EVERTON

Wales captain Ashley Williams has completed his transfer from Swansea a day after centre-back John Stones was sold to Manchester City.

The Goodison Park outfit have moved swiftly to replace the young England defender, who was sold for £47.5m on Tuesday, by acquiring Williams, 31, for a fraction of the cost on a three-year deal.

Williams had spent eight years with the Swans and though they rejected Everton's initial advances for him, the Welshman's desire to move to Merseyside saw the South Wales outfit relent.

Williams spoke of Everton manager and former Barcelona defender Ronald Koeman's standing in the game as one of the key factors behind his decision.

"I've had eight great years at Swansea and, for me, the new challenge was something I felt I needed, so I'm delighted to have joined Everton," Williams said.

"Everton is a great club with an unbelievable manager – a world legend in football – and I believe the club is going in the right direction. This is something I wanted to be a part of.

"I look forward to seeing what the manager's plans are for me and the team. He's been one of the greatest centre-halves to ever play the game, so I look forward to learning from him and seeing what he can teach me."

Koeman explained how Williams fit the blueprint for the type of player he was looking for.

"We wanted to bring in a strong player in the central-defence position, a player who knows the Premier League and Ashley fits the bill for us very well," Koeman said.

"He is an experienced defender and the kind of player we need in the team. He is a leader. He showed this at Swansea and he has shown it for his country and he is looking forward to his new challenge here at Everton."

ARSENAL

Arsene Wenger has admitted to "regret and guilt" at not beating Leicester to last season's Barclays Premier League title.

Claudio Ranieri's side completed a remarkable triumph, leaving Wenger and his side second and still without a league title since 2004.

Wenger expects this season to be the most competitive ever, with leading clubs assembling what he termed a "world championship of managers".

"Who expected Leicester to be champion last season? Nobody," Wenger said. "So you would say today to take into account seven or eight teams who can win it.

"[There is] guilt because you would not have predicted Leicester to win the league, so all the other teams would say, 'We should have come in front of Leicester'.

"You would understand you could lose against [Manchester] City, [Manchester] United, Liverpool or Tottenham – not Tottenham! – the other big clubs, but you should beat Leicester. But they had an exceptional season and you have to congratulate them."

The long-serving Arsenal manager will be joined in the top flight this season by his old rival Jose Mourinho, back in work at Manchester United, as well as Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Antonio Conte at Chelsea.

"It's a very exciting season, there are so many ambitions out there. It's a little bit of a world championship of managers.

"Let's not be naive, the economical power of the Premier League attracts the best players and the best managers. If you want quality people, you have to pay the amount of money.

"Today the Premier League is the most powerful as well as the most attractive and maybe the most popular in the world. Every manager thinks today, 'If I want to be recognised as a top manager, I have to go through the Premier League'."

WEST HAM

Slaven Bilic claims keeping hold of Dimitri Payet is a statement of intent ahead of the new Premier League season.

France international Payet's displays at Euro 2016 saw him linked with a move to some of the world's biggest clubs.

But the Hammers have kept hold of their star man as they begin life in their new 60,000-capacity London Stadium.

"In keeping Dimitri Payet we have shown the club is serious and trying to get to another level, as much or even more than with the new stadium," West Ham boss Bilic said.

"West Ham was always labelled as a club that has to sell its best players, be it Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand or whoever. But we have kept Dimi, and we have shown to everyone that the club is thinking seriously."

Bilic has also made some eye-catching new additions to his squad including Algeria winger Sofiane Feghouli, Norway midfielder Havard Nordtveit and, earlier this week, Swansea striker Andre Ayew.

Ghana international Ayew cost a club-record £20.5m and Bilic feels the 26-year-old, who scored 12 Premier League goals last season, will have a major impact in east London.

"First and foremost he was at a big club at Marseille," added Bilic. "He's an international, he's the captain of Ghana, he's at his best age and he's already had a year in the Premier League so it's nothing new to him.

"Players today make you feel at home after just a few days so I'm sure we can expect some good football from the newcomers straight away."

BURNLEY

Burnley hope to acquire "three or four" more signings prior to the transfer window closing next month, according to chairman Mike Garlick.

The Clarets have so far signed only Charlton pair Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Nick Pope and loaned in Liverpool's Jon Flanagan on their return to the top flight as they bid to stay up at the third time of asking.

A midfielder is top of boss Sean Dyche's wishlist as he seeks to fill the void left by Joey Barton's departure to Rangers and Garlick has revealed the club's aim is to at least double their total number of incomings so far.

"The last couple of weeks have gained a bit more momentum, we've got a lot of targets out there that we're actively pursuing," he said.

"The aim is to get three or four players in minimum in three weeks' time. We're getting closer. We're looking to get three or four in, we've probably got at least nine or 10 targets to get those three or four."

As has been the case in their previous two top-flight transfer windows, the Clarets have been more frugal than other clubs who have made the step up rather than potentially gambling with their future.

Even so, the lack of arrivals has been a source of frustration for Burnley fans and Garlick admitted he shared that feeling, attributing Euro 2016 as one of the reasons for a delay in making signings.

"First of July, any manager, any chairman would like their team in place then they can work with them over the summer and develop their squad into the shape they want," he added.

"The Euros slowed that up but it's like that most years in reality. We just have to get on with it, we get out of bed every day, get on the phone, try and do things and if it doesn't happen that day we try and do it the day after."

Garlick, who reiterated that defender Michael Keane will not be sold despite interest from Leicester, is confident that after instant relegations in 2010 and 2015, Dyche can keep the team up this time around.

"I've been with the club 10 years as a director, co-chairman and now chairman and I think we've got to make it third time lucky, we've got to aim to stay there this time," he said.

ELSEWHERE

FC Midtjylland have pulled off a coup by luring former Holland midfielder Rafael van der Vaart to Denmark.

The Danish side announced the signing of the 33-year-old, who won 109 caps for his country, from La Liga outfit Real Betis on their Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon.

Van der Vaart joined Betis in June 2015 following his departure from Bundesliga team Hamburg, but was given permission to leave this summer and was linked with a move to Reading, now managed by his former Holland team-mate Jaap Stam.

However, that move did not materialise and Van der Vaart has now signed a two-year deal with Midtjylland.

The former Ajax, Real Madrid, Tottenham and Hamburg player told the club's official website: "The wait has been long, but now I'm an FC Midtjylland player, and I am really pleased. I am looking to get started in the club and meet my new team-mates.

"It is a young team with many young players and a good academy. I am by now an experienced player, so I hope I can help them with my experience. I am convinced that it will be a perfect match.

"Physically I feel good, but of course I lack a little. I want to play football, and I am glad therefore also to get started with the training."