Jeremain Lens joins Besiktas from Sunderland

Jeremain Lens has completed his move from Sunderland to Besiktas, the club have confirmed.

The Dutch winger was always likely to leave following relegation from the Barclays Premier League and has been in Turkey in recent days to finalise the switch.

He arrived at the Stadium of Light in the summer of 2015 with high hopes but ended up with just 16 starts to his name and spent most of last season on loan at Fenerbahce.

The 29-year-old will continue to play his football in Istanbul after Besiktas agreed an undisclosed fee with the Black Cats.

A brief statement from the club read: “Jeremain Lens has completed his move to Besiktas.

“The Dutchman joins the Turkish club after two years on Wearside, where he made 24 appearances for the Black Cats, netting four goals.”

Sunderland sign Dutch goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter

Sunderland have signed goalkeeper Robbin Ruiter on a two-year deal following a trial spell.

Ruiter, 30, joined up with the Black Cats following his departure from FC Utrecht at the end of last season and featured in the pre-season campaign.

The Amsterdam-born custodian has made 234 career appearances in all competitions for Volendam and Utrecht.

Sunderland boss Simon Grayson says Ruiter is not expected to feature in Friday’s season opener against Derby.

Sunderland clinch dual signing of Aiden McGeady and James Vaughan

​Sunderland have announced the double signing of Aiden McGeady and James Vaughan as boss Simon Grayson steps up his recruitment drive.

Republic of Ireland winger McGeady joins from Everton on a three-year deal and, given how he impressed for Preston in the Championship last season, will offer Sunderland fans hope of an immediate return to the Premier League.

McGeady worked with new boss Simon Grayson during his loan spell at Deepdale, and the manager told his club’s official website: “Aiden’s career speaks volumes. He’s been an exceptional player and was an outstanding performer at Preston last season.”

The former Celtic and Spartak Moscow man is joined on Wearside by former Everton striker Vaughan.

He scored 24 goals in 37 appearances for Bury last season and has been widely considered to be better than League One standard.

“James has good experience and he scored a lot of goals last year. He’s a player who will come into the squad and give us something different because I think we were missing a striker with a physical presence – and he certainly brings that attribute,” Grayson added.

“He’s mobile, he knows where the goal is and he fits in with the ethos that we’re trying to bring to Sunderland.”

As Grayson looks to build a Sunderland squad capable of challenging for promotion, the deals represent good value for the club and are a far cry from the millions spent in the top flight.

Press Association Sport understands McGeady cost £250,000 and Vaughan £500,000.

It takes Grayson’s tally of acquisitions to four and all have links to Everton. Tyias Browning and Brendan Galloway moved from Goodison earlier this month while Vaughan started out there in 2004.

Everton defender Tyias Browning join Sunderland on loan

Sunderland have announced the signing of Everton defender Tyias Browning on a season-long loan.

The 23-year-old will link back up with Simon Grayson at the Stadium of Light, having spent the second half of last season under the new Black Cats manager while on loan at Preston.

Browning, who has made nine appearances for Everton since his debut against Liverpool in September 2014, is the second player to join Sunderland on loan from the Toffees this week, with fellow defender Brendan Galloway having also moved to the north-east.

They join other ex-Everton players Bryan Oviedo, Darron Gibson and Jack Rodwell on the books of the Championship club.

Former England Under-21 international Browning signed a new contract with Everton in January, tying him to the club until the summer of 2019.

Sunderland’s new manager Simon Grayson

Simon Grayson has a signed a three-year contract to take over as Sunderland manager.

The 47-year-old leaves Preston to take over at the Stadium of Light and brings with him his assistant Glynn Snodin.

The 47-year-old replaces David Moyes, who resigned in May following the Black Cats’ relegation to the Championship.
The ex-Huddersfield and Leeds boss has signed a three-year deal on Wearside.

After agreeing to leave his four-year spell at Deepdale and move to Wearside, Grayson said: “I’m delighted and excited by the opportunity to manage this club.
“I want to bring the good times back. Sunderland are so fortunate to have such tremendous support and I want to give these fans a team they can be proud of.”
Black Cats chief executive Martin Bain said: “From the outset he demonstrated a tremendous enthusiasm for the job and his desire and ambition to make this football club better shone through.”

Having led Preston to promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in 2015 and two successive 11th-place finishes, the club said: “We would like to place on record our thanks to Simon and Glynn for their hard work and service over the past four years.

“Current first team coach Steve Thompson will continue to look after first team affairs whilst this process in undertaken.”

Derek McInnes turn down Sunderland to remain at Aberdeen

Derek McInnes has turned down the opportunity to take charge of Sunderland and will instead remain as Aberdeen boss, the Scottish Premiership club have announced.
“Aberdeen Football Club is pleased to confirm that manager Derek McInnes and assistant Tony Docherty have elected to remain at Pittodrie until at least the summer of 2019,” the Dons confirmed in a statement on their website.

“I make no bones about it, it would have been a massive blow to lose Derek at this time, not only when we are about to embark on the new season, but knowing that so much more can be achieved with them driving the club forward.
McInnes added. “As the chairman has said, I have ambitions in the game and while there was interest from elsewhere, and I did talk to Sunderland, I feel there is so much still to be done here at Aberdeen. While we have lost players from last season, they will be replaced by signings of similar quality and our first challenge is to reach the group stages of the Europa League after coming so close in each of the last three seasons.
“Since the first day I arrived at Pittodrie, my biggest gripe has been the lack of training facilities and, with progress at last on that front, it’s something I am keen to see through to its conclusion.

“The delivery of these training and community facilities are vital, for helping retain our top players, attracting new players to the club, the development of our young players, and equally importantly enable us to play a far greater role in the wider community. I sincerely hope everyone across the Region can pull together to help develop these facilities”.

EPL results: Final day – Champions Chelsea cruise on Terry’s farewell match; Arsenal win but miss out of Champions League; Kane nets a hat trick- wins Golden boot

​Arsenal 3 – 1 Everton

Burnley 1 – 2 West Ham  United

Chelsea 5 – 1 Sunderland

Hull City 1 – 7 Tottenham  Hotspur

Leicester City 1 – 1 AFC Bournemouth

Liverpool 3 – 0 Middlesbrough

Manchester United 2 – 0 Crystal Palace

Southampton 0 – 1 Stoke City

Swansea City 2 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

Watford 0 – 5 Manchester  City

• Chelsea 5 – 1 Sunderland

Premier League champions Chelsea beat Sunderland 5-1 to break the Premier League record for wins in a season, as captain John Terry waved goodbye to Stamford Bridge.

With their 30th Premier League victory of the season, Chelsea have broken the competition record set by Jose Mourinho’s title-winning Blues teams in the 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons, who both won 29 of their 38 league matches.

The win also means Conte’s men finish the season with 93 points, a tally beaten only by Chelsea’s first Premier League title-winning side in 2004-05.

Blues legend, Terry, who has spent 22 years at the club but will leave this summer, played 26 minutes after starting his second match in a row and was replaced to a standing ovation and a guard of honour from his team-mates.

Willian’s equaliser  had already cancelled out Javier Manquillo’s third-minute strike by that point, and Eden Hazard and Pedro scored after the break to put the hosts in control.

Substitute Michy Batshuayi grabbed a late double to seal a record-breaking 30th Premier League victory this season.

It was the perfect prelude to the lifting of the trophy after the match and for Chelsea’s FA Cup final against Arsenal on Saturday.

• Hull City 1 – 7 Tottenham  Hotspur

Harry Kane finished as the Premier League’s top scorer for the second successive season after scoring a hat-trick as Tottenham thrashed Hull 7-1 on the final day.

The striker, who netted four in a 6-1 win at Leicester on Thursday, followed up with two goals inside the opening 15 minutes at the KCOM Stadium.

Dele Alli made it 3-0 before half-time and, after Sam Clucas pulled a goal back in the 66th minute, Spurs finished with a flourish.

Victor Wanyama headed in before Kane completed his hat-trick and Ben Davies and Toby Alderweireld scored their first Premier League goals of the season.

Kane wins the Golden Boot award with 29 goals, four more than nearest rival Romelu Lukaku.

And the rout concludes another impressive campaign for Spurs, who finish second behind Chelsea on 86 points with just four defeats and a club-record 26 goals conceded.

Hull, meanwhile, drop to the Championship with uncertainty over the future of Marco Silva, who was serenaded by fans throughout the match in a bid to keep him at the club, with  talks planned next week.

• Watford 0 – 5 Manchester  City

Manchester City sealed their place in next season’s Champions League by crushing Watford to finish third in Pep Guardiola’s debut season.

City skipper Vincent Kompany was left unmarked to head in an early opener before Sergio Aguero twice clinically fired in after quick counters-attacks.

The Blues, needing a point to guarantee a finish in the top four, were 4-0 up at half-time after Fernandinho bundled in.

Gabriel Jesus clipped in a fifth after the break as Watford ended the reign of departing manager Walter Mazzarri with a shocking display.

Mazzarri, who leaves after just one season, was booed by some Hornets fans during the game as the hosts suffered a sixth successive defeat to finish in 17th place.

• Liverpool 3 – 0 Middlesbrough

Liverpool secured their Champions League return as their initial nerves turned to jubilation and relegated Middlesbrough crumbled at Anfield.

With top-four rivals Arsenal ahead at Everton, Liverpool were impotent in attack and twitchy at the back for most of the first half.

But Georginio Wijnaldum eased the tension in injury time, bursting into the box and smashing in a fierce shot at the near post.

Philippe Coutinho’s low curling free-kick six minutes into the second half was quickly followed by Adam Lallana slotting in to give the Reds a comfortable cushion to ride out to full-time.

With Manchester City thrashing Watford, Liverpool finished fourth in the final Premier League table and will have to negotiate Champions League qualifying at the start of next season.

• ​Arsenal 3 – 1 Everton

Arsenal missed out on a place in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years despite beating Everton on the final day of the season.

Arsene Wenger’s side got the win they required despite having defender Laurent Koscielny sent off for a reckless first-half challenge on Everton’s Enner Valencia. He will now serve a suspension that will keep him out of the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.

Arsenal took the lead early on through Hector Bellerin’s far-post finish and Alexis Sanchez scrambled in a second after Koscielny’s dismissal to put the Gunners in control.

It was to no avail as Liverpool completed their task by beating Middlesbrough to finish fourth.

The Gunners did end the league campaign with a flourish though thanks to Aaron Ramsey’s brilliant injury-time strike from 20 yards after Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back for Everton from the penalty spot.

The hosts, who also had defender Gabriel taken off injured on a stretcher, now turn their attention to Wembley, after which an announcement on manager Wenger’s future will be made.

• Manchester United 2 – 0 Crystal Palace

Josh Harrop scored on his debut as Manchester United’s disappointing Premier League campaign ended with a comfortable victory over Crystal Palace.

Harrop was one of four players given their first top-flight starts as manager Jose Mourinho named the youngest United line-up in Premier League history, with an average age of 22 years and 284 days.

The 21-year-old midfielder was brimming with confidence and lashed in a superb finish from inside the box in the first half, and could have had a second, but curled an effort narrowly wide.

Paul Pogba doubled the advantage with a low strike before being replaced by Michael Carrick with Wednesday’s Europa League final against Ajax in mind.

With two minutes remaining the London-born and Salford-raised Angel Gomes replaced captain Wayne Rooney to become the club’s youngest ever Premier League player at 16 years and 263 days old.

He is also the first player born in the 21st century to appear in the Premier League.

Palace’s best chance went to Christian Benteke in the second half, but the striker’s towering header struck the foot of the post.

Victory means United collect £28.5m in competition prize money for a sixth place finish – their second successive season outside the top four – while Palace end the season in 14th, earning them £13.3m.

• Southampton 0 – 1 Stoke City

Southampton” miserable home form continued as Peter Crouch struck the only goal of the game to help Stoke to a first away win since January on the final day of the season.

The home side enjoyed the majority of possession but Nathan Redmond’s lob on to the bar on the stroke of half-time was their best moment until Crouch pounced.

The striker’s 10th goal of the season arrived when he headed home a Geoff Cameron cross and they deserved the lead after creating openings throughout.

Southampton rallied late on as Jack Butland produced fine saves to deny Steven Davis, James Ward-Prowse and Sofiane Boufal but Claude Puel’s side end the campaign without a win in five games at St Mary’s.

His side end the season eighth, with their lowest points tally since 2012-13, while Stoke finish 13th, their lowest finish since the same season.

• Leicester City 1 – 1 AFC Bournemouth

Bournemouth secured their highest top-flight finish with a draw at Leicester on the final day of the 2016-17 Premier League season.

Junior Stanislas put the Cherries ahead after just 59 seconds, smashing in a rebound from Ryan Fraser’s shot at the end of Lys Mousset’s driving run.

Leicester started poorly but were transformed after the break and Jamie Vardy poked in Islam Slimani’s knockdown early in the second half.

Vardy had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside nine minutes later as he stabbed in after Slimani’s blocked shot, while Slimani headed badly wide when found in space by a Riyad Mahrez free-kick with five minutes to play.

The Cherries – who finished 16th in their first Premier League campaign last year – end the season in ninth, while 2015-16 champions Leicester move down to 12th.

• Swansea City 2 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

Swansea City fought back from a goal down to beat West Brom on the final day of the Premier League season.

Having secured survival a week earlier, the hosts were in relaxed mood at a relieved Liberty Stadium but fell behind in the first half as Jonny Evans nodded in from a corner.

Swansea improved after the interval and equalised as Jordan Ayew headed his first goal for the club, before Fernando Llorente volleyed the winning goal with five minutes left.

A fourth win in five games lifts the Swans up to 15th in the Premier League table while a ninth match without victory means West Brom finish the campaign in 10th place.

Whereas the Baggies’ second-half decline was symptomatic of their fading fortunes at the end of the season, Swansea’s late revival was representative of their inspired run-in.

• Burnley 1 – 2 West Ham  United

West Ham ended their season with an away victory as they came from behind to beat Burnley at Turf Moor.

Burnley went ahead when Sam Vokes scored his 10th league goal of the season when he finished off Andre Gray’s low cross.

The hosts’ lead only lasted four minutes before Sofiane Feghouli netted to complete a fine move that also involved Edimilson Fernandes and Andre Ayew.

Ayew scored the winning goal with a close-range header after Tom Heaton had pushed Fernandes’ shot on to the crossbar.

The result means West Ham end the season in 11th place, missing out on a top-10 position on goal difference, while Burnley finish in 16th.

Preview: Chelsea Vs Sunderland

The Special One is now the Sacked One. Chelsea’s disastrous defence of their title culminated in the exit of Jose Mourinho. It has been a difficult season for the Champions with key players failing to live up to their usual high standards. In such circumstances, the manager usually takes the fall. Due to Mourinho’s reputation at Chelsea, a poor start to the season meant he had more time to turn around the season. Every bad result meant that the patience of the hierarchy at Chelsea continued to wear thin. Sadly, it did not look that they had truly turned the corner at any point in the season.

The Chelsea star players have failed to perform this season (with the exception of Willian).

They will be expected to raise their game. If they miraculously do so in this game just 48 hours after the Portuguese manager was fired, will that make Mourinho’s claim that he has been betrayed by his players true? Chelsea’s recent form has been terrible. They have only taken four points from their last seven games, losing five games in that time.

Sunderland arrives at the Bridge in similar precarious position. This season has already seen a change of manager. They will be buoyed by the fact the miracle escape of 2014 included a victory at the Bridge and will hope for similar fortune against a Chelsea side lacking in confidence but with a lot to prove. Their records against Chelsea, however, have been poor with the Blues winning 18 of the last 21 meeting with the Black Cats. The Black Cats though will be encouraged by their improved recent showings which have seen them win two out of their last five trips to Chelsea.

Team News

Chelsea

Falcao is doubtful for the game with a calf injury while Hazard could miss out with a hip injury sustained at the defeat at Leicester City.

Sunderland

Lee Cattermole and Larsson are injured with back and knee problems respectively while Coates is doubtful due to illness.

Preview: Arsenal VS Sunderland

Olivier Giroud and his teammates celebrate his goal for Arsenal in 2-0 win over Bayern Munich.

There are only three things that are inevitable in life. They are tax, death and Arsenal having an injury crisis. Every single season. It was a November to forget for the Gunners as they picked up just two points from three games. This, coupled with this latest but expected injury crisis has threatened to derail Arsenal’s season. However, they will be encouraged by the fact that they are not too far away from the leading pack and could even finish the weekend on top if all results go their way.

They face a Sunderland side who are buoyed by two consecutive wins over Crystal Palace and Stoke. The Black cats have never won at Arsenal since the start of the Premier League but they have gotten three creditable draws in their last five visit. Last season’s stalemate guaranteed that Sunderland survived the drop. They will be looking to take advantage of Arsenal’s injury worries and inflict more misery on the Gunners.

Sam Allardyce’s record at Arsenal has been abysmal. The Sunderland boss has lost his last seven games against Arsenal and last claimed a victory over Arsenal five years ago while manager of Blackburn Rovers. Arsenal have also won seven of their last 11 matches against Sunderland, with the other four ending in draws. Wenger will hope his team can continue this fantastic run and also end a poor run of form in the process.

 

Team News

Arsenal

The North London side will be without star men Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla. Both are the latest casualty following the costly draw at Norwich. Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky, Danny Welbeck, Kieran Gibbs and MIkel Arteta are all sidelined. Laurent Koscielny has recovered in time for the game while Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are available for selection again.

Sunderland

Jermaine Defoe and Sebastian Larsson both miss out due to hamstring and knee problems but Billy Jones who was suspended last weekend is available again.

Preview: Sunderland Vs Tottenham

Both sides head into the weekend still in search of their first league win of the season. If there is one opponent Spurs will want at this time, it probably will be Sunderland as they are unbeaten in the last 10 meetings between the sides. Sunderland’s poor start can be attributed to a host of factor, one of which is a series of comical defending. Tottenham, however, have sometimes in recent away games left their scoring boots at home.

Tottenham’s start to the season has been poor by their standard. They threw away a 2 goal lead at home to Stoke and Harry Kane’s form has been nowhere what it was last season. The success of the London club will depend on the ability of the Englishman to regain his goal scoring form and the supporting cast to lend a hand.

Dick Advocaat will be encouraged by his attackers’ showing in the 2-2 draw away at Aston Villa and the recent acquisition of Fabio Borini provides more reasons for optimism. But doubts still linger about the ability of his defence. Kaboul was expected to bring in some much-needed calmness and experience to that backline but that hasn’t materialized yet. The Black Cats have already shipped in 10 games this season with defeats at Leicester City away and home to Norwich City particularly disturbing. They have somewhat steadied the ship but they will know that they need to quickly convert recent draws to win in order to avoid another relegation dogfight.

Team News

Sunderland

Fabio Borini is in line for his second debut for the Black Cats after signing from Liverpool. However, on-loan DeAndre Yedlin is ineligible to play against his parent club. Jordi Gomez and Adam Johnson are back in training but are unlikely to feature due to a lack of match fitness.

Tottenham

Son Heung Min is available to make his premier league debut  but Eriksen misses out due to a knee injury. Mousa Dembele is sidelined as well with a foot problem.

Preview: Sunderland Vs Swansea

Advocaat ponders. (Getty Image)

It is safe to say that Billy Jones or anyone who will play right back for Sunderland against Swansea will not be looking forward to this game. Jefferson Montero has taken the title of Tormentor-in-chief and has already made Branislav Ivanovic look like a Sunday league footballer. Janmaat was sent off for 2 bookable challenges on the Ecuadorian international. Gary Monk will expect him to carry on from where he stopped.

Sunderland have suffered two back to back defeats this season but what will be more worrying for Dick Advocaat will be the manner of the defeats. The defence has been poor, the experienced players underwhelming and the manager would be expected to shake things up.

Swansea’s season has been the direct opposite. They have played some exhilarating football defeating Newcastle and giving Chelsea a hard time before the Champions held on to draw the opening game. The partnership between Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew has proven that it could be a very productive one and the striking duo will fancy their chances against a Black cat defence that has been out of sorts since the start of the season. With Montero causing havoc on the left side of attack, it could be a very long day for Sunderland.

Sunderland were well beaten by Leicester and Norwich in the first 2 games, sides that are expected to struggle for safety alongside the black cats. The defence have been the worse culprit having shipped in 7 goals so far this season and 12 in their last 6 home Premier League games. They also have a tendency to never recover after conceding the first goal having not won in the last 17 games in which they conceded first. Swansea will be confident of improving their record against Sunderland which has seen them pick just one win in their 12 top-flight games against Sunderland with the Black Cats keeping 3 clean sheets in the last 4 meetings between the sides.

Team News.

Sunderland

Jordi Gomez will not be involved this weekend as he continues to work his way to full fitness. John O’Shea could be recalled for this one after missing the first 2 games this season. Adam Johnson remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Swansea

Ki Sung-Yueng is Swansea’s only fitness doubt for the game. The South Korean midfielder suffered a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season at Chelsea.