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Mid-Day Ticker: Beasley moves to Puebla, United snag Young from Villa and more

Beasley

By JOHN BOSCHINI

DaMarcus Beasley is headed back across the Atlantic but south of the United States' border.

The United States' international has joined Mexican club Puebla, the club announced on its Twitter feed Wednesday. The move ends Beasley's brief stint with Hannover 96 in which he saw little playing time.

The 29-year-old midfielder played for the United States in the last three World Cups and is a veteran of Glasgow Rangers, Manchester City and PSV Eindoven. Beasley last played in North America in 2004, when he was a member of the Chicago Fire.

Puebla is the former club of United States' striker Herculez Gomez.

Here are some more stories to keep your Thursday going.

Manchester United Sign Young From Aston Villa

Manchester United has confirmed the signing of English winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa.

Young, 25, was brought to Old Trafford for a transfer fee of around 17 million pounds and has signed a five-year deal. It's the second high-profile signing of the summer transfer window for United following the arrival of defender Phil Jones from Blackburn Rovers.

Young has made 15 appearances for the English national team and scored nine goals for Aston Villa last season. 

Inter Coaching Appointment Looms

Inter Milan has announced that it will announce its new coach by the end of the weekend.

Inter president Massimo Moratti said on the club's website the announcement would come "Friday or this weekend." Inter reportedly tried to woo Fabio Capello away from England and lost out to Chelsea for the services of Andre Villas-Boas.

The leading candidate is supposedly former Genoa coach Piero Gasperini.

Croatia Fined Over Fan Violence

The Croatian Football Federation has been fined $80,000 for hooliganism after its fans chanted fascist slogans and unfurled swastikas during a EURO 2012 qualifier.

UEFA President Michel Platini warned Croatia in February that the confederation would be monitored for one year after a series of violent incidents involving Croatian fans erupted. UEFA has also threatened Croatia with expulsion from international competition if the problem persists.

Two Greek Clubs Under Investigation In Betting Probe

The chairman of two of Greece's top clubs have been named as suspects in a match-fixing probe, authorities said.

The chairman of Kalava and Volos were named with 10 other suspects and charged with money laundering and other criminal charges. UEFA launched an investigation following irregular betting patterns over the past two years in Greek Cup and second division matches.

A total of 85 people are being investigated as part of the probe.

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What do you think of today's stories? Do you think Beasley will be successful at Puebla? How about Young at United? Who should Inter appoint as manager?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Agreed primoone. DMB has been an important contributor to the Nats. I still remember waking up at 4 am for the US v. Portugal world cup game in S. Korea and DMB gave Figo and the Portugese fits up the left flank. He was a great 2 way player. If he’s healthy and playing – he would be a nice veteran presence to have in the mix during qualifying.

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  2. In all honesty, I think part of it is the fact that for the better part of the year, losing Young has been a foregone conclusion. I’m certainly not suggesting Downing is a better player than Young, because I don’t think he is, but in my opinion, Downing’s form was more vital to Villa this season. In a season where Gabby Agbonlahor was largely AWOL and Young’s sometimes-brilliance was tempered by a fair share of lukewarm and forgettable performances, Downing was arguably our most consistent performer. I think it’s for that reason that the fans are so attached to him.

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  3. For all the talk regarding DMB…remember that an out of form player is not a washed up player…this kid managed to win a spot on a world cup roster all while carrying a thigh injury. He couldn’t break into a champions league hopefull Starting lineup however,I would take him over any other left sided midfielder in our current pool. Puebla appreciates his body of work and experience and that alone commands respect for his abilities. I hope he does well and gets back into the us picture because this will only make earning a spot that much more competative.

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  4. Do you think Downing is a better player or do you just prefer him personally over Young? I think Young is a better player overall esp with his blazing speed…but having Downing definitely softens the blow of losing him. Villa needs to make some moves, in my opinion they are starting to fall back into a bottom half quality team again.

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  5. The Young news has been a long time in the making, so I suppose there will be very few tears at this point. As a Villa supporter, I would rather lose Young than Downing.

    But it’s hard not to find the trend of losing your marquis player ever summer somewhat disturbing. If we can hold on to Downing and build, we may have some hope of a solid campaign, but the R-word is already floating around amongst Villa supporters and, while I don’t think that will happen and we’ll finish mid-table, it’s hard to be too optimistic right now as a Villa fan.

    I’m still gutted over the decision not to sign Bradley.

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  6. From the link: “Beasley has one year remaining on his Hannover contract, and it’s unclear whether Puebla paid a transfer fee or whether the German club released him.”

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  7. Hmmm…is this Beasley report accurate? He’s still got 1 more year left on his contract with Hannover. I’d expect there be at least some kind of transfer fee.

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