Transfer news LIVE: Celtic SELL striker; Rangers, Liverpool, Leeds, Aston Villa DONE DEALS

Transfer news LIVE

• Celtic have accepted Lyon’s bid for Moussa Dembele
• Brendan Rodgers admits Moussa Dembele disappointment
• Aston Villa sign Chelsea ace Tammy Abraham

Abraham revelation

John Terry and Jack Grealish convinced Tammy Abraham to join Aston Villa.

Speaking after his move, the Chelsea ace said: “He (Terry) was one of the first people to call me and said it was a great club and he enjoyed every minute here.

“He said I would like it, like the manager, like the players and I believed him so I’m here.”

Terry spent last season at Villa Park following his Chelsea exit.

Moussa Dembele has officially signed for Lyon

In a statement Lyon wrote: “Olympique Lyonnais is very pleased to announce the transfer of international hope Moussa Dembele from Celtic Glasgow for €22m.

“Requested by many European clubs, Moussa Dembele signed a five-year contract with OL, that is until June 30, 2023.

“Aged 22, Moussa Dembele was trained at PSG alongside Adrien Rabiot and Kingsley Coman.

“He began his professional career at age 17 with Fulham before joining Celtic in 2016.

“Scorer of 70 goals in 158 matches with Fulham and Celtic, Moussa Dembele won two Scottish Championships, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup with Celtic.

“He played 24 European games with Celtic, scoring eight goals.”

Rodgers admits Dembele disappointment

Brendan Rodgers has revealed his disappointment at Moussa Dembele’s social media antics before his Celtic exit.

The France under-21 striker sealed a £20m switch from the Glasgow giants to Lyon in his homeland yesterday.

But that followed Dembele taking to Twitter to seemingly hit out at Rodgers via a series of tweets and likes.

In response, Rodgers said: “Sometimes people will react in certain ways to suit a narrative, I get that. Of course, I’m disappointed by the lengths they would go to to do that.

“It’s understandable as a tactic and I’ve seen it before. It’s unfortunate that it has come to this. I have close relations with all the players.

“At this stage, when people are trying to force through a move and trying to work it, there is a lot of anger there.

“Sometimes people say things and write things that they maybe didn’t necessarily mean.

“Of course, if you’re trying to engineer something, you can sometimes drop to that level in order to do it.”

Celtic target stays at Aberdeen

Aberdeen last night turned down a £7million-plus bid from Aston Villa for Scott McKenna.

The offer would have shattered the Dons’ previous record sale of £1.75m when Eoin Jess moved to Coventry back in 1996.

Villa wanted to take the 21-year-old defender on loan with a view to signing him on a permanent basis in January.

That’s with the Premier League’s summer transfer window having closed on August 9 – before the start of the current campaign.

Villa’s last-gasp offer eclipsed the £3.5m bid tabled by Aberdeen’s rivals Celtic for the Scotland star 10 days ago.

Dembele bid accepted

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed Celtic have accepted a bid from Lyon for Moussa Dembele – with just hours of the transfer deadline remaining.

Rodgers said: “Every decision we make at Celtic will always be in the best interests of the Club and our supporters.

“It is vital to make clear that we have never promised any player that he can leave the Club at a particular time. It has never happened. In fact, we have said all along that we did not wish to sell Moussa, given the circumstances within the transfer window and that is why we rejected a significant offer yesterday.

“However, this particular decision to accept this offer has been taken in order to serve the best interests of the first-team squad, my coaching team and the culture and environment we have created in these last two seasons.

“The Board and myself are united and they have been very supportive to me on this issue.

“Our real focus now turns to Sunday’s match and beyond, working with our players here who are committed to doing all they can to ensure another successful season for the Club.

“Finally, I would like to thank Moussa for his contribution in our last two seasons and want to wish him well in his new adventure at Lyon.”

Celtic accept Dembele bid – update

Another update from Get French Football News, who claim Dembele had his Lyon medical in Scotland earlier today.

He has supposedly SIGNED his contract at Lyon and all that is required now is for the league to ratify the deal.

Celtic are not in a position to sign a replacement for Dembele but Brendan Rodgers nevertheless has a strong squad.

Express Sport understands a late bid for Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna is not on the cards.

Celtic accept Dembele offer

Celtic have accepted Lyon’s final offer for striker Moussa Dembele.

Get French Football News claim a source at Lyon have confirmed the deal is happening with just hours of the transfer window remaining.

Dembele spent just 15 minutes at Celtic training today, where he spoke to manager Brendan Rodgers before leaving.

The want-away striker will cost Lyon around £20m and he will sign a five-year contract at the French club.

Liverpool agree sale

Liverpool are finally set to offload Lazar Markovic for good – but will make a massive loss on the winger.

Liverpool signed Markovic from Benfica in 2014 for a staggering £20m.

He now leaves for Anderlecht in a £2.9m deal – a huge £17.1m loss on Brendan Rodgers’ first Anfield signing.

Markovic spent six months on loan at Anderlecht last term.

Rangers reject deal

Rangers have rejected a second bid from West Brom for their captain James Tavernier.

Rangers are desperate to keep the defender this summer but are facing a battle to fend off the Baggies.

Rangers are preparing for the Old Firm this weekend and the last thing manager Steven Gerrard wants is to lose his captain.

And Sky Sports say an offer by West Brom to sign Tavernier has been rejected, after the Baggies made a £3m bid earlier this month.

Time to go Cornelius

How’s this for a transfer story? Atalanta are set to offload Andreas Cornelius onto Bordeaux… less than 24 hours after he cost them a place in the Europa League.

Cornelius missed a penalty in the shoot-out against FC Copenhagen last night that saw Atalanta crash out of Europa League qualifying.

The Denmark international was playing against his former club and may end up facing them AGAIN this season.

That’s because his to-be new side Bordeaux today drew Copenhagen in the Europa League group stages. Small world!

Aston Villa deal falls through!

Aston Villa’s deal to send Albert Adomah to Middlesbrough has fallen through.

Villa had agreed to sent Adomah to Boro once their capture of Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham had been wrapped up.

But Adomah has failed to secure is transfer to Teeside and will now remain at Villa Park.

It was claimed the winger was sent to be released on his contract to therefore sign on a permanent deal at the Riverside.

Aston Villa done deal!

Aston Villa have signed Tammy Abraham from Chelsea.

The Championship club will bring in Abraham on a season-long loan.

Abraham has previously gone on loan at Bristol City and Swansea.

The 20-year-old boasts two England caps.

Everton decision made

Everton manager Marco Silva has decided to keep Ademola Lookman after RB Leipzig balked at his £28m price tag.

“I don’t like to talk about every day him,” said Silva. “I have already told you my thoughts about him and his skills as a player. Our decision is already made.

“Of course. He stays in our plans. He has to work to take his position in our squad.

“He is fit and training with the team tomorrow and this morning.”

La Liga done deals

Sevilla are all set to sign Quincy Promes from Spartak Moscow after Real Madrid hijacked their deal for Mariano.

Real Madrid exercised a buy-back option for Mariano from Lyon after the French club had agreed a £36m sale to Sevilla.

Real will pay around £20m for the 25-year-old, who only left the Bernabeu last summer.

Promes will head to Spain in an £18m transfer .

Derby Done Deal!

Derby have sent striker Chris Martin on loan to Hull for the season.

Martin, 29, has been on Derby’s books since 2013.

He has previously gone on loan to Fulham and Reading, and joins Hull until the end of the Championship season.

He scored just twice in 39 appearances for Derby, Reading and Scotland last term.

Leeds United done deal

Leeds United have sent midfielder Eunan O’Kane on loan to Luton Town.

The deal will last until January 10 and sees O’Kane, 28, drop down a division.

The midfielder has been at Elland Road since his move from Bournemouth in 2016.

He has not made an appearance for Leeds so far this season.

Leeds signing close

Leeds have beaten the likes of Bayern Munich and AC Milan to the signing of teenage sensation Niklas Haugland.

The Norwegian youngster plays for third tier side Fana IL but has been on trial in England and has impressed youth coaches, who persuaded the Whites to push forward and snap up the raw talent. 

Haugland, 16, has previously been on trial at the likes of Bayern, Milan and Red Bull Salzburg, who all tried to tie down the forward down to a long-term deal. 

But according to Football Insider, the starlet is close to completing his move to Elland Road subject to passing his medical in Yorkshire.

Abraham to Villa today

Aston Villa are set to sign Chelsea ace Tammy Abraham today.

The Championship side are keen to bolster their attacking ranks.

Steve Bruce can complete loan signings before today’s 5pm deadline.

And according to The Sun, Chelsea youngster Abraham is heading to Villa Park.

Woodward decision

United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has no intention of sacking Jose Mourinho.

Reports have claimed the Red Devils boss could face the axe if United lose at Burnley on Sunday afternoon.

However, according to The Guardian, Mourinho and Woodward’s relationship has never been better.

They say the United executive vice-chairman has told friends his relationship with Mourinho hasn’t been affected by their poor run of form.

Rangers done deal

Rangers have confirmed the signing of Nottingham Forest star Joe Worrall on a season-long loan deal.

The defender was highly rated while at Forest and is seen as a coup for the Ibrox outfit as they look to topple Celtic this season.

Worrall’s deal was all-but confirmed by Steven Gerrard last night as Rangers drew with FC Ufa in the Europa League. 

Speaking in Russia at full-time, the Gers boss said: “Hopefully there will be some good news with [Eros] Grezda in the coming days but in terms of Joe, it’s good news.”

Villa medical

Aston Villa defender Tommy Elphick is having a medical at Hull today.

Sky Sports claim the 30-year-old will be loaned out again this season.

Elphick spent the second half of last season on loan at Reading.

Hull look set to beat QPR to the centre-back, who won the Championship with Bournemouth in 2015.

Dembele update

Moussa Dembele is ‘confused’ as Brendan Rodgers continues to block his move to Lyon, despite being TOLD to leave in previous transfer windows.

The Frenchman is still trying to force a move away from Parkhead before tonight’s transfer deadline but Rodgers is refusing to sell.

But according to Get French Football News, this has made Dembele confused as the Hoops boss has repeatedly tried to engineer his exit from the club. 

The French outlet claim Rodgers told the striker to leave Celtic in January, talking up the likes of West Brom and Brighton who had expressed an interest.