France midfielder Corentin Tolisso has moved to Bayern Munich from Lyon for a reported 35mn euros, the Bundesliga champions announced yesterday. The 22-year-old signed a five-year deal with Bayern to bring an end to his 10-year association with Lyon. Tolisso, who made his senior France debut against Spain in March, had been contracted to stay at Parc OL until 2020. He impressed in the recent French season by scoring 14 goals in all competitions, a career-best tally.
Tolisso is Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti’s most expensive signing of the close-season so far after the arrival of defender Niklas Sule from Hoffenheim for 20mn euros, and the permanent transfer of Tolisso’s compatriot Kingsley Coman from Juventus for 21mn.

Leipzig snap up Portuguese winger Bruma
RB Leipzig have signed talented Portuguese winger Bruma from Galatasaray on a five-year deal, the German Bundesliga runners-up announced yesterday. Reports said the transfer fee for the 22-year-old as 12mn euros ($13.5mn), with 3mn in potential bonuses. Full name Armindo Tue Na Bangna, Bruma was born in Guinea-Bissau and moved to Turkish giants Galatasaray from Sporting Lisbon in 2013 for around 10mn euros.

Roma defiant on Salah, rule out Rudiger exit
Roma have advised buyers to up their price if they are to prise coveted Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah from the club, but put the brakes on German defender Antonio Rudiger leaving the Serie A runners-up. A former Chelsea reject who has become one of Roma’s most important players, Salah has been the subject of an approach by Liverpool. But the Italians’ new sporting director Monchi, whose recruitment policies with Sevilla helped the La Liga side become one of the most potent teams in Europe, said Roma won’t let the pacy front man go easily.
“It’s true there is interest in Salah from an English club, there is an offer, but we set the price and we decide if we sell at that price,” Monchi told media during the official unveiling of new coach Eusebio Di Francesco. “There have been no negotiations about Rudiger, and there is no chance he will leave. Zero.” Roma finished runners-up for a remarkable ninth time last season since they won their last Scudetto in 2001.

Skull fracture victim Mason returns to training
Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason returned to light training yesterday five months after a horrific clash of heads in a Premier League match with Chelsea resulted in him suffering a fractured skull. The 26-year-old — Hull’s record signing last year when he joined from Tottenham Hotspur for £12mn confessed to feeling lucky to be alive after being rushed to hospital following the clash with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill in late January.
Mason, who was sorely missed as Hull ended up being relegated to the second-tier Championship, had 14 plates inserted into his skull and spent eight days in hospital. Mason — who lay prone on the ground for eight minutes after the clash — returned to Hull’s training ground to meet players and staff for the first time last month. Hull, who appointed experienced Russian Leonid Slutsky last week as manager to replace Marco Silva, have not put a timescale on Mason’s return to full training.

Tiote’s agent calls for end to speculation 
The agent of the late Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote yesterday called for the media to cease making unsubstantiated claims about the reasons for his death. The 52-time capped star — a member of the Ivory Coast squad that ended a 23-year drought in winning the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations — died after fainting during training with second division side Beijing Enterprises on June 5.
He was 30 years of age. His death shocked the football world, reverberating in England, where he played for seven years at Newcastle United before joining the Beijing team in February.
However, with his body being flown home to the Ivory Coast — after an emotional farewell held at a funeral home in China on Tuesday — Emanuele Palladino issued a statement calling on the speculation over why he died to end out of sympathy for his family’s feelings.
Tiote’s body is expected to arrive back in the Ivory Coast today and more tributes are planned for the player. Tiote was one of 10 children, who like many of his Ivory Coast team-mates, grew up in abject poverty and didn’t possess a pair of boots until he was 15, but whose lucrative move to China gave him the opportunity to help his family financially.

‘Elegant’ Eriksson sacked by Chinese club
Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was shown the door at China’s second-tier Shenzhen FC yesterday after a run of poor results. The club hailed Eriksson despite parting ways with the much-travelled Swede, who leaves with the team fourth in China League One. Eriksson joined Shenzhen in December after departing Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, despite leading them to a third-place finish last year. Shenzhen haven’t won a game since mid-April.