Villa sign goalkeeper Suzuki and left-back Ruggeri

Zion Suzuki has 28 caps for Japan while Matteo Ruggeri has played for Italy at all levels apart from senior

Aston Villa have confirmed the signings of goalkeeper Zion Suzuki and left-back Matteo Ruggeri.

Japan international Suzuki makes the move to Villa Park from Italian side Parma for a fee in the region of £30m.

Italian full-back Ruggeri joins Villa in a deal worth £17m from La Liga side Atletico Madrid.

Suzuki, 23, joins despite Emi Martinez’s move to Juventus collapsing over the weekend, with the two clubs unable to agree a fee.

Martinez, who helped Villa win the Europa League in May and was victorious in the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, faces an uncertain future after his failed move to Juve.

Villa view 23-year-old Suzuki as their long-term number one, potentially for the next decade.

He had been at Parma for two years, making 59 appearances for the Serie A side and helping them finish 13th last season.

Ruggeri, 24, who is yet to be capped at senior level for Italy, comes in to replace Lucas Digne - who signed for European champions Paris St-Germain on 9 August.

A Europa League winner with Atalanta in 2024, Ruggeri made over 100 appearances for the Serie A side before completing a transfer to Atletico last summer.

Both could make their debuts in Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brighton.

Suzuki’s former coach at Sint-Truiden in Belgium, Dennis Rudel, conjures up an intriguing image of Villa’s new goalkeeper.

“We played in Anderlecht and after the game we went out to the bus and there was a fight with hooligans,” he tells BBC Sport.

“The head coach called for Zion: ‘Come here, get out of the bus and clear the situation.’

“It was a joke but you have a picture of Asterix and Obelix and everything is flying away. You have never seen a goalkeeper or a player like that.”

The comparison with Asterix, the cartoon character who gains immense strength after taking a magic potion, is telling, and Rudel believes Villa have signed a unique player.

“I saw his power immediately. To show your strength in the game you have to let the tiger out on the pitch, let the beast out. He is so powerful, I have never seen a goalkeeper like it,” said Rudel, who worked with Suzuki when he was on loan at Sint-Truiden in 2023-24.

“He has such big hands and is powerful - when he can reach the ball it will be 90-95% a save, maybe other keepers touch the ball but it goes in. With him it is something really special.

“After the first two weeks of working with him I said to him you don’t need your apartment, you live in the gym.”

Rudel also praised Suzuki’s distribution, with both his arms and feet, and believes his former player can become one of the world’s best.

“It’s possible because if he stays healthy and with his physical strength there is no one better in the world, in terms of dynamic, jumping power, throws, kicking the ball,” said the former Union Berlin coach.

“When I watched him at the World Cup, his biggest strength is he is mentally clear - the focus on the game or the training sessions is so good. He is always prepared, really disciplined.

“When I see how he always adapts so quickly over the last four years, I’m convinced he can play at that [Premier League] level.

“There are big footsteps from Martinez [to follow], you get measured and compared to Martinez. It would be the same at Bayern Munich with the new Manuel Neuer - Jonas Urbig who is starting to replace him - you get compared to the former player.

“He’s aiming to show he can be one of the best. He was immediately one of the top four or five goalkeepers in Serie A.

“As a person and a player, he is a role model and how you should behave. I don’t see any weakness in him.”

Rudel was key in bringing Suzuki to Europe having travelled to Japan in 2020 for coaching clinics and met Suzuki’s coach at Urawa Red Diamonds, with the goalkeeper being flagged to him.

Sint-Truiden, who have also had Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and Crystal Palace duo Takehiro Tomiyasu and Daichi Kamada on their books, are owned by Japanese electronics and internet company DMM.com.

That helped pave Suzuki’s route to Belgium, and a year later he joined Parma for £8m.

“[In 2023] we were looking for a new goalkeeper and had a couple of on the list but all of a sudden the club said we had an option to get Zion. I said to the sporting director ‘forget the list - if we can get him, get him’,” added Rudel.

“His level went up really quickly, he is very ambitious, he wanted to learn a lot, he asked a lot. We did a lot of video analysis and I can remember how nice it was to work with him. It was a shame it was only one season.”

Barcelona sign Rodri from Man City in £65m deal

Barcelona have announced the signing of midfielder Rodri from Manchester City in a deal worth in the region of £65m.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has signed a four-year contract at the Nou Camp, returning to Spanish football for the first time since he left Atletico Madrid in 2019.

Rodri, 30, leaves City after seven seasons at the club, having made 298 appearances and won 12 major honours, including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three EFL Cups and the Champions League in 2023.

His final two seasons at the club were disrupted by injury but he returned to his best form in this summer’s World Cup, being named player of the tournament as Spain lifted the trophy for the second time.

In a farewell message to City fans, Rodri said: “I am leaving the club with a huge sense of pride about what we have achieved and gratitude too for so many amazing memories.

“What we have done together in these years is something both very special and unforgettable.

“City didn’t just make me a grow as a player. They made me grow as a human. I saw my brother graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University. I could see my girlfriend working for the NHS. Manchester shaped my whole life.”

Rodri was into the final 12 months of a contract he signed with City in 2022, and although the Premier League side wanted to give him an extension, talks did not yield a result.

Real Madrid looked best placed to sign the midfielder, but sources told BBC Sport Barcelona had Rodri’s approval to open negotiations with City.

Speaking to Spanish radio in March about the prospect of joining Real Madrid, former Atletico player Rodri said: “There are more players who have taken that path. Not directly, but over time. You can’t turn down the best clubs in the world.”

However, Real Madrid ended their interest and after City rejected Barcelona’s opening offer of £38.5m, an agreement was reached for a figure well in excess of that initial approach.

On Monday, Rodri flew to Barcelona and told journalists at the airport that it is a “dream” to play for the Catalan side.

Newcastle complete £30m move for Benfica's Dedic

Newcastle United have signed defender Amar Dedic from Benfica for about £30m.

Dedic has joined the club on a five-year deal after having a medical on Tyneside on Monday.

He has reunited with manager Matthias Jaissle, with whom he previously won the Austrian title at Red Bull Salzburg in 2023.

“It’s a special feeling and a really big honour for me to join Newcastle United,” he said after the move was announced on Tuesday, his 24th birthday.

“I’m really happy to be here and can’t wait to start playing for the club and the amazing fans.”

“Working with Matthias again was a big factor for me. We know each other well. He knows what I can bring on the pitch and I’m really happy to be playing for him again.”

“Playing Premier League football at St James’ Park is going to be really special. Every game feels like a big occasion, with an amazing atmosphere. I’m really excited to get started.”

Newcastle had been in the market for a new right-back following the departure of veteran Kieran Trippier, who joined Wolves on a free transfer when his contract expired earlier this summer.

Dedic could quickly be called upon to feature in Newcastle’s season opener at home to Liverpool on Sunday as Tino Livramento is still recovering from a calf injury he sustained on international duty with England in June.

Jaissle said he was “really looking forward” to working with the defender again.

“He’s a player who I know really well, having worked with him from a young age in Austria and followed his career since,” he said.

“He will bring both defensive and attacking qualities to our squad, which suits the style of football that we want to play.”

“He’s athletic, aggressive and technically very good, but also has a lot of potential to develop further.”

Dedic has already experienced what it is like to play at St James’ Park.

The defender was part of the Benfica side thumped 3-0 by Newcastle in the Champions League last season, so he will be hoping for a much happier experience if he lines up against Liverpool on Sunday.

Dedic is one of Newcastle’s oldest signings this summer – which is saying something – and only the second over the age of 20, alongside goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek.

The defender has never played in the Premier League before and, like all of Newcastle’s six arrivals, he will need time to adapt to the intensity and physicality of the top-flight.

But Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson has already noted how Dedic is “incredibly hungry” to prove himself.

Dedic, crucially, already knows what Jaissle demands and expects from his full-backs, so it is likely the head coach will not think twice about throwing him in at the weekend, even after just a handful of training sessions with his new team-mates.

He certainly has the engine to get up and down the pitch.

Although Dedic only made 24 appearances in Portugal’s Primeira Liga last season, he ranked second for full-backs for carries into the attacking third (49) and third for progressive carries (202) and total carries (325).

His ability to also offer cover at left-back will be invaluable, but Newcastle clearly need further reinforcements before the window shuts on 1 September.

Stockport sign Man Utd winger Ennis

Ennis scored six goals in 46 appearances for Fleetwood Town in all competitions last season

Stockport County have signed Manchester United winger Ethan Ennis for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.

The 21-year-old scored three times in 39 League Two appearances on loan at Fleetwood last season.

He could make his debut for the Hatters against Blackpool on Saturday.

“Ethan was initially made available to us on a loan basis so to be able to turn that into a permanent deal feels like a real coup for the club,” Stockport’s head of recruitment Jonathan Smith told the club website.

Cagliari's Trepy in intensive care after reported pool incident

Cagliari striker Yael Trepy is in intensive care in hospital after he reportedly lost consciousness in a swimming pool in Sardinia.

On Monday, Cagliari released a statement to say the 20-year-old is being treated at Santissima Annunziata Civil Hospital in Sassari.

Sardinian newspaper Unione Sarda reported that Trepy was airlifted to hospital after the incident at a villa on Sunday afternoon.

“The club is in constant contact with the healthcare facility and the player’s family and is closely monitoring the progress of his condition,” said Cagliari.

“At this time, Cagliari Calcio’s thoughts are with Yael and his family. The club also requests the utmost respect for their privacy and will provide any updates when available.”

Cagliari players had the weekend off after they beat Arezzo 1-0 in the Coppa Italia on Friday, in which Trepy played 54 minutes.

Trepy scored once in eight Serie A appearances last season after being a Cagliari youth player.

He joined the club’s academy in 2022, having started his youth career with Parisian side US Creteil-Lusitanos.

BBC Sport has contacted Cagliari for comment.