West Ham have signed Olympiakos left-back Arthur Masuaku, 22, on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. Masuaku played for Olympiakos for two years, winning the Greek title each time, after his 2014 move from Valenciennes in his native France. “It’s a big honour for me to be part of this club,” said the 22-year-old. “I was speaking with my agent about some opportunities, but when he told me about West Ham and also the coach, I didn’t think twice, so in my mind, it was West Ham. “Now, to be able to play with players like Dimitri Payet, it’s going to be crazy. I can’t wait to play with him and also all the rest of the team. “For me, the Premier League is the biggest league in the world. When I was 18, my target was to come here, so now I am here, I have to prove myself to the fans and to the team so that I can play for this big club.”

Paris St-Germain have signed Real Madrid forward Jese on a five-year contract. No word yet on the fee for the 23-year-old, who has scored 13 goals in 62 La Liga matches. “I am delighted to join Paris St-Germain, who have become one of Europe’s most competitive clubs,” he said. “Like Paris St-Germain, I have big ambitions for the coming seasons and it will be a great pleasure to work under the direction of Unai Emery, who has developed an excellent reputation in Spain, and across Europe, for his quality as a coach. “I can’t wait to begin this next challenge of my career.”

Paul Pogba is pictured as he arrives Manchester his medical today with Manchester United ahead of his multi million transfer from Juventus.

Real Madrid have left Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo out of their squad for tomorrow’s UEFA Super Cup with Sevilla. Wales forward Bale, Portugal captain Ronaldo and defender Pepe, and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos are all left at home following Euro 2016. Real coach Zinedine Zidane has included his 18-year-old goalkeeper son Luca in the squad going to Trondheim, Norway.

Germany Olympic coach Horst Hrubesch is “annoyed” Arsenal do not play Serge Gnabry more often. The 21-year-old midfielder, who has made nine Premier League appearances, has scored three goals at Rio 2016 in two games. “He’s shown what he can do to everybody,” Hrubesch said on sport1.de. “I’m just annoyed that he is never shown this faith by his club.”

Nigeria’s Under-23 team defeated Sweden by a goal to maintain top spot in the Group B. Umar Sadiq put Nigeria ahead of Sweden in the 40th minute when he headed a cross from the right flank, beating the Swedish keeper that had stopped the Nigerian side from scoring in the first few minutes of the game. It is Nigeria’s second victory in the group games. The team defeated Japan 5-4 in their first games. With the victory over Sweden, Nigeria is topping the group with six points while Sweden has just a point.

Nigeria U-23 men’s football team (known as Dream Team VI) who arrived in Brazil just six hours before their opening match against Japan kicked off, won 5-4 in Manaus courtesy of four goals from Oghenekaro Etebo. The match started by 2am Friday morning (Nigerian Time). Sadiq Umar scored Nigeria’s first goal after only five minutes. The Japanese equalised via a penalty three minutes later as Shinzo Koroki put the ball behind the net for his country. Dream Team VI took the lead again through Etebo from a long ball from Abdullahi Shehu. Japan leveled as Takumi Minamino slipped the ball under goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel.  Etebo was again on the scorers sheet, with a rebound after a Mikel Obi shot was pushed out by Kushibiki, the Japanese goalkeeper. Two consecutive goals by the Asian champions could not save the day, as Nigeria go atop the table with three points. Sweden and Colombia had played 2-2.

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Former Everton, Wigan and Swansea manager Roberto Martinez has been appointed as the new head coach of Belgium. Spaniard Martinez, 43, was sacked by the Toffees in May after three years in charge at Goodison Park. He succeeds Marc Wilmots, who left his post last month, two weeks after the Euro 2016 quarter-final defeat by Wales. The vacancy was advertised online by the Belgian Football Association. It wanted a “strong and open communicator” who has a “proven track record in transmitting tactical and strategic knowledge” to top players. In a statement, the Belgian FA said it was “delighted and proud to have found a coach at this level so quickly”. At Everton, Martinez managed Belgium internationals Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas.

Manchester City have signed 19-year-old Brazilian winger Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras for £27m plus add-ons. Jesus has agreed a five-year deal but will stay with Palmeiras until the end of the Brazilian season in December. City regard the player as the best young talent in South America and fought off interest from Barcelona. Jesus was voted the best newcomer in the Brazilian top flight last season and is part of his country’s squad at the Rio Olympics. He has scored 26 goals in 67 first-team appearances for Palmeiras and is the top scorer in the Brazilian Serie A this season – but is yet to make his senior international debut. The add-ons in the deal are believed to be worth £4m, depending on his success at Etihad Stadium. “We have many great talents in the team and a fantastic manager in Pep Guardiola that I can learn so much from,” said Jesus. “I’m looking forward to showing the City fans what I can do and I think we’ll have a great future together.” Jesus is capable of playing across the forward line and further boosts new manager Guardiola’s attacking options following Tuesday’s £37m capture of Germany international Leroy Sane from Schalke. Guardiola has now spent around £100m on players so far this summer and also signed Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Aaron Mooy.

Nigeria international midfielder Ogenyi Onazi says he needed to move from Italian club Lazio as he joined Turkish side Trabzonspor. The 23-year-old moves on a four-year deal after five years at Lazio, scoring seven goals in 110 appearances. Despite having a contract at the Serie A outfit until summer 2018, the Super Eagle insists it was time to leave Rome and seek pastures new elsewhere. “I left Lazio for personal reasons,” Onazi said. He made 20 appearances in all competitions for Lazio last season as a lack of form and injury hampered him, but was a more regular starter when Simone Inzaghi took over as coach in April. “Importantly I needed to make this move to clear my head and be happy playing football again. “It might be difficult for some people to understand my decision but this is a step forward in my career. “The Lazio coach [Simone Inzaghi] spoke to the management about keeping me. I was even offered a contract extension to stay but Trabzonspor provides a new lease of life. “I thank the Lazio fans, managers, players and backroom staff at the club who supported me from my Primavera [youth team] days for their love and incredible affection. “I will always be a Lazio fan because the club gave me the platform to be the player I am today.”

Germany midfielder Leroy Sane has completed his move to Manchester City for a fee of £37m plus add-ons. The 20-year-old has signed a five-year contract after leaving Schalke. City manager Pep Guardiola said: “He is a special talent and an exciting player that I think our supporters will enjoy watching.” Sane, who helped Germany reach the semi-finals at Euro 2016, scored eight goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances last season as Schalke finished fifth. “He has great technical ability, is comfortable on the ball and there is much to admire about the way he plays football,” Guardiola added. “He is fast, enjoys creating chances for others, works hard for the team and scores goals too. He also has a very positive attitude and will fit in well. “At 20, he is still developing as a player but he is already a member of the German national side and I think he will be a fantastic asset to our club.” Sane said one of the reasons for joining City was to work with Guardiola. “I think he can make me a more complete player,” said Sane. “I think I will need a bit of time to start with because it’s another league and there’s a different style of play, but I think I can adapt very quickly.”

Russian club Rubin Kazan have signed Barcelona midfielder Alex Song on a free transfer. The 28-year-old former Cameroon player had been expected to join Rubin on loan but has signed a permanent deal after terminating his Barca deal. Song, who left Arsenal to sign a five-year deal with Barcelona in 2012, made 65 appearances for the Catalan club and scored one goal. He had spent the last two seasons on loan at Premier League side West Ham.

Happy August dear readers. We implore August to be good to all of us.

Stephen Keshi, the former Nigeria captain and manager, was buried on Friday in his country house at Ilah, in Nigeria’s Delta State. Keshi won the Africa Cup of Nations as both captain (in 1994) and manager of the Super Eagles (in 2013). The man affectionately known as ‘Big Boss’ was twice voted as Africa’s top coach, by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), in 2005 and 2013. He died of sudden medical complications in his home in Benin City in June. A huge personality in the continental game, playing in five Africa Cup of Nations finals (1982, 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1994), the former Anderlecht, Strasbourg and RWD Molenbeek central defender, had also managed Togo – earning them a 2006 World Cup place – and Mali, before taking up the Nigeria job in 2011. A large group of Keshi’s former Super Eagles teammates, including Okechukwu, Mutiu Adepoju, Augustine Eguavoen, Victor Ikpeba and Peter Rufai, attended the memorial service at St. John’s Catholic Church in Ilah, which took place before the burial, in Keshi’s home. Kate, to whom Keshi was married, for over 30 years, died in December last year, after losing a three-year battle with cancer. He is survived by four children.

Diego Simeone has revealed that he would like to coach in the Premier League. The much-vaunted Atletico Madrid manager is currently in Australia where his side take on Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. And the 46-year-old, who has enjoyed stunning success with the Spanish capital’ s underdogs, would like to face English opposition on a more regular basis. ‘I consider myself a young coach,’ he said. ‘So I feel that it is possible. There are many of the leagues provide some great challenges. Certainly, the English league, the Italian league are attractive for me.’

British-Nigerian Chuba Akpom played in Arsenal’s match against MLS All Stars and got the winner for Arsenal. Akpom twitted a picture of himself celebrating with team mate and Nigerian international Alex Iwobi and wrote “Nice to get some minutes against the MLS All-Stars and get on the scoresheet”.

Arsenal must have been pleased when former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba moved more than 3,000 miles to the US after a decade of scoring against them. Well, Drogba was at it again last night, scoring for an MLS All-Stars side against the Gunners during a pre-season match in San Jose. It wasn’t enough though, as a Joel Campbell penalty and a last-minute winner from Chuba Akpom sealed a win for the Gunners.

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger has announced his retirement from international football. The 31-year-old Manchester United midfielder was part of the squad that won the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He retires as Germany’s fourth most-capped player of all time on 120 – behind Lothar Matthaus (150), Miroslav Klose (137) and Lukas Podolski (129). “I had the opportunity to experience moments that have been indescribably beautiful and successful,” he said. Schweinsteiger made his international debut in 2004 and holds the German record for European Championship appearances, having played 18 times at the tournament. The record was broken when he was brought on as a substitute in Germany’s 1-0 group-stage win over Northern Ireland, surpassing Philipp Lahm’s total of 14, before Joachim Low’s side went out in the semi-finals to France. “I desperately wanted to win that title that we haven’t been able to bring to Germany since 1996,” said the former Bayern Munich player, who could leave Manchester United this summer. “It was not to be, and I have to accept it. “With the victory of the World Cup in 2014, we achieved something historically and emotionally that I will not be able to repeat in my career. “Therefore it is right and sensible to stop and to wish the team all the best for qualification and the World Cup in 2018.”

Gonzalo Higuain became the third most expensive footballer in history on Tuesday when he signed for Juventus from Napoli for £75.3m. Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have cost more. The 28-year-old scored a league record-equalling 36 goals in Serie A last season. Juventus have built a formidable strike force with Higuain lining up next to compatriot Paulo Dybala who scored 19 Serie A goals last term.

Stoke City have signed Wales midfielder Joe Allen from Liverpool for £13m. The 26-year-old, who had a year left on his contract, was also a target for the Potters’ Premier League rivals Swansea, whom he left to join Liverpool in 2012. “It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours for me but I am delighted to have finally been able to put pen to paper,” said Allen, who has signed a five-year contract. “I was really excited as soon as I heard of the club’s interest and it wasn’t a difficult decision to make.” Allen was Stoke’s second signing of the day after Egyptian winger Ramadan Sobhi joined the club from Al Ahly for a fee that could rise to £5m. Despite starting only eight league games for Liverpool last season, Allen was named in the Euro 2016 team of the tournament after helping Wales reach the semi-finals.