Blackburn Rovers confirm Yuki Ohashi as second summer signing
After travelling to England over the weekend, the 28-year-old finished a medical exam on Monday.
He has now signed a three-year contract with Ewood Park, with an additional one-year option.
Within the Rovers team, Ohashi is seen as Semir Telalovic’s replacement. The forward is a willing presser from the front and can link plays.
Although signing players from abroad is never risk-free, Rovers are seen to be getting a good bargain on this one. Because of a provision in Ohashi’s contract, the recruitment team feels that taking this risk with a tiny, six-figure expenditure is worthwhile.
He continued to play in almost 100 games and had a successful 2023 season, tallying 13 goals in 23 league games.
After that, Ohashi moved to Sanfrecce Hiroshima, where he scored 15 goals in 27 games across all competitions to lead the team to fifth place in the standings.
In preparation for the forthcoming campaign, Makhtar Gueye also made his way to Ewood Park on Tuesday night to support John Eustace’s striking department.
The friendlies against Morecambe and Wigan last weekend included neither Sam Gallagher nor Sam Szmodics.
Stoke has been keeping an eye on Gallagher, who has one year remaining on his contract at Ewood.
Amanda Staveley reveals she is ‘devastated’ after leaving Newcastle
Amanda Staveley, a former co-owner of Newcastle United, expressed her “devastation” at quitting the team while also saying that she “didn’t want to get in Newcastle’s way.”
Staveley, who assisted in arranging Newcastle’s £305 million acquisition in 2021, departed the team earlier in July following the sale of her and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi’s remaining shares.
“I’m inconsolable. It’s bittersweet because it’s such a great club. Something you love so much and don’t want to let go of has become a part of my DNA. In an interview with The Athletic, Staveley described it as excruciatingly painful.
“It’s unfair, but I would want to be there every single day. The management staff of the club must be given the opportunity to present their business plan.
“They should be allowed to do their jobs as well, but we did a great job and it’s been a privilege to be part of it,” she continued.
Together with her husband, Staveley initially invested 10% of their own money in the Magpies, working on “pretty much every job” during the first few months following the takeover. Later, in her first full season in charge, the team placed in the top four in the Premier League.
“We were handling the buying, PR, fan engagement, director of football stuff, and commercial stuff because there weren’t any employees,” she said.
“We were trying to establish relationships with other clubs while playing the part of chief executive and doing Premier League stuff, and we were in constant conflict.”
The 51-year-old later stressed that she had given Newcastle “extremely safe” hands to manage, saying that under the Reuben family and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, “the club has all the ingredients” for future success.
Staveley is still in charge of PCP Capital Partners, an investment fund. According to recent reports, the company has raised £500 million and is considering making other football-related investments, such as buying a minority position in Tottenham Hotspur.
Though she stated that her “preference would have been to stay with Newcastle, but life doesn’t always work out exactly how you want it to,” she was unable to comment further on such rumours, she told The Athletic. That cannot be duplicated by anything.
“I didn’t want to impede Newcastle’s progress. It has to be about what’s best for Newcastle,” she continued, without discounting the chance of tying together with a different football team.
“Mehrdad and I are eager to participate. We’re hard-working individuals, I enjoy staying active and engaged, and I’m a huge football fan.
“We must, regretfully, move on to other endeavours. These may require us to purchase or invest in another club, which will be challenging. However, it is feasible.
“You can never get over my love for Newcastle; I don’t know what the future holds for me.”
Conor Gallagher: Atletico Madrid close in on £34m deal as Chelsea lower demands
Atletico Madrid is becoming more optimistic that they may get Conor Gallagher from Chelsea in a trade.
The Spanish team, who are prepared to offer a price of about £34 million, and Chelsea are currently engaged in fresh negotiations.
The Atleti executives are now hopeful that this will be sufficient to persuade Chelsea to sell, as they had been hoping for a larger price earlier in the summer.
Atletico Madrid has returned with better offers after Chelsea turned down their initial round of bids at the beginning of the summer window.
Gallagher’s Chelsea contract is about to expire, and the Blues are still considering selling the England player.
The Chelsea academy product has been eager to stay with his current team, but with Atletico showing interest, he is reportedly carefully weighing his choices.
Although they still have some work to do to persuade Gallagher to leave west London, Madrid is now in the lead for any trade.
Gallagher has been monitored by Tottenham for months, but their interest has not grown.
Gallagher has not joined Chelsea’s preseason tour of the United States since he is on vacation following his achievements with England at Euro 2024.
Under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, Chelsea is continuing to restructure their playing roster. They have also spent the summer making changes to the senior team in preparation for the arrival of new head coach Enzo Maresca.
Under Maurico Pochettino, Gallagher was a consistent starter for Chelsea last season and frequently served as the team’s captain when Reece James was sidelined due to injury.
However, Romeo Lavia, Moises Caicedo, and Enzo Fernandez are among the midfield possibilities that Chelsea’s new owners have made significant investments in.
Additionally, the Blues management is now open to trading Gallagher due to the infusion of talent.
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