Transfer roundup: Huddersfield make record signing, Real Madrid release duo

Huddersfield break the bank for Mounie

Newly promoted Huddersfield have signed 22-year-old Montpellier forward Steve Mounie, the club announced Wednesday.

The Benin international who also has French nationality has agreed to a four-year contract with the Premier League club.

Mounie scored 14 goals in Ligue 1 last season and Huddersfield boss David Wagner said the player had "a very exciting combination of attributes that makes him a very attractive proposition as a young striker".

Hudderfield reportedly signed Mounie for 11.5 million pounds, a club record fee, but the club did not confirm the amount.

Real Madrid legend Pepe joins Besiktas on a free transfer

Portuguese international defender Pepe on Wednesday arrived in Istanbul to join Turkish champions Besiktas from Real Madrid on a two-year deal.

Pepe, 34, landed in Istanbul before dawn aboard a private plane and was given a rousing welcome by hundreds of fans who had waited overnight at the airport.

He then went through a full medical, the club said in a statement, with an official signing ceremony and press conference expected to follow in the next days.

While French internationals Mathieu Valbuena and Bafetimbi Gomis have signed for Fenerbahce and Galatasaray respectively, Pepe is arguably the biggest name to arrive in Istanbul so far this summer.

Pepe spent the last decade as a key member of the star-studded Real Madrid side and helped Portugal to victory in Euro 2016, winning the man-of-the-match award in the victory in the final over France.

At Besiktas, Pepe will join forces with his Portugal teammate, the winger Ricardo Quaresma, who has played for the Istanbul side from 2015 after an earlier 2010-2012 stint and is a big favourite with fans.

Ounas swaps Bordeaux for Napoli

Bordeaux's attacking midfielder Adam Ounas has agreed a move to Serie A side Napoli after successfully completing a medical, the Ligue 1 club confirmed on Monday.

The deal for the 20-year-old Franco-Algerian player is reported to be worth in
the region of 10 million euros ($11.3 million), plus a bonus of two million euros.

After a successful 2015-2016 season in which he scored five goals in 23 Ligue 1 matches, Ounas was approached a first time by Napoli.
He had less success season under coach Jocelyn Gourvennec in 2016-2017 with just three goals in 26 games as Bordeaux finished sixth in Ligue 1.

Argentine playmaker Ever Banega returns to Sevilla

Argentina midfielder Ever Banega has started his second stint with Spanish club Sevilla after signing a three-year contract.

Banega returns to Sevilla after one season at Inter Milan, where he scored six goals but made only 28 appearances.

The 29-year-old Banega helped Sevilla win back-to-back Europa League titles in 2015 and 2016.

"I spent two spectacular years here, achieving important things and the fans value that," Banega said on Monday after signing his contract. "I also place a lot of value on the fact that the club always left its door open to me."

Banega joins new coach and countryman Eduardo Berizzo at Sevilla. Sevilla finished fourth in the league last season, earning a playoff spot for the Champions League group stage.

Magpies announce Lejeune as second summer signing

French defender Florian Lejeune has signed a five-year deal to join Newcastle United, the Premier League club said Tuesday.

The 26-year-old central defender from La Liga club Eibar is Magpies manager Rafael Benitez's second summer signing, for a reported 8.7 million pounds (9.9 million euros).

Earlier in the summer, Benitez signed Chelsea winger Christian Atsu, who helped Newcastle win promotion back to the Premier League during a loan spell last season.

Lejeune moves to Newcastle after a long a spell in Spain that started with Villarreal in 2011. He was signed by Manchester City during the summer of 2015 but was immediately loaned out to Girona, before making a permanent switch to Eibar 12 months later.

Said Benitez: "He has progressed a lot as a player in the last few years and I know he will give us something different at the back -- he is good with both feet, he's big and he's good in the air also."

Huddersfield add Ince to their roster

Winger Tom Ince, son of former England midfielder Paul, has quit Derby and signed a three-year deal with Huddersfield, the newly-promoted Premier League club said Tuesday.

Ince, 25, is Huddersfield's fourth summer signing and the third new player to arrive since they secured promotion to the Premier League for the first time.

The Terriers have set a new club record transfer fee twice already this summer following the arrival of striker Laurent Depoitre for a reported ?3.5 million, and then an ?8 million deal to secure a permanent move from Manchester City for on-loan midfielder Aaron Mooy.

Fabio Coentrao to ply his trade in Portugal

Out-of-favour Real Madrid defender Fabio Coentrao has confirmed his move to Primeira Liga side Sporting Lisbon on a loan deal and will look forward to more playing time.

Coentrao tweeted: “Very happy to have the opportunity to play in this great Club” accompanied by a picture of him and his family at Sporting’s stadium.
Coentrao has been with the Los Blancos since 2011, although he had another loan spell away from the club in the 2015/16 season when he played for Ligue 1 side Monaco.

Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham joins Swansea on a season-long loan

Premier League side Swansea City have signed Chelsea youngster Tammy Abraham on a season-long loan for the 2017-18 Premier League season.

Abraham, who recently impressed at the U-21 European Championship in Poland with the Three Lions. The 19-year-old was one of the standout performers in the EFL Championship last season, scoring 23 goals in 41 appearances.

Newcastle was also linked with the striker, but it was Swansea who convinced him to make a move.