Europe

Players from all 20 Premier League clubs will continue to take the knee ahead of games this season to highlight their opposition to racism, the league said on Tuesday.

The Premier League said it "wholeheartedly supported" the decision, adding that players and match officials will continue to wear a No Room For Racism badge on their shirts.

Players and staff have been taking a knee prior to kickoff since the league returned to action in June last year to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

ROME - Olivier Giroud is confident he can strike up a fearsome partnership with AC Milan talisman Zlatan Ibrahimović after leaving Chelsea to join the Serie A side in what he described as a dream move.

The 34-year-old is expected to compete with Ibrahimović for one striker spot in Stefano Pioli’s side, but he is open to the idea of forming a vastly experienced front two with the 39-year-old Swede.

Liverpool supporters have spent the summer watching the club's rivals get linked to big-name signings. 

Manchester United has signed Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, while its neighbor Manchester City is linked with $100m-plus moves for Harry Kane and Jack Grealish. Down in London, Chelsea is being tentatively linked with Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland while Arsenal is in the hunt for Inter striker Lautaro Martinez. 

More than a few eyebrows would have been raised at the news of Lassina Traoré's move to Shakhtar Donetsk this summer. Just two years after he joined Ajax from the youth side of the Dutch giant's affiliate in Cape Town, Traoré made the $12 million move to Ukraine as one of the first signings of new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who left Sassuolo to take up the post. 

After a potential title chase ended up in a fifth-place finish and a change of manager, Olympique de Marseille has been remarkably active in the transfer window this summer. 

Jorge Sampaoli has been backed to the tune of $52 million as Marseille has secured 10 signings thus far. This summer has been one of transition for the side from France's second city, as Valère Germain, Yuto Nagatomo and Florian Thauvin have left the club in addition to academy graduate Maxime Lopez, Kevin Strootman and Hiroki Sakai.

Crystal Palace supporters have good reason to be excited for the coming Premier League season. The Eagles, not generally known for efficient or exciting business in the transfer market, are in the midst of a youth revolution in the current window as they seek to improve on last season's 14th-placed finish. 

Aston Villa took supporters by surprise when the club splashed the cash to sign Emi Buendia from Norwich. The $42 million transfer made Buendia, 24, Villa's record signing. 

Rubin Kazan has one of the gems of the Russian Premier League on its hands in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The Tbilisi, Georgia, native moved to Kazan in 2019 after a loan spell with Lokomotiv Moscow. Two years on, those in decision-making positions at the capital club may be kicking themselves for not making that loan permanent. Kvaratskhelia has scored eight goals and assisted 13 in 53 appearances for Rubin Kazan and, still just 20 years old, has found himself linked with several clubs across Europe, most recently AC Milan.