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      Fulham complete Antonee Robinson transfer from Wigan on £50k-a-week deal after USA star snubs Everton return

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      FULHAM have signed Antonee Robinson from Wigan on a four-year £50,000-a-week deal.
      The USA star has snubbed the chance to return to Everton as he joins the mass exodus at the crisis-hit Latics.

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      Fulham have signed Antonee Robinson from Wigan
      The fee is believed to be £1.9million.
      Left back Robinson headed to London from Wigan on Sunday to finalise the deal.
      And once the move was confirmed, Robinson, 23, said: “I am made up to be a Fulham player.

      “I was really excited to get down here and get everything signed. When the lads get back in here, I can’t wait to get going.

      “I heard a few days ago that Scott Parker was interested in me and wanted to speak to me personally.
      “We had a zoom call and he was really keen to get the deal done and for me to be a Fulham player.
      “Fulham play a really nice style of football and I can see myself fitting in perfectly.
      “As soon as I heard of the ambitions of the Club it was an easy decision for me.”

      Fulham offered £1.9m on Friday but Robinson’s former club Everton had a 48-hour window to match the bid and speak to the player.
      Goodison transfer chief Marcel Brandts told Robinson he wanted him back – a year after selling him to Latics – but he has chosen Fulham instead.
      Sheffield United and West Brom were left disappointed in the chase for the defender who is one of many leaving troubled Wigan.
      The Blades originally offered £3 million, but dropped the bid when they found out he had a relegation release clause.
      Back in January, Robinson was on the verge of a dream £10m move to AC Milan but it fell through just before the transfer deadline.
      Fulham boss Parker is also thought to be looking at a loan move for Chelsea’s Ethan Ampadu.

      Frank Lampard wants the Wales international to gain Premier League experience after spending last season with Champions League semi-finalists RB Leipzig.
      Norwich are also keen but will miss out after being relegated to the Championship.
      Ampadu made just seven appearances at Leipzig and Fulham will be expected to give him plenty of minutes.

      Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder welcomes new goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Bournemouth More

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      Charlton invite Love Island star Dennon Lewis to train with club as Lee Bowyer considers signing non-league striker

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      LEE BOWYER is running the rule over non-league striker Dennon Lewis.
      SunSport revealed Charlton’s interest in the Wealdstone forward back in June.

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      Charlton are running the rule over non-league striker Dennon Lewis

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      SunSport revealed Charlton’s interest in the Wealdstone forward back in June
      Addicks’ fans were alerted to ex-Love Island contestant Lewis’ involvement in training yesterday from pictures sent out by the club online.
      Charlton boss Bowyer knows Lewis from his days helping out Watford‘s Under-21 side and is ready to seal a deal and bring the 23-year-old to the Valley.
      Ipswich, Sunderland, Huddersfield, Oxford and Leyton Orient have all shown interest in the striker, who scored 14 and set up another 11 as Wealdstone won the National League title.
      League One Charlton will hope 2019 reality TV show contestant Lewis can follow in the footsteps of Macauley Bonne, who has shone at Charlton since taking the plunge from non-league.

      Meanwhile Preston are eyeing up a cut-price move for Charlton’s striker Macauley Bonne.
      Alex Neil’s side, who finished four points off the play-off places, could make an opening bid of £500,000 plus add-ons next week.
      Former Leyton Orient striker Bonne jumped three divisions last season but more than held his own in the Championship, scoring 11 goals.

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      Ipswich, Sunderland, Huddersfield, Oxford and Leyton Orient have all shown interest in Lewis

      Preston are waiting to see what happens with crisis club Charlton’s financial situation.

      As SunSport revealed earlier this week, the London club are facing being booted out of the EFL unless current owners ESI sell.
      Preston see 24-year-old former non-League striker Bonne as a rough diamond with bags of potential.

      Republic of Ireland fans line the streets in their hundreds to celebrate the life of Jack Charlton More

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      Rock ‘n roll businessman Thomas Sandgaard in Charlton talks… and vows take Addicks to never-never land

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      THOMAS SANDGAARD has two loves – rock music and football.
      And while most people are thinking towards their retirement at the age of 62, the US-based Danish businessman has decided to pursue new careers involving his biggest passions.

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      Rock ‘n’ roll businessman Thomas Sandgaard is in talks to buy CharltonCredit: Instagram / @sandgaardfnd
      Having acquired a personal wealth believed to be in excess of £400million supplying medical devices, Sandgaard is recording a debut rock album as lead guitarist of his newly-formed band The Guardian Angel.
      But that work is on hold because he is negotiating to buy Charlton Athletic.
      And the musician has a Eurovision dream – to rock The Valley with European football.
      He told SunSport: “I’m competitive so want Charlton going for trophies.

      “The more important ones are when you’re in the Premier League – but to do that you need infrastructure supporting it.

      SANDGAARD ON LEE BOWYER

      LEE has done a superb job and plays a positive high-energy game that you need to be successful.

      It’s the football I like to watch as a fan. He clearly has all the players playing for him and my first aim if I take over will be to make him my best friend.

      “Then we can be playing for silverware on a European level and I mean the Europa League and Champions League.”
      That is some claim for a club that has been out of the top flight for 13 seasons and had THREE different chairmen in the last year.
      And a team that has been relegated to League One and in danger of going into administration if a takeover deal is not completed by the time the season kicks off on September 12. 

      But Sandgaard says he and his legal team have had “constructive, encouraging and positive dialogue” with current club owners ESI as well as former owner Roland Duchatelet, who still owns The Valley and their Sparrows Lane training base – having sold the Addicks separately for a quid in December.
      On paper, it is a mess. Current chairman Paul Elliott wants to take legal action against ESI majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer after insisting he had a written agreement the club would be sold to him.

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      Sandgaard plays in a rock band and is recording their debut albumCredit: Instagram / @sandgaardfnd
      He is currently seeking an injunction to stop any sale – despite having failed the EFL’s owners and directors’ test.
      That all comes months after ex-chairman Matt Southall was removed from his post by Nimer in March and club lawyer Chris Farnell sacked last week.
      But Sandgaard said: “It doesn’t scare me. It’s not as complicated as some make out.
      “We all know where Roland stands in this and his history with the club. The difficult part was getting him to start communicating and the same thing with the whole Nimer-Southall part and then Elliott and Farnell. 
      “Once you take the drama away, there’s a deal that can easily be done ahead of the new season – one that ideally includes everything, the club, stadium and training ground. 

      Sandgaard on avoiding administration

      I’M trying everything I can to get a deal done before the start of the new season to avoid a scenario of the club going into administration.

      I’d rather pay more money now, than picking it up cheaper later, because there would be too many negatives involved. We’d have a 12-point deduction and much more rebuilding would need to be done. I want to avoid that and we can. 

      “I’ve hired attorneys from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer – a huge international legal firm – and where my lack of experience in negotiating in English football falls short, they’ve been brilliant in cutting through and seeing the simplicity.
      “And regardless of who is in charge of ESI, there’s a solution.”
      But the big question since Sandgaard revealed his hand last Thursday is why would a Dane living in the US want to buy a League One club in turmoil?
      He said: “I’ve two passions – rock music and football.
      “I was a bit of a nerd when I was 13 so decided to go out and buy a guitar because I wanted to be one of the cool kids and be a rock musician. 

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      Sandgaard made his £400m fortune supplying medical devicesCredit: Instagram @sandgaardfnd
      “But I also played football at amateur level in Denmark and started to love the English game when I watched on TV Chelsea winning the FA Cup in 1970.
      “I moved to the States more than 20 years ago to start my own business out of a one-bedroom flat and spent years personally bankrupting myself to make sure wages and bills were paid. 
      “But in the last few years I’ve reached a point financially where I can do something like this.
      “Three months ago, a friend asked, ‘Have you thought about owning an English football club?’
      “And I thought, ‘Wow, that could be one of the more positive things I could do in my life.’”

      Sandgaard on relationship with Charlton fans

      I WENT on social media mainly to try to get communicating with Roland Duchatelet and ESI, who were hesitant on picking up the phone at the start.

      But the happy side effect of that was I’ve started having great dialogue with the fans. I’ve learned so much from them and they’ve actually helped me a lot in my negotiations to buy the club.

      So Sandgaard networked with various clubs as well as coaching staff at several teams.
      He held talks with QPR but “they wanted a couple of hundred million” then looked at Sunderland before settling for Charlton.
      The Dane explained: “They stood out. Take the ownership drama and relegation out of the equation and everything is good.
      “The foundations are right, they’ve an amazing history and had a lot of Danish players over the years like Allan Simonsen, Dennis Rommedahl and Claus Jensen.
      “I went to The Valley and training ground two weeks ago. The stadium was shut and I almost attempted to climb the fence – but I could see from the outside it was a fantastic arena. They’ve a passionate fanbase too.”

      Sandgaard on immediate plans

      THE club needs stability.

      I am not going to make a wild claim that we will be in the Premier League in x-amount of years. No, we will focus on getting this club stable for the next two years and build from there.

      If his takeover is successful, Sandgaard wants to keep Lee Bowyer as manager and vowed not to make sweeping changes to the long-suffering staff who have been trying to run the club in difficult circumstances.
      However, he will recruit experienced football executives to provide leadership.
      One person he will offer a role to is Peter Varney, who not only is a lifelong fan but was CEO when the club were in the Premier League.
      And he also has pledged to make sure the club remain at The Valley and their training ground with fears among fans that both could be sold for housing.
      And – although Sandgaard acknowledges there is a need for clubs to operate within their financial means – he has vowed to give Bowyer funds to strengthen.

      Sandgaard on his favourite player

      ALAN SIMONSEN – who joined Charlton from Barcelona – was one of the best Danish players ever.

      He had great visiion and, like a chess player, could see four or five plays ahead. It’s crazy to think he signed for Charlton after scoring the deciding goal for Barcelona in the European Cup Winners Cup final in 1982.

      He said: “I want to strike a balance between investing to be successful and sticking to within the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules. It’s about being smart and the best in the environment you’re in.
      “Fans were unhappy with Roland’s vision for the club and his investment. It’s maybe not how I’d have done things because we have different philosophies.
      “I’d focus more on football than just looking at Charlton as a capital investment.”
      So when will Sandgaard have time to finish this album? He has been working with Danish drummer Kenny Aranoff, who played with greats such as Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, BB King, Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder, Bon Jovi and Meat Loaf.
      And he in turn roped in Bon Jovi lead guitarist Phil X and Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney.
      Sandgaard – who has Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water as his personal mobile dialling tone – said: “We got together for five days straight in a studio for 12 hours solid and recorded nine tracks.

      “Covid-19 – and now Charlton – have delayed things but I’ve been buying up all the domain names for when we finally launch.”
      And he might do a gig at The Valley and invite assistant-manager and guitar-playing singer Johnnie Jackson to join him.
      He laughed: “I never knew about Johnnie but been checking him out online. He’s really good. If we get promoted, we’ll have to do a gig.”

      England wonderkid Jeremy Sarmiento impresses at Benfica after Charlton move More

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      Gauthier Ganaye leading shock last-ditch bid to save stricken Wigan with rescue package needed before end of month

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      GAUTHIER GANAYE has emerged as a shock late bidder to save crisis club Wigan Athletic. 
      Ganaye is chief executive at Belgian side Oostende after previous spells in senior roles at Barnsley and French club Nice. 

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      Frenchman Gauthier Ganaye has emerged as a shock late bidder to save crisis club Wigan AthleticCredit: AFP
      He is fronting a move for Latics and flew to England to look round their facilities and meet the administrators seeking a rescue package before the end of the month. 
      Ganaye has links with several money men through his contacts in the game and the identity of the new foreign bidders should emerge this week. 
      The Frenchman works closely with Chinese billionaire Chien Lee and Americans Krishen Sud and Paul Conway. 
      Lee and Conway are currently involved with Barnsley and could not have a stake in two English teams.

      However there are other people in their network who are looking to take charge of an English club. 
      Gauthier refused to reveal his backroom team and said: “I do not wish to comment on that.”

      The young Frenchman has also been linked with a takeover at Toulouse and even a role at Charlton. 
      However Wigan insiders reveal he was ‘plausible’ when he met them last week. 

      The administrators have set a deadline for the club to be bought by the end of the month or its future is in peril.  More

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      EFL wanted to RELEGATE Sheffield Wednesday – but bungled case to save Owls and send Charlton down instead

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      THE EFL wanted to relegate Sheffield Wednesday — but bungled their handling of the case.
      An explosive report by an independent disciplinary commission explains why the Owls escaped with a Financial Fair Play penalty that was suspended until next season.

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      Sheffield Wednesday survived at Charlton’s expenseCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      It went against the EFL’s push for a full 12 points to be stripped from Wednesday for going £18million above their limit during a three-year period.
      Such a punishment would have put Wednesday in the Championship’s bottom three and saved Charlton from the drop.
      Instead the IDC panel let off the Owls because the EFL took too long to bring charges — as well as pursuing the wrong case first.
      The governing body initially wanted Wednesday officials to be sanctioned for their part in owner Dejphon Chansiri buying the Hillsborough stadium.

      That case was dismissed and by the time their focus turned to the FFP offence, it was too late for them to handle it quickly.
      The report said the penalty for the first breach should have been imposed before the end of the 2018-19 season. However, that would not have sent the club down in that campaign — so the EFL went after them in the season just ended.
      Football chiefs also revealed they planned to dock points from Derby if they are found guilty of a similar offence and apply that penalty next season too.
      INCONSISTENCY
      The inconsistency in the EFL’s punishments has also been hammered in the report, which will be published tomorrow.

      The commission felt the eventual Wednesday hearing was held so late, it would have been unfair to dock them points this season.
      It said: “If the penalty had been applied at a very much earlier stage, the club would have had the opportunity to improve its position by performance. Because of the delayed hearing it will have been deprived of that opportunity.
      “The evidence  indicates that the club resumed with a reduced squad as some players would not play beyond June 30, leading to an under-strength team.

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      Lee Bowyer’s side were relegated on the final dayCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      “This, in our view, is another factor to be borne in mind in assessing the fairness and proportionality of imposing the  deduction.”
      Wednesday will now start next season with the 12-point penalty. They can appeal after receiving the  findings.
      It will cause anger at Charlton, where they felt the Yorkshire club should have been relegated instead of them.

      Simon Jordan outlines his plan for a fairer future for the Premier League and EFL More

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      EFL wanted to RELEGATE Sheffield Wednesday – but bungled case saved the Owls at Charlton’s expense

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      THE EFL wanted to relegate Sheffield Wednesday — but bungled how they handled the case. An explosive report by an independent disciplinary commission explains why the Owls escaped with a Financial Fair Play penalty that was suspended to next season. It went against the EFL’s push for a full 12 points to be stripped from […] More

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      Macclesfield relegated after EFL win points deduction appeal as Stevenage stay up despite winning THREE games

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      MACCLESFIELD were left shocked after being booted back into non-league football as the EFL won their appeal against the Silkmen’s suspended points deduction.
      In a stunning move, an independent arbitration panel backed the EFL who argued the four-point penalty imposed and suspended in June should apply immediately.

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      Macclesfield Town have been relegated from League Two after a points deductionCredit: PA:Press Association
      With the decision “final and binding”, the Cheshire club were plunged to the foot of the League Two table and sent through the trapdoor back into the National League for the second time in their history.
      And it meant a dramatic reprieve for Stevenage, after the Hertfordshire side finished bottom of the pile after picking up just 22 points from their 36 games before the shutdown.
      Instead, Macclesfield paid the ultimate price for a series of financial problems which left players unpaid, fixtures postponed and the deduction of a total of 17 points over the campaign.
      Macclesfield had seven points deducted – with a further three point loss suspended – for failing to fulfil their local derby at Crewe in December.

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      It’s great news for Stevenage who are now staying upCredit: Reuters
      In May, they lost those three points, plus four more – with an extra two suspended – when their home game with Plymouth was postponed because of no safety certificate.
      And in June they appeared to have survived when the independent commission docked them just two points for failing to pay March wages and not acting in good faith, with another four point loss again suspended into next season.
      With League Two positions determined on a points per game basis, Macclesfield remained above Stevenage but the EFL announced last month it was appealing.
      That appeal verdict, meaning the Silkmen’s 19 points from 37 games takes them below Stevenage, was announced last night.

      Macclesfield’s official website merely reported the EFL’s statement, ending briefly: “The club will be providing further comment in due course.”

      But fans accused the EFL of orchestrating a “farce”, accusing League chiefs of “corruption at its finest” although one added: “Fans have a right to be angry – let down by their club and poor ownership and management.”
      Stevenage, who had been incandescent at the initial punishment, offered a muted official response.
      The club’s Twitter feed reported: “The outcome of today’s EFL hearing means that StevenageFC will remain in SkyBet League Two next season.”

      Arsenal icon Sol Campbell reveals Macclesfield have not paid him for two months… but he ‘won’t give up on them’ More