Wigan Sign Striker Grant Holt from Norwich On 3-Year Deal: Nightly Soccer Report

Wigan Athletic have signed Norwich City striker Grant Holt on a three-year deal.

Just 12 months ago, Holt handed in a transfer request six days after being voted Norwich’s Player of the Season. The request was rejected by Norwich, but the situation got worse after manager Paul Lambert walked out of Carrow Road in early June, and Lambert tried to take Holt with him to Aston Villa. Norwich again refused, but one month later they convinced him to sign a 3-year new deal.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a great season last year, noticeably gaining a lot of weight and only scoring 8 times for Norwich City. And now he’s signed with a Championship team, which is a heavy fall for a man who one year ago was tipped by some to deserve an England call-up.

Here are tonight’s world soccer news headlines:

Premier League

• Wigan sign striker Grant Holt from Norwich on three-year deal — The Guardian
• West Brom reject Chelsea bid for 16-year-old midfielder Isaiah Brown — Sky Sports
• Manchester City reach terms with Pepe, hope to agree €18m fee with Real Madrid — 101GG
• Chelsea’s improved bid for John Ruddy rejected by Norwich — Sky Sports
• Atlético Nacional defensive midfielder Sebastián Pérez (20) is going for a trial at Arsenal — 101GG
• RIP Dave Hickson, Everton great — Everton FC
• Liverpool hold talks with Luis Suárez’s agent after rejecting Arsenal bid — The Guardian
• AZ Alkmaar’s Jozy Altidore arrives for Sunderland medical — Sky Sports
• Stoke City’s Peter Crouch of interest to Trabzonspor — Les Rosbifs
• Rio Ferdinand warns Wayne Rooney: you’d regret leaving Manchester United — The Guardian
• Newcastle odds-on for Scott Sinclair swoop from Man City — Sky Sports
• Barca plot double swap for Rooney — ESPN FC
• Community Shield 2013: Mark Clattenburg to ref Manchester United v Wigan — The Mail
• Footballer Nile Ranger charged with rape — The Guardian
• Wilfried Bony to have Swansea City medical in Holland — This Is South Wales
• Swansea City: Jonjo Shelvey sought Joe Allen advice on move — BBC Sport
• Manchester City footballers return to preseason training — City TV

La Liga

• Why Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuaín has never felt loved at Real Madrid — The Guardian
• Ancelotti to meet Higuain next week, to convince striker to reject Arsenal & stay at Real Madrid — 101GG

Serie A

• Fiorentina agree to $25.7M fee for Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez — Pro Soccer Talk

Ligue Un

• Former Barcelona defender Abidal signs one-year Monaco deal — FOX Soccer

International soccer

• Women’s Euro 2013: Can Germany retain title in Sweden? — BBC Sport

Major League Soccer

• Uruguay striker Diego Forlan denies Toronto FC move imminent — ESPN FC

Football League

• Coventry City will play their games at Northampton’s stadium for the next 3 seasons — Telegraph

The Nightly Soccer Report is tomorrow’s news today. It’s often tomorrow morning’s worldwide newspaper headlines that are published the night before. We do all the work for you, combing the Internet and aggregating the news for you. Read The Nightly Soccer Report on World Soccer Talk every night before bed, so you can stay on top of all the news that matters.