach.

The 39-year-old takes over the role of managing the club’s youngsters in the Lowland League after Steven Naismith recently stepped up to take charge of the first team.

Fox, a childhood supporter who came through the Jambos’ academy as a player, previously spent five and a half years coaching Hearts’ under-17s, under-20s, reserves and first team before leaving in the summer of 2020.

He returns to Tynecastle at the end of an eventful campaign in which he had a chastening five-month spell as Dundee United boss before joining Barry Robson’s backroom staff at Aberdeen from March until the end of the season.

“I’m delighted to be back at Hearts and already looking forward to getting started,” Fox told the Jambos’ website.

“This club means a lot to me and has done ever since I became a supporter as a young boy. It was an honour to come through the academy system as a player and start my coaching career here, and it is a privilege to be able to come back and take over as B Team head coach.

“Away from Hearts I’ve gained a lot of experience at different top-flight clubs in a variety of coaching roles and I feel perfectly placed to bring those skills to the B Team, as well as younger age group players and coaches within the academy.

“The club has a pathway to the first team for young players. The opportunity to be involved is there for them but they have to work hard every single day to earn it.

“My job is drive them forward, support them and get the best out of them, not only for their benefit but for the benefit of Heart of Midlothian Football Club.”

Sporting Director Joe Savage welcomed the return of Fox. “The role of B Team manager is a very important component in the football department,” he said.

“We needed someone who has a history of developing talent and improving players. Liam had displayed much of that in his time here previously, and that’s been supplemented with the experience he picked up along the away at Livingston, Dundee United and Aberdeen.

“When we were looking for someone to fill the role, Liam was our first target, so we’re delighted to get him.”

Chelsea midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko has been released following the expiry of his contract, the club has confirmed.

The 28-year-old was signed by former manager Antonio Conte shortly after the team’s last Premier League title triumph in 2017 but had not played for the club since the end of his first season.

He has since spent time on loan at AC Milan – with whom he won the Serie A title in 2022 – Napoli and former club Monaco.

He arrived at Stamford Bridge in a £40million deal after helping Monaco to a surprise Ligue 1 title success, having been part of the team that also featured Kylian Mbappe and Bernardo Silva.

The side managed by Leonardo Jardin knocked out Manchester City in the last-16 of the Champions League en route to a semi-final exit to Juventus.

But the midfielder, who won one cap for France in 2017, failed to live up to the expectation that accompanied his arrival.

His most memorable moment in blue came during the 2018 FA Cup final when he played the full 90 minutes as Conte’s side ran out 1-0 winners against Manchester United to lift the trophy.

Another 12 players to have come through Chelsea’s academy have also left the club according to a list released by the Premier League, including goalkeeper Nathan Baxter who played 12 times in the Championship on loan at Hull last season.

Brighton have announced the signing of German midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud from Borussia Dortmund.

The 27-year-old will join Albion on a four-year contract on July 1 following the expiry of his deal with the Bundesliga club.

Syria-born Dahoud, who was capped twice by Germany in 2020, becomes the Premier League side’s third signing of the summer following deals for Joao Pedro and James Milner.

Seagulls head coach Roberto De Zerbi told his club’s website: “I’m excited to have Mahmoud in my team.

“I wanted him when I was at Sassuolo and I’m sure he is going to be a top player for us.”

Dahoud began his career with Borussia Monchengladbach before moving to Dortmund in 2017.

He went on to make 141 appearances for this season’s Bundesliga runners-up, although his game time was restricted after he had surgery on his shoulder last summer.

Brighton technical director David Weir said: “We’re delighted to bring Mahmoud to the club, his quality and ability will really add to the options available to Roberto.

“He’s a quality player, he’s got lots of experience playing at a high level in Germany with great experience in Europe too.”

Manuel Lanzini will leave West Ham when his contract expires at the end of June.

The Argentinian midfielder joined the Hammers from United Arab Emirates side Al Jazira in the summer of 2015 and has made 226 appearances, scoring 32 goals.

Lanzini’s most memorable moment was his long-range equaliser at Tottenham in 2020 as West Ham came from 3-0 down to snatch a 3-3 draw.

The 30-year-old has been linked with a return to Argentina and former club River Plate.

Manager David Moyes told the club website: “Manu is a fantastic professional, a really good lad, and whichever club he joins will have an excellent player on their hands.

“We are sorry to see him go, but he deserves the opportunity to play more regularly elsewhere, and we wish him well in his next adventure.”

Norway manager Stale Solbakken joked that if Jack Grealish could train for England then he has no cause to worry about Erling Haaland’s treble celebrations ahead of Saturday’s clash with Scotland.

Solbakken understood the need for Haaland to revel in his success with Manchester City after last weekend’s Champions League final.

Solbakken has taken it easy with Haaland this week, more concerned with ensuring the striker recharges, and believes a homecoming welcome will lift his star man during the Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo.

City celebrated in Ibiza after their Istanbul success against Inter before continuing the party on a bus parade in Manchester on Monday with Grealish throwing himself wholeheartedly into the fun.

When asked what the Norwegian people made of the scenes ahead of a big international, Solbakken said: “I think everyone understands that and I also think it’s a good idea to do that.

“Because, no matter how good you are, if you say (Pep) Guardiola is the best manager in the world and he has managed to do this treble once in Spain, once time in England, even when he had the best players representing the biggest clubs with the biggest budgets, you could think this would happen more often. But it doesn’t because it’s so, so difficult.

“And I don’t think you can postpone a celebration like that. You can’t say ‘let’s meet up in the summer when these national games are over and we party’. It’s not the same because the excitement is a little bit out of your body and you have to do it then.

“When he came here, he didn’t look like he had gone the Grealish way. If Grealish managed to train for England the first time, he should also manage to do it for us.”

Only one of Haaland’s 53 goals this season has come on the international stage but the 22-year-old has not played for his country since September and Solbakken believes an excited home crowd will help him overcome his heavy schedule.

“The biggest gift in that is the love the crowd will give him because it’s a long time since he has played in Norway and he didn’t participate in the two internationals earlier this year,” the former Wolves and Copenhagen manager said.

“Obviously the Norwegian people have seen him on telly for a long time without seeing him live. I think he has had one game here in a year.

“So that will probably pump him up and give him the five to 10 per cent he probably lacks due to the programme he has been through and all the feelings and emotions he has been through as well.”

Haaland was missed in March as Norway took one point from their opening two Group A games against Spain and Georgia, while Scotland sealed maximum return.

On the game, Solbakken said: “It’s more crucial for us than Scotland of course but no matter what, before the group started, this would always have been a key game.

“But it’s more that Scotland have had a really great start. I think we played two really good games but what messed it up a little bit, even though we only got one point, is that Scotland beat Spain.

“That means it looks much better for us if we can beat you and everyone is beating each other. If we win, also Spain are in trouble, because it’s two teams who can catch them.”

Reading have been charged by the EFL with multiple breaches of its financial regulations for repeatedly failing to pay their players in the 2022-23 season.

The charges relate to three separate occasions on which players’ wages were not paid on time and in full as the team were relegated from the Championship.

Owner Dai Yongge has also been charged with allowing the club to be in breach of the EFL’s financial rules.

Reading were docked six points in April for breaking profit and sustainability rules which ultimately led to them finishing in the bottom three and dropping into League One.

Manager Paul Ince was sacked later that month with the club on a winless run of eight games.

He was replaced by interim boss Noel Hunt who failed to win any of his five matches in charge.

An EFL statement read: “The charges relate to the club failing to meet their obligations to pay its players’ wages on time and in full on or around 31 October 2022, 30 November 2022 and 28 April 2023.

“Yongge Dai, the club’s owner, has also been charged with causing the club to be in breach of EFL regulations despite his commitment to fund the cash requirements of the club.

“The club and Mr Dai have until 4pm on Thursday 29 June 2023 to respond to the charges.”

QPR director of football Les Ferdinand has stepped down from the role.

Ferdinand, 56, spent eight years as a player at the club and returned to Loftus Road in 2014, initially as head of football operations.

QPR were relegated from the Premier League in 2015 and have spent the last eight years in the Championship, narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

Ferdinand told the club’s official website: “This has not been an easy decision. My life is football, I love football and I want to stay in football, but I do feel this is the right time for me to step down from my position here.

“Everyone knows how special Queens Park Rangers is to me and it has been a privilege to be back at the club.

“There have been challenging times and I have had to make some very difficult decisions but every decision I have made has been with the best interests of the club at heart.”

QPR appointed Gareth Ainsworth as head coach in February after sacking Neil Critchley, who lasted just 12 games in the role.

Critchley had replaced Michael Beale, who left Loftus Road in November to become Rangers manager having guided QPR to seventh in the table.

QPR chairman Amit Bhatia added: “In an industry where individuals with genuine authenticity and integrity appear to be scarce, Les’ sincerity and honesty have always set him apart, and have made him so special and so valued by the board.”

New signing Sam Lammers is hoping to become “settled” at Rangers in the coming years after spending much of his time as an Atalanta player out on loan.

The 26-year-old forward joined the Serie A side three years ago from PSV Eindhoven but he made just one start for the Bergamo outfit and was farmed out three times, to Eintracht Frankfurt, Empoli and Sampdoria.

Having signed a four-year contract with Rangers, Lammers is confident he will be given a proper chance to establish himself at Ibrox as he bids to get his career back on track.

“This is what I’ve been searching for,” he told Sky Sports. “After this season I made it clear for myself that I wanted a new place to settle down, a new home because even last year I was at two clubs and before that I was on loan in Germany.

“I think now is time to settle somewhere and it’s good to sign a permanent deal with Rangers. The confidence of the club is key for me to sign.

“Coming into a new country is not easy. When you go from Holland to Italy it’s a change of language, a change of culture and everything.

“It gets easier but you feel at home after one year or six months, you need time to settle, and it didn’t happen for me in the last two years so I’m happy that I have the possibility to do that here.”

During his first loan spell at Eintracht Frankfurt, Lammers encountered the Rangers support for the first time. The Dutchman was an unused sub for the Bundesliga side as they defeated the Gers on penalties in the Europa League final in Seville just over a year ago.

“When we got to the final, it felt as if it was the best-supported clubs of the Europa League colliding,” said Lammers.

“It was, from both sides, very impressive. At that game you could see how big the club is and how it lives here in Scotland also.”

Lammers has scored only 27 career goals, the majority of which came on loan at Heerenveen in 2018-19. However, he insists his game is about more than just scoring.

“I know for a striker the main target is to score a lot of goals and I know I can do that also,” he said. “I’m aware of this being a big part of being a striker and this is also my goal at Rangers to do that, but I’m not a typical striker who is only hanging inside the box for his one or two chances.

“I want to help the team, I can drop out of the striker position. With my legs you would expect me maybe to be a target man but that’s not what I am.

“I want to score more goals again because I know I have it in me. In the past I scored a lot of goals then in the last couple of years not so much, but sometimes in the clubs I was at it wasn’t easy as you didn’t get a lot of chances.

“I think the attacking style of play at Rangers also fits me.”

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has signed a new four-year deal after guiding the club to promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in his first full season in charge.

Ex-Manchester United coach McKenna earned plenty of admirers following a goal-laden 2022-23 campaign, but has committed his future to Ipswich.

“I’ve loved almost every minute of my time at the club so far and it’s a proud and joyous day to be able to extend my stay,” McKenna told the official club website.

“I look forward to leading the club in the challenges ahead. It’s clear to see the club is ambitious and moving in a positive direction, but we need to work hard each day to keep going.

“We have fantastic support, great owners, a really strong board and a staff and group of players who are fighting to keep pushing the club forward.

“That’s great to be a part of and I’m really looking forward to the next steps.”

McKenna, a one-time Tottenham trainee, took over at Ipswich at the end of 2021 on a three-and-a-half-year deal, but his new terms keep him contracted to the club until 2027.

North Carolina Courage’s Millie Farrow admits it is “crazy” to see how far she has come following struggles with her mental health.

Having started playing football from an early age, Farrow joined Chelsea’s centre of excellence before signing her first professional contract at 19.

Despite the enjoyment she got from the game, she began to struggle with panic attacks from as young as 10 and was later diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder.

Farrow’s struggles led her to write a book, Brave Enough Not to Quit, which was published earlier this year, and she said it was emotional to see how far she had come.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Millie Farrow (@millfarrow)

“I’ve done the book, but I’m continuing with the career, all the struggles and stuff I wrote about, I’m still living with them,” the 27-year-old told the PA news agency.

“But I’m dealing with them so much better, which has resulted in me being able to live a much happier life and a much more stress-free life.

“It’s crazy to see how far I’ve come and to look back.

“It’s emotional to read about your own story and remind yourself of the really difficult situations I’ve been in and the really tough places I’ve dragged myself out of.”

Although her struggles began when she was 10, it took Farrow until she was 14 to ask her parents for help.

The forward played for Chelsea, Reading and Leicester in the Women’s Super League, but it took a long time to adjust to playing and coping with her OCD.

“As my career started to get more serious, so did the anxiety and the OCD,” she said.

“Because it’s a stress-related illness, it’s very hard to control and deal with, especially when you’re in a high-pressure career and a lot of that came down to me putting pressure on myself.

“It took me a long time to adjust to playing with OCD and still trying to be 100 per cent, give 100 per cent effort, perform at 100 per cent while having these battles in my head and it was extremely hard to do.”

Farrow believes even a couple of years ago she would not have managed to make the move to America, where she now plays for National Women’s Soccer League side North Carolina Courage.

“It’s not an easy life here – I’m fighting for a spot, I’m competing and trying to prove myself in a new team, new environment, new league,” she added.

“I’m away from family and friends, building a life in a completely different country, it’s not an easy thing to do and it’s something I never thought I’d be able to do.

“Two or three years ago I would look at that challenge and think there’s no way I’d survive or be able to do it without wanting to come home.

“Even though the story is based on being a professional footballer or the journey that I went through to get there, this kind of story can resonate with anyone.”

The profile of women’s football in England has increased markedly in recent years and Farrow believes players have “adapted” to the growth of the game, with all eyes set to be on this summer’s World Cup, which gets under way in Australia and New Zealand next month.

“I went to a lot of the games in the Euros (in 2022), the atmosphere was insane – filling out stadiums, seeing how the public reacted to it and how many fans,” she said.

“Everyone’s kind of jumping on the women’s football bandwagon now, whereas a few years ago it wasn’t televised as much, media coverage wasn’t there and now that’s completely changed in a matter of years.

“It’s definitely important for the girls to have that kind of support, but because they’ve been in the game since a young age and they’ve gone through the age groups, academies and England age groups as well, they are well prepared for something like this.

“You can see the players have adapted and are adapting to the amount of media coverage they’re getting. They’re essentially celebrities now, they’re famous.”

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) is now moving to save face, as they have once again been called out by the senior Reggae Girlz over a range of issues which they players say, have affected their preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, in Australia and New Zealand.

The Girlz in a widely circulated letter first shared on social media by prolific striker and captain Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, expressed “utmost disappointment” with the handling of their affairs by the JFF.

Among the areas of concerns outlined by the Girlz are subpar planning, transportation, accommodations, training conditions, compensation, communication, nutrition and accessibility to proper resources.

Despite sharing their concerns with the federation “on multiple occasions” the Girlz pointed out that the issues remain unresolved, and they believe the lack of interest by those in charge, threaten the integrity of women’s football in Jamaica.

The Reggae Girlz also say that their preparations for the July 20 to August 20 global showpiece have been impacted by what they say is the federation’s “extreme disorganization”.

“In recent months, due to extreme disorganization of camp logistics, we have missed several official FIFA friendly matches. This will undoubtedly impact our preparations for Australia,” they said.

“The Reggae Girlz consist of professional and collegiate footballers who are spread out across the world. To be left questioning whether a camp will even take place two or three days before the expected start is unprofessional and often prohibitive for some of our players,” the Girlz added.

The Girlz said that they hope “by using our platforms to express the reality of our situation, our efforts will be reciprocated.

“We hope there will be immediate and systematic change within our federation and those in charge of protecting the integrity of women’s football,” the letter ended.

Meanwhile, the governing football body in response, said they have noted the Reggae Girlz concerns and are taking them seriously.

“We acknowledge that things have not been done perfectly, and we are working assiduously to resolve them. We will continue to support the team in every way possible, so that they can be successful at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand,” the JFF said.

A similar situation came to the fore in 2019 ahead of the Girlz World Cup debut appearance in France. Then, the Girlz main issues were the absence of a proper contract and salaries for players.

For all the experience that Rebecca Spencer possesses in what has been a fairly successful career, she has never been to a global tournament before, so this summer's FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, would be her crowning moment.

The England-born goalkeeper, who started her career in the youth system at Watford before moving to Arsenal, also spent time at Nottingham Forest and Gillingham on loan, after which she travelled to France where she had a stint with ASJ Soyaux.

Spencer later returned to England and had spells at Birmingham City, Chelsea and West Ham United, but later found the right fit with her current employers Tottenham Hotspurs. 

Along the way, she was capped by England at Under-19 and Under-20 levels and also received a call-up to the senior England squad in 2016.

However, in June 2021, Spencer, who qualifies to represent Jamaica through her grandparents, made her senior international debut with the senior Reggae Girlz and was instrumental in the team’s second-consecutive World Cup qualification, as she paraded her goalkeeping skills with much gusto, particularly, at the Concacaf Women’s Championship in Mexico.

At 32 years old, the vastly experienced Spencer has no qualms in admitting that she is at a ripe age in her career, especially in an era when bright young prospects are unearthed at an increasingly earlier age, which is why she is intent on making the most of this opportunity.

In fact, she is currently facing stiff competition from 23-year-old Sydney Schneider to decide who will be the Reggae Girlz number one shot-stopper at the showpiece, with 18-year-old Liya Brooks as their understudy.

The Lorne Donaldson-coached Girlz are currently engaged in a local camp after which the tactician and his assistant Xavier Gilbert will decide on the final 23-player squad for the July 20 to August 20 World Cup.

"Personally, I want to have the best competition of my life, obviously I'm 32, so I'm not getting any younger. But you know, nothing really phases me in any situation, I kind of have a lot of experience obviously playing in England so long, so I hope I can bring that experience to the World Cup and help the team," Spencer said.

"So, I am look forward to it and hopefully I can just do my Job and be there for the team and the rest of the team will put their best foot forward as well. Like coach said our team is probably the best we have ever had so I am really confident in what we can do when we get to the World Cup. We could surprise everyone that's there," she added.

Having joked about her age declaring that some days she is reflective, it is left to be seen if Spencer will push her career to possibly make another World Cup appearance in 2027, but until then she is living in the moment and, as such, is firmly focused on steadily building towards the upcoming tournament.

"Obviously it would be a very proud moment, but I haven't thought that far ahead as yet, we still have a lot more preparation time to go that I've not let that part of it sink in as yet," Spencer said.

"I'm just focusing on camp-to-camp and at the moment my mind is fully here not the World Cup as yet. I want to get this training week out of the way and obviously, if selected, when we get to Amsterdam, it's going to give a feel of how things are going to be when we get to Melbourne. Once we get to Amsterdam, then its go time for us," she reasoned.

Many may not be aware, but Spencer, like many before her, initially started out as a striker, before finding comfort in goalkeeping, a complex position that requires physicality, strong mentality, and a highly unique set of skills. 

While every good goalkeeper must be able to produce a range of different saves, there’s a lot more to it than just technical ability. Spencer would tell you that a top goalkeeper needs to be brave, an excellent communicator, focused, determined, and, more importantly, willing to endure the criticisms and disappointments that come with the job.

"Playing football at the highest level is challenging in every moment, there are plenty of ups and downs but it's also very rewarding because I measure success through personal growth. So yes, there are disappointments but if I set certain goals for each season or a tournament and I achieve them, that's certainly a success for me," she shared.

Finally, Spencer, who pointed out that if it wasn't football, she would have enjoyed working in health care, because she enjoys taking care of people in need, welcomed the initiative by FIFA which guarantees all players at the World Cup at least US$30,000 in prize money.

"Obviously it's excellent, it's a big incentive for players and we are going to be geared up to get out of the group stages which means it could be more, but for us as players, we don't normally think about that, we normally focus on the football, but FIFA has done a great thing by doing that," she ended.