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Spain’s Nolito hints Man City move is in the works — “I don’t lie; we’ll see”

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Chances are quite good that Pep Guardiola will spend a significant amount of money (the plummeting-in-value British pound, to be specific) this summer, as the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager prepares for his debut season in the Premier League, at Manchester City.

[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s PL coverage | Transfer news | EURO 2016 ]

With no doubt, Guardiola will — like every manager in the world — lean heavily on players with whom he’s familiar and/or previously worked. (Translation: expect a handful of Spaniards and/or Germans to arrive at the Etihad Stadium in the coming weeks and months.

One such player, Celta Vigo and Spanish national team attacker Nolito — Manuel Agudo Duran is his legal name — is reportedly close to making the move to the northwest of England after Guardiola and Co. satisfied the 29-year-old’s $20-million release clause. Nolito went so far as to imply a deal is in the works, but stopped short of calling himself a City player — quotes from the Guardian:

“We’ll see what happens with my future, but I’m not complaining about how things are going on the pitch for me. For now, I’ve not signed for City, I don’t lie – we’ll see.”

When asked if he had spoken to Guardiola, Nolito added: “No. In life you have to be brave and make decisions and I dedicate myself to playing football, which is my passion.”

Nolito is currently with the Spanish national team at EURO 2016, where he started all three of the two-time defending champions’ group stage games — scoring once and assisting once in the process — after notching 12 goals and seven assists (in 29 appearances) for Celta during the 2015-16 La Liga season. Nolito made two first-team appearances for Barcelona under Guardiola before leaving the club for Benfica in the summer of 2011. He would join former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ilkay Gundogan in Guardiola’s inaugural transfer window class.

Wanyama confirms Southampton exit; he’ll play in Champions League this year

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Victor Wanyama‘s time at Southampton served its purpose: get the 42-times-capped Kenyan international to the top of the Premier League and back into the UEFA Champions League, where he starred during his two seasons at Celtic.

[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s PL coverage | Latest transfer news ]

So where’s the 24-year-old midfield destroyer headed? Tottenham Hotspur, who will reportedly pay a fee just under $16 million. Wanyama himself was quoted on Saturday as confirming he’ll be leaving St. Mary’s Stadium this summer — quotes from African football website Soka25east.com:

“It’s always a tough moment leaving a club that you are so much used to their tradition and fans, but again it’s always the dream of any footballer to play at the very top level like the Champions League.

“I will definitely miss the awesome Southampton fans who always showed me love and I know they will fully understand my decision.”

[ FOLLOW: All of PST’s EURO 2016 coverage | Copa America ]

It was now-Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino who brought Wanyama to Southampton in the summer of 2013, with the Argentine leaving for north London a year later. The two will now link back up at White Hart Lane, where midfield depth was and remains a clear concern.

Eric Dier and Mousa Dembele started 37 and 27 of 38 league games last season, respectively, with Ryan Mason forced into 22 appearances (eight starts) of his own when Dembele was unavailable through injuries and suspension (he’s banned for the first four games of the 2016-17 season). $16 million is a fee Spurs will be happy to pay in order to properly deputize Dier and Dembele, and keep Mason on the bench or out of the gameday squad altogether.

Ronald Koeman appointed Everton’s new manager

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It’s official. After weeks of speculation, Ronald Koeman has resigned as Southampton’s manager and has taken over at Everton.

[ MORE: Inside story of RK’s decision ]

Koeman, 53, has signed a three-year deal at Everton, reportedly worth $10 million per season, and joins the Merseyside club after Roberto Martinez was fired in May.

Speaking to Everton’s website, Koeman revealed he delight in signing at Goodison Park until 2019.

“I am very excited to be Everton manager. I believe in the Club, in the team, in the fans and in our ability to achieve things in the future,” Koeman said. “Everton is a club with a great history and real ambition and it is a proud feeling for me to be part of what we want to go and do, together with the Chairman and Farhad Moshiri.

“I am looking forward to meeting everyone at the Club and to preparing for a big season in the Premier League.

After leading Southampton to their best-ever Premier League finishes of seventh and sixth in his first two campaigns managing in England, Koeman has decided to leave Saints with one year left on his contract.

It is believed Everton’s new billionaire owner Farhad Moshiri has promised Koeman $150 million to spend in the transfer market and the Dutch manager is also eager to keep the likes of Ross Barkley, John Stones and Romelu Lukaku at Goodison Park.

Everton finished in 11th place last season and reached both the FA Cup and Capital One Cup semifinals under Martinez. However, their defensive issues curtailed the impact of their attacking talents and Koeman’s big aim this summer will be to strengthen the Toffees defensively.

As for Southampton, they will feel let down that the man they gave a chance to in the PL has jumped at the chance to join a rival club and after leading Saints to Europa League qualification in the past two years has decided the ambition of the south coast club didn’t match his own. In a brief statement on Saints’ website, they confirmed Koeman’s resignation and a compensation package being agree with Everton — believed to be around $7.5 million — but did not thank him or his staff for their work at St Mary’s.

Everton’s supporters will be rejoicing that Koeman has decided to take on a huge rebuild at Goodison as his aim will be to turn them into top four contenders in the PL.

List of released Premier League players announced

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The Premier League has announced which players have been released from each club following the 2015-16 season.

[ MORE: Payet scores stunner for France ]

High profile names not offered new contracts include Arsenal trio Mikel Arteta, Tomas Rosicky and Matheiu Flamini, while Kolo Toure, Martin Demichelis, Nick Powerll, Victor Valdes, Victor Anichebe and Stephane Sessegnon are all looking for new clubs.

Players from relegated trio Newcastle United, Norwich City and Aston Villa are also included.

Below is the full list of released players. Any here you’d like your team to pick up on a free transfer this summer?


AFC Bournemouth
Carmichael, Joshua Lewis
Distin, Sylvain
Muleba, Jonathan Mukendi
Stockley, Jayden Connor
Wakefield, Joshua
Zubar, Stephane

Arsenal
Arteta Amatriain, Mikel
Flamini, Mathieu
Rosicky, Tomas

Aston Villa
Bannister, Charlie Brendan Alec
Donacien, Janoi
Kinsella, Lewis
Lyons-Foster, Kodi
N’Zogbia, Charles
Richardson, Kieran Edward
Siegrist, Benjamin Kevin
Webb, Joshua John

Chelsea
Amelia, Marco
Musonda, Tika Kafusha
Wright, Kevin

Crystal Palace
Adebayor, Emmanuel
Allassani, Reise Malcolm
Breimyr, Andreas Malde
Chamakh, Marouane
Dymond, Connor William
Forte, Spencer Ellis Henderson
George, Matthew
Gregory, David Michael
Hangeland, Brede Paulsen
Hoare, William James
Kettings, Christopher David
Mariappa, Adrian Joseph
McCarthy, Patrick
Pain, Oliver David
Scales, Christian Stephen

Everton
Graham, Aidan James
Hibbert, Anthony James
Osman, Leon
Pienaar, Steven
Rohde, Felipe Mattioni
Stanek, Jindrich
Thorniley, Jordan

Leicester City
Bailey, Kyle Stuart
Barmby, Jack
Blyth, Jacob Mathew
Hammond, Dean John
Hassall, Aaron
Kelly, Michael Eamon James
King, Keenan Rakwarne
Konchesky, Paul Martyn
Maddison, Jonathan
Panayiotou, Harrison Andreas
Schwarzer, Mark
Smith-Varnam, Max Presley
Watson, Ryan

Liverpool
Brewitt, Tom
Cleary, Daniel
Marsh, William George
McLaughlin, Ryan
O’Hanlon, Alex Joseph
Polgar, Kristof
Sanchez Diaz, Jose Enrique
Toure, Kolo Abib
Yesil, Samed

Manchester City
Albinson, Charlie
Demichelis, Martin Gaston
Oseni, Nathaniel Adeyomi Andrew
Tattum, Sam
Wright, Richard Ian

Manchester United
Dorrington, George Edward
Powell, Nicholas Edward
Rathbone, Oliver Michael
Valdes Arribas, Victor

Newcastle United
Taylor, Steven Vincent

Norwich City
Awuah, Reiss
Coker, Afolabi
Gafaiti, Adel
Hall-Johnson, Reece
King, Cameron
Loza, Jamar Kasheef
Norman, Cameron
Uade, Obasiarinse Idehaloise

Southampton
Britt, William David
Davis, Kelvin
Ramirez Pereyra, Gaston Exequiel

Stoke City
Barber, Benjamin Thomas
Dryden, Edward
Moseley, Bobby James
O’Reilly, Ryan
Odemwingie, Peter
Sidwell, Steven James
Skapetis, Petros
Watkins-Clark, Mason Bradley

Sunderland
Agnew, Liam John
Brown, Wesley Michael
Fletcher, Steven Kenneth
Graham, Daniel Anthony William
Harper, Stephen Alan
Mandron, Mikael
Smith, Martin

Swansea City
Alfei, Daniel Mark
Copp, Kyle Thomas
Demetriou, James Andreas
Fallon, Stephen
Gogic, Alexander
Hanley, Raheem Shaquille Rushan
Jones, Henry Lloyd
Lucas, Lee Paul
Owen, Gareth Thomas

Tottenham Hotspur
Sonupe, Emmanuel Olukolade

Watford
Byers, George William
Doherty, Josh
Ekstrand, Lars Hening Joel
Ikpeazu, Karl Anthony Uchechukwu
Johnson, Jorell James
Martin, Mahlando Javion
Mensah Jnr, Bernard Ayitey
Simpson, Luke Thomas
Young, Alfie Mac

West Bromwich Albion
Anichebe, Victor Chinedu
Nabi, Samir
Sessegnon, Stephane

West Ham United
Brown, Jordan Antonio
Chambers, Leo Alexander
Lee, Elliot Robert
Mavila, Nathan
Nasha, Amos Lawrence
O’Brien, Joseph Martin