Cannon Fodder News and Links: Busy busy

Hi - I’m really busy at work so here are the links from Backheel Breakfast, who seem to have been bailing me out a lot lately.

Real Madrid fans, look away now. Zinedine Zidane's side had been strongly tipped to win the race to sign Valencia's young midfielder André Gomes, though yesterday Barcelona unexpectedly confirmed that they had instead reached an agreement to sign the Portuguese international.

This is a deal that could have interesting ramifications in the transfer market. Madrid have seemed pretty keen on strengthening their midfield this summer, though missing out on Gomes could force them into pursuing other targets. Paul Pogba, perhaps? And what may become of Barcelona's Ivan Rakitić, whose future is being called into question in light of the Gomes agreement? Watch this space.

In the news

The new coach of the Spanish national team is Julen Lopetegui. (@julenlopetegui)

Protracted negotiations between the FA and Sunderland are delaying Sam Allardyce's appointment. (Independent)

David Moyes is to replace Allardyce at Sunderland. (Guardian)

Paul Clement and Fernando Hierro could team up with incoming England manager. (Eurosport)

Juventus have confirmed the capture of Marko Pjaca. (Juventus)

Watford have landed Marseille defender Brice Dja Djédjé. (Watford FC)

Shane Long has signed a new long-term deal at Southampton. (Southampton FC)

Former Leicester assistant Steve Walsh has been appointed Everton's director of football. (Everton)

The mayor of Padova has apologised to Lazio's Keita Baldé after he was racially abused in a pre-season friendly. (Guardian)

Minnesota United have offered a response to yesterday's hilarious own goal by goalkeeper Sammy Ndjock. (YouTube)

You should be reading

Raphaël Honigstein and Stefan Reinartz discussing a new passing metric, packing. (ESPN)

Alex Netherton has been looking at how Manchester United will be shrewdly monetising Alex Ferguson this year. (Yahoo)

From the rumor mill

Please don't take anything in this section too seriously, for your own peace of mind.

Chelsea are interested in signing PSG striker Edinson Cavani. (The Sun)

However, the Blues are apparently chasing Everton's Romelu Lukaku. (Daily Mail)

Manchester City have made a surprise move for Arsenal full-back Héctor Bellerín. (Mirror)

Stoke have failed in their attempt to sign Robin van Persie on a season-long loan. (ESPNFC)

West Ham haven't yet given up on trying to lure AC Milan's Carlos Bacca. (The Sun)