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EFL Ipswich Town have agreed a deal to sign Blackburn Rovers attacking midfielder Sammie Szmodics.

The newly-promoted Premier League will pay £9million ($11. 6m) plus add-ons for the Republic of Ireland international.

Szmodics, 28, enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in 2023-24, scoring 33 goals for Championship side Blackburn across all competitions.

Szmodics — who previously had spells at Colchester United, Bristol City and Peterborough United — has continued his form in front of goal into this campaign, scoring three goals in Blackburn’s opening two matches.

Szmodics has. .. David Ornstein13 Appointments policy for Premier League, EFL, WSL referees published for first time Caoimhe O'Neill39 Brighton expect Georginio Rutter to agree move after activating Leeds release clause David Ornstein314 The 10 Championship players Premier League clubs should eye before transfer window closes Elias Burke48 Tom Lockyer returns to individual training at Luton Town following cardiac arrest Omar Garrick6 Advertisement They were the hearts of their communities but are now long gone. Richard Sutcliffe goes in search of the Football League's 'ghost' grounds Richard Sutcliffe59 Rooney's appointment to his latest job was met with negativity from sections of the fanbase but he is starting to win them over Richard Amofa132 It may have been a summer of change at Elland Road but Leeds retain their ability to claw back the initiative in familiar style Nancy Froston108 Charlton Athletic have cut ties with a prominent sponsor after he appeared to endorse Tommy Robinson on his social media profile.

Darren New is a life-long Charlton fan whose companies have sponsored the club in various ways as well as Charlton Athletic Community Trust events. Charlton officials had spoken of him last year as “part of the Charlton family”.

This week, New had posted on his X account — @dneventslogist1 — statements that appeared sympathetic to far-right agitator known as Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon. Jack Pitt-Brooke An investigation into safety issues at Hillsborough reveals significant concerns over the Leppings Lane end that houses away supporters Jacob Whitehead186 Why EFL launched a fantasy game, why are so few deals happening this summer, and why Ryan Reynolds was right Matt Slater7 Advertisement Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist has completed a loan move to Championship side Sheffield United.

The Athletic reported earlier this week that Gilchrist had agreed to the move and the 20-year-old completed a medical on Tuesday.

“I am really looking forward to it, ” Gilchrist said on his move. “It is a great opportunity which the club and the manager have given to me. I am just looking forward to getting started. It has always been the plan to showcase what I can do in the Premier League with the chances I’ve had, so now I want to try and do that week in, week out, here. Luke Bosher13 Leicester City defender Harry Souttar has joined Sheffield United on a season-long loan.

The 25-year-old Australia international is not in new manager Steve Cooper’s plans for Leicester’s return to the Premier League.

Souttar was not involved in today’s (Tuesday) open training session at King Power Stadium as he finalised his move to Bramall Lane.

“I knew that it might be on for a couple of weeks, but over the weekend I was waiting on the phone call telling me to come up to Sheffield, ” Souttar said. “I can’t wait to get started.

“The club speaks for. .. Rob Tanner23 Bradford (Park Avenue) was home to League football for 62 years and county cricket for over a century. It now sits forlorn and forgotten Richard Sutcliffe51 Chelsea defender Alfie Gilchrist has agreed to join Sheffield United on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old, who made 17 appearances for the first team last season, is travelling to Sheffield tonight (Monday) ahead of undergoing a medical tomorrow.

Gilchrist was not taken on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of the United States because the plan was always for him to go on loan in 2024-25 in order for him to get regular game time.

A number of clubs have expressed an interest over the last few months, including Serie A side Como who are coached by former Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, but he is. .. Simon Johnson25 Leeds United are targeting Norwich City winger Jonathan Rowe as they seek a replacement for Crysencio Summerville.

Rowe, 22, is of interest to Leeds as a candidate to step into the place left by Summervile after he was sold to Premier League outfit West Ham United on Saturday.

A release clause in Summerville’s contract allowed West Ham to swoop in for the Dutchman for a fee in excess of £25million plus add-ons. The clause had been active since Leeds were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022-23 season and interest in Summerville has been high all summer.

Summerville. .. Nancy Froston92 Watford have accepted an offer from Rennes for midfielder Yaser Asprilla.

A fee of £25million plus add-ons has been negotiated between the Championship club and their Ligue 1 counterparts.

Personal terms are yet to be agreed with the 20-year-old now back in the UK considering the move.

Watford and Rennes have been approached for comment.

A number of clubs have been tracking Asprilla’s progress since arriving at Watford in January 2022 from Envigado, Colombia.

He has been away from the club following his participation with Colombia at Copa America in the United States.

Asprilla made one. .. Adam Leventhal38 Advertisement West Ham United are in advanced talks to sign Leeds United forward Crysencio Summerville.

Personal terms are in place for Summerville on a five-year contract, and he is set to undergo a medical with a view to flying out to the United States to join up with the squad on their pre-season tour.

West Ham are hopeful a deal for Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug can also be completed in time for him to travel to the U. S. with Summerville later this week.

Dortmund rejected an offer in the region of €20million from West Ham for Fullkrug but talks remain ongoing between the two clubs over a. .. Nancy Froston275 Anwar El Ghazi is nearing a move to Cardiff City after leaving Mainz last year.

The German club owed the 29-year-old £1. 4million in salary and bonuses that they would have had to pay in full by midnight July 30 in order to retain his services.

Sources with knowledge of the situation — speaking on the condition of anonymity — have told The Athletic this was not paid, allowing El Ghazi to sign for Cardiff as a free agent.

The forward, who attracted interest from three Championship clubs, has chosen to join the Welsh side on a one-year contract. Sources added that El Ghazi will travel to. .. Carl Anka48 Matt Slater tells you what he's hearing from the business of football Matt Slater36 Joey Barton will appear before Liverpool Crown Court next month after pleading not guilty to charges of alleged malicious communications online towards Eni Aluko.

Barton, the former Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers midfielder, attended Warrington Magistrates Court this morning (Tuesday) after being formally charged last week.

An investigation by Cheshire Police focused on a several social media posts sent between January 1 and 18 this year, a period when Barton was widely critical of female TV pundits.

The court heard a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, were. .. Philip Buckingham A pre-season friendly match between Devon rivals Torquay United and Plymouth Argyle had to be stopped three times on Saturday following multiple medical emergencies in the crowd at Plainmoor Stadium.

The match, which ended 2-0 to Plymouth, had to be stopped twice in the first half — once in the 19th minute, when a fan had to be taken away from the stand on a stretcher, and again in the 40th minute. The latter incident involved two supporters.

A fourth person was reported ill at the interval and a fifth member of the crowd required medical treatment during the second half, also necessitating. .. Richard Amofa20 Liam Rosenior has been appointed as the head coach of Strasbourg on a three-year deal.

Rosenior, 40, will be joined by Justin Walker, Kalifa Cisse and Issame Charai on his coaching staff at Strasbourg.

The Ligue 1 club, who parted company with Patrick Vieira earlier this month, are owned by Blue Co, the multi-club ownership group that also controls Premier League side Chelsea.

The Athletic reported last week that Blue Co was attracted to Rosenior’s style of play — possession rather than counter-attacking — which matches that of its preferred style at Chelsea under new head coach Enzo. .. Adam Crafton46 Advertisement Kick It Out, a leading UK anti-discrimination charity, says it received the highest number of reports of discrimination it has ever had in a season during the 2023-24 campaign.

In figures published on Wednesday, Kick It Out says it received 1, 332 reports during last season, a 32 per cent rise from the previous year and over double the 601 received in the 2021-22 campaign. The data incorporate reports from across the professional game, grassroots, and social media.

According to research conducted by Kick It Out, racism remains the most reported form of discrimination, with the charity seeing a. .. Nnamdi Onyeagwara16 Leeds United have appointed two new board members with Andrew Schwartzberg and Eugene Schneur joining the English football club’s senior leadership team.

Schwartzberg — who is part of the majority ownership group at the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA — joins Leeds’ board as its new vice-chairman, replacing Rudy Cline-Thomas who remains a significant investor. Schneur joins as a board member and will sit alongside Schwartzberg, chairman Paraag Marathe, CEO Angus Kinnear and Peter Lowy.

Leeds play in the Championship, the second tier of English football, after suffering relegation from. .. Nancy Froston120 See More