Smith has been appointed ahead of Thierry Henry who been highly linked to the position in the past days.  Henry turned down the vacancy at Aston Villa to accept Monaco job.

Dean Smith has been appointed the new head coach of Aston Villa, succeeding Steve Bruce

Smith who developed a reputation for playing exciting, attacking football at Brentford City, is a Villa fan and will replace Steve Bruce who was sacked last week following the team’s side’s miserable start to the season.

Former Chelsea and England skipper Terry decided to hang up his playing boots on Sunday.He had been without a club since leaving Villa following their playoff defeat by Fulham at Wembley Stadium last season.

Villa have also appointed Jesus Garcia Pitarch as Sporting Director. During his time at Valencia, the club won the La Liga title and UEFA Cup and Atletico lifted the Europa League and the European Super Cup during his tenure.

“These three appointments represent the start of a new era and direction at Aston Villa and we are delighted to secure their services after an extensive search,” Villa CEO Christian Purslow said.

“Dean has a clear and successful coaching philosophy as well as a real understanding of Aston Villa Football Club. He is also knowledgeable about the Championship…

“John is one of the most decorated players in English football, has an affinity with the club and is ready to make the next step in his career working alongside Dean.”

Aston Villa are 15th in the Championship with three wins in their opening 12 games with 15 points.

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Meanwhile, Chelsea had to settle for a 0-0 draw away to Dynamo Kiev but reigning European champions Barcelona won in Belarus and Bayer Leverkusen played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Roma in Germany.

Arsenal striker Oliver Giroud celebrates after scoring his team’s opener in the second-half against Bayern Munich at the Emirates (Picture: Getty)

Bayern arrived in London having won every game this season and they dominated possession for much of an absorbing Group F encounter.

However, they only remained on level terms at the break thanks to a stunning save by Manuel Neuer to keep out a header from point-blank range by the unmarked Theo Walcott.

But Arsenal, in desperate need of a win after defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos in their first two games, took advantage of a howler by Neuer to get the crucial breakthrough with 13 minutes remaining.

The Germany goalkeeper came and missed a free-kick, allowing substitute Giroud to bundle the ball into the net.

Arsenal then secured the points that keep alive their chances of progressing to the last 16 when Ozil’s finish from Hector Bellerin’s assist crossed the line despite Neuer’s best efforts to keep it out.

The Gunners remain bottom of the group with a trip to Bayern to come next, but the four sides are separated by just three points after Olympiakos won 1-0 in Croatia in the night’s other game thanks to a late Brown Ideye goal.

“We had an absolute necessity to win the game and we did it in a disciplined way,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.

“Bayern had more possession than us, but we decided to make it tight in our final third and catch them on the break.”

Mourinho targets officials

Chelsea remain in a precarious position in Group G after a 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev in chilly Ukraine as the recalled Eden Hazard and Willian both hit the woodwork for the visitors.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho also felt that his side should have been given a penalty after Cesc Fabregas went down in the Dynamo box during the first half and later told UK television that the referee had been “weak and naive”.

The Premier League champions are third in the group, a point behind Dynamo and three points adrift of Porto, who beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in Portugal thanks to goals by Vincent Aboubakar and Yacine Brahimi.

But with home games against Dynamo and Porto to come, as well as a trip to Israel, Mourinho remains confident his side will go through.

“We have the destiny in our hands,” he said. “We play two matches at home and one in Israel, so the qualification depends clearly on us.”

Barcelona strengthened their position atop Group E with a 2-0 victory away to BATE, secured by two fine second-half goals from substitute Ivan Rakitic, both set up Neymar.

“It was a very good game overall from the team. We pressed well and I don’t think BATE had a single chance,” said Rakitic.

The other match in the group was without doubt the game of the evening, with Leverkusen taking a two-goal lead and then falling 4-2 down before fighting back to snatch a precious point against Roma.

Javier Hernandez opened the scoring from the penalty spot for the Bundesliga side and increased their lead in the 19th minute, but Daniele De Rossi replied with a double for Roma before the break.

A tremendous Miralem Pjanic free-kick put the visitors in front and Iago Falque appeared to have secured a first win of the campaign for the Italians in the 73rd minute.

But Kevin Kampl reduced the deficit and substitute Admir Mehmedi rounded off a breathtaking game by making it 4-4 four minutes from time to keep Leverkusen in second place and leave Roma bottom of the group.

Zenit St Petersburg closed in on a quarter-final place with a third straight win in Group H as Artem Dzyuba, Hulk and Danny netted in a 3-1 victory over Lyon, for whom Alexandre Lacazette had equalised.

Valencia are three points back in second place after beating Gent 2-1 in Spain thanks to a Sofiane Feghouli shot that went in off Lasse Nielsen and a Stefan Mitrovic own goal either side of a Thomas Foket strike for the Belgians.

AFP

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#Arsenal will face @FCBayern, @olympiacos_org and @gnkdinamo in @ChampionsLeague Group F: http://t.co/l7szvZcqxj pic.twitter.com/w3PGdwkxCq

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) August 27, 2015

Manchester City is arguably in the Group of death having been  drawn against Europa League winners Sevilla , Borussia Monchengladbach and  last season’s  Champions League runners-up Juventus in Group D.

No questions: death group is Juventus, Manchester City, Sevilla, Borussia Moenchengladbach — Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) August 27, 2015

Group of death! pic.twitter.com/JtaVSGo4Wf

— Footy Jokes (@Footy_Jokes) August 27, 2015

Manchester United return to the Champions League group stages this season was marked by being drawn in an easier group compared to other English teams. United was drawn in Group B which has the likes of PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg

Man United fans when they see they’ve drawn PSV… #UCLDraw #MUFC pic.twitter.com/tiwFyn2JgZ — Ladbrokes (@Ladbrokes) August 27, 2015

Reigning English Premier League Champions, Chelsea  were  drawn in Group that includes Porto, whom manager Jose Mourinho led to  Champions League triumph in 2004,  Dynamo Kiev of Ukraine and Maccabi Tel-Aviv of Isreal.

Chelsea fans loving their group #UCLdraw pic.twitter.com/xnEWAROLaM

— Copa90 (@Copa90) August 27, 2015

Champions League holders Barcelona were drawn with  German side Bayer Leverkusen, Roma of Italy and  BATE Borisov in Group E, while its La Liga rival, Real Madrid will tussle it out with  Paris Saint-Germain, Shakhtar Donestk and Malmo in Group A.
read more on uefa.com

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Rooney  has been getting much criticism from fans and pundits due to poor form as the England striker had gone 10 games without a goal for United prior to Wednesday.

Manchester United Captain Wayne Rooney struck a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Club Bruges in Belgium in the 2nd leg of the Champions League play-off tie.

The United skipper kept working hard and answered back to his critics in style when he hit a hat-trick in Belgium with Ander Herrera scoring the fourth goal.

Manchester United will discover their group opponents in today’s draw in Monaco having missed out on Champions League football last season.

“To go through to the group stage after being out of it last year is a great result. We look forward to the draw now tomorrow,” said Rooney.

“It was a big disappointment last year not to challenge in it. We didn’t think it would be as comfortable as it was, but it was vital we went through any way we could.

“Over the two legs we deserved that. We’ll enjoy the draw and it is nice to be back in there again.”

Club Brugge Coach Michel Preud’homme admitted the outcome was logical for his team having not reached the group stages since the 2005/06 season.

“It’s a top team and they are top players. They have everything,” said Preud’homme of the English club.

“We are there to learn something and I hope we can learn a lot from these two confrontations.”

Meanwhile in Germany Bayern Leverkusen smashed visiting 10-man Lazio 3-0 on the night to go through 3-1 on aggregate.

Lazio had gone in Germany defending their 1-0 goal advantage and reach the group stages for the first time since the 2007/08 season but Leverkusen proved too strong for them.

Bayern Leverkusen’s Hakan Calhanoglu celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Lazio

Leverkusen scored through Hakan Calhanoglu, Admir Mehmedie and Karim Bellarabi in a game which saw Lazio’s Brazilian defender Maurício being sent off for a second yellow card in the 70^th minute.

In the other games, Astana became the first Kazakh team to qualify when they netted a late equaliser to draw 1-1 at APOEL Nicosia for a 2-1 aggregate. Serbian midfielder Nemanja Maksimovic snatched the crucial goal for Astana six minutes from time as Kazakhstan became the 32nd country to be represented in the group stage.

BATE of Belarus lost 2-1 at Partizan Belgrade but advanced on away goals after the tie ended 2-2, while CSKA Moscow eliminated Sporting Lisbon 4-3 on aggregate.

Spain are the first country to have five clubs in the group stage in one season after Valencia progressed past Monaco 4-3 on aggregate despite a 2-1 defeat at the Ligue 1 side in their playoff second leg on Tuesday.

Valencia joined Barca, Real Mdrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, who qualified as last season’s Europa League winners.

Malmo, Dinamo Zagreb, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Shakhtar Donetsk are also in today’s draw after qualifying through their play-off ties on Tuesday.

Read more on uefa.com

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Algeria international Feghouli put the Spanish side in the driving seat when he found the net in the 86th minute giving his team control going into the second leg.

Sofiane Feghouli scored a late goal for Valencia in their 3-1 win against Monaco in the first leg of their Champions League play-off

Valencia got off to the perfect start through Rodrigo’s tap-in after only four minutes, but Monaco responded early in the second-half through Mario Pasalic.

Valencia Captain Daniel Parejo had his deflected effort giving his team the lead before Feghouli sealed off the game with the third goal. “It’s a good result, the only downside is that we conceded a goal,” midfielder Parejo said. “We’re now going to Monaco to win, not just to qualify, because we don’t know how to play any other way.”

Valencia have got a good chance of returning to the Champions League group stages for the first time in three years.

Monaco boss Leonardo Jardim who guided the club to the quarter-final of the elite European competition last season said he felt that the result was unfair for his side.

“I think the result is unfair”, the manager was quoted as saying by French sports dailyL’Equipe. 
“When we were just starting to dominate the game, Valencia scored their second and third goals. “It is not normal to concede goals from the wide areas. We need to change this for the next game.”

Meanwhile in the other fixtures; Scottish champions Celtic secured a 3-2 win over Malmo, Swiss club FC Basel drew 2-2 with Israel side Maccabi Tel Aviv ,Shakhtar Donetsk were 1-0 winners away to Rapid Vienna and Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb got a 2-1 win over Skenderbeu.

Read more on uefa.com

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Chelsea have met the buy-out fee for £22million Barcelona winger Pedro and expect to sign him next week, according to reports.

Barcelona winger Pedro is set to join Chelsea

Despite signing a contract extension earlier in the summer, the 27-year-old is expected to leave the Nou Camp in this transfer window.

Manchester United had expressed an interest in the securing his signature, but the Daily Star report that Chelsea have won the transfer race and are set to announce the signing as soon as next week-Metro

Real Sociedad make £6m offer for Joel Campbell?

Real Sociedad have reportedly emerged as favourites to clinch the signing of Arsenal forward Joel Campbell-sportsmole

Brendan Rodgers will use Liverpool’s transfer windfall from selling Raheem Sterling to manchester City on Tuesday to launch a bid for Aston Vila striker Christian Benteke. But the Reds are still reluctant to meet Villa’s £32m valuation.

Outcast keeper Victor Valdes ‘fit but just not selected’ for US tour

Spain international was not one of the three players at his position on Monday’s flight — seemingly paving the way for a move away this summer

Victor Valdes is set to be sold by Manchester United after being axed from their pre-season tour of the USA.

Victor Valdes is set to be sold by Manchester United after being axed from their pre-season tour of the USA.

The Spanish goalkeeper was the most high-profile absentee from the 26-strong squad of players who flew to Seattle on Monday at the start of the trip-mirror

Paris Saint-Germain are willing to match Angel Di Maria’s £200,000-a-week wages at Manchester United to entice him to join. 

They are said to be willing to offer £43million for a player it cost United £59m to sign from Real Madrid last summer.

PSG willing to offer £43million to sign Angel Di Maria from Manchester United

PSG have noted how unsettled Di Maria and his wife are in Manchester and they put their £4.1million Cheshire mansion up for sale after it was broken into earlier this year-mirror

West Ham are trying to save Alex Song‘s move to Upton Park. Barcelona midfielder Song could have to go under the knife to remove a piece of bone which has caused an ankle injury putting the deal in doubt-mirror

Stoke City complete deal for teenage Barcelona winger Moha El Ouriachi

Stoke City have confirmed the signing of the teenage winger Moha El Ouriachi from Barcelona-guardian

Raheem Sterling thanks Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers as poisonous transfer saga concludes

Raheem Sterling has left Liverpool at the end of one of the most poisonous transfer sagas in history with a final conciliatory gesture – thanking Brendan Rodgers for helping to develop his career.

It was irreconcilable difference with the Liverpool manager that were cited as one of the key reasons why Sterling wished to leave the club this summer, which he finally did in a £49m deal to Manchester City that makes him the most expensive English footballer of all time.

Raheem Sterling completed his move to Manchester City

In his first interview since the transfer, with the City website, Sterling also thanked his agent Aidy Ward, underlining his close relationship with the man who has at times found himself at the centre of the story over the last few months-standard

Mateo Kovacic comments on Liverpool offer

Liverpool were heavily linked with a move for Inter Milan’s highly rated young midfielder Mateo Kovacic this summer, and until last month, his transfer rumours used to feature almost on a daily basis on all major Italian newspapers. For instance, check the serial coverage on the story, we did from the Italian newspapers last month-soccerlens

Athletic Bilbao very close to €10m signing of Arsenal full back Nacho Monreal [AS]

Spanish defender Nacho Monreal could be on his way back to La Liga this summer, according to reports in Spain-101greatgoals

Former Manchester United striker Robin van Persie snubs Louis van Gaal in goodbye message

Robin van Persie snubbed Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal as he spoke of his thanks after completing a move away from Old Trafford on Tuesday.

Robin Van Persie after arriving in Turkey to sign for Fenerbahce

Van Persie, who insists he bears no ill-feeling towards Manchester United for selling him, was unveiled as a Fenerbahce player at a press conference at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul.-standard

David De Gea transfer: Real Madrid to pay €5m if goalkeeper stays at United

Real Madrid are leaving no stone unturned in making sure that David De Gea will join them at least by next year. While the ideal situation for them would be for the Spaniard to leave Manchester United this summer, the club have made arrangements to make sure that De Gea doesn’t sign a new contract with the Red Devils even if he stays on for the 2015/16 campaign-soccerlens

Nicolas Otamendi threatening to go AWOL from Valencia training until future is sorted with Manchester United interested 

Nicolas Otamendi is threatening not to turn up for Valencia training until his future is resolved.

The Argentina centre-back is due back on July 27 but wants to push through a move to Manchester United before then.

Nicolas Otamendi wants his future at Valencia resolved with a move to Manchester United in the pipe line

Sportsmail reported this week how he was still very much in United’s thinking but their prime concern is to make headway on a deal for Sergio Ramos-Daily mail

Alex Song ‘agrees terms with West Ham ahead of permanent transfer’

Alex Song has agreed terms with West Ham to join the club from Barcelona, according to reports.

Song, who spend last season on-loan at Upton Park from Barca, was one of the club’s stand out performers-Metro

Manchester City turn to Everton maestro

Manchester City are weighing up a move for Everton midfielder James McCarthy after missing out on England’s Fabian Delph-shoot

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Manchester United have suffered a blow in their pursuit of Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski after the striker’s agent claimed his client has little interest in a move to Old Trafford.

Bayern Munich’s Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is linked with a move to Manchester United

Louis van Gaal is an admirer of the Polish hitman and had considered him as a replacement for Robin van Persie, who is on the brink of completing a permanent switch to Fenerbahce.

But United’s boss, who is aware of the difficulties of signing another of Bayern’s stars after completing a deal for Bastian Schweinsteiger on Monday, has now been told that Lewandowski is highly unlikely to leave the German champions this summer-Dailymail

Kevin de Bruyne to Manchester City: Raheem Sterling deal could be followed by £50m move for former Chelsea midfielder

Manchester City could follow up their announcement of signing Raheem Sterling with a move for former Chelsea midfielder Kevin de Bruyne that could see their summer spending rapidly increase towards the £100m mark-independent

Roberto Martinez: ‘Aiden McGeady not leaving Everton’

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has insisted that he has no plans to sell Aiden McGeady this summer.

The Republic of Ireland winger has been linked with a move away from Merseyside after making just 16 Premier League appearances for the Toffees last season-sportsmole

Arsenal blitz Man United and Liverpool in battle to sign £40m French international Benzema

ARSENAL will swoop to sign Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema if new Bernabeu boss Rafa Benitez refuses to select him.

Karim Benzema of Real Madrid is linked with a move to Arsenal

According to El Confidencial journalist Kike Marin, the French striker will look to force a money-spinning move to the Premier League should he find himself relegated down the Los Blancos pecking order.

Marin tweeted: “@Arsenal Wenger has spoken with Benzema and #Arsenal will try to sign him if Karim doesn’t play with Rafa Benitez…”-Dailystar

Bastian Schweinsteiger honoured to be first German to play for Manchester United… and insists Louis van Gaal isn’t the main reason behind his switch to the Premier League

Bastian Schweinsteiger is honoured to become the first German to play for Manchester United and believes the team can do a ‘great job’ this season.

The World Cup winner joined the Red Devils in a £15million deal from Bayern Munich on Saturday and is seen as the man to bring some authority to United’s midfield-Dailymail

Manchester City slap £20m pricetag on Roma target

Roma have been told to double their money and bid £20m to prise Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko to Serie A this summer.

The Bosnian forward has been in talks with the Italian giants this week and Roma sporting director Walter Sabatini has arrived in Manchester to meet with Dzeko’s representatives-talksport

Liverpool ‘clear to sign Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke after Tottenham pull out of transfer race’

Liverpool are reportedly clear to sign Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke with Tottenham pulling out of the transfer race.

Liverpool are favourites to sign Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke

The Reds were believed to be in pole position to sign the forward, who scored 15 goals for the Villans last year, and their chances have been bolstered with the Mirror reporting that Spurs are searching for a cheaper alternative to the £32.5m goalscorer-metro

Tottenham to rekindle interest in PSG midfielder?

Tottenham could rekindle their interest in Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Thiago Motta if the Brazilian’s move to Atletico Madrid falls through.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men have been linked with the former Barcelona star and may go after the 33-year-old if PSG and Atletico fail to agree a deal for his signature-talk sport

United agree £21m fee for Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan’

Manchester United will continue their spending spree with the signing of Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan.

The Metro says that United have agreed a fee with the Portuguese side, thought to be €30 million (£21m).

Manchester United are expected to sign Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan.

Gaitan has been a long-standing target of United’s and now it appears the two clubs have reached an agreement for the winger.

According to the report, Gaitan – who is still to agree personal terms – will join United once record signing Angel Di Maria‘s move away from Old Trafford is finalized-telegraph

Pedro plays down Chelsea link

His buyout clause has dropped as links to Chelsea persist, but Barcelona forward Pedro played down a potential move.

Barcelona forward Pedro played down links to Chelsea but confirmed his buyout clause had plummeted.

The 27-year-old could be set for a move away from the European champions as he searches for more game time-fourfourtwo

Valencia set to hijack Everton’s move for Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina?

Valencia are plotting to hijack Everton’s move for Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina.

The Gunners shotstopper recently revealed his interest in joining the Toffees this summer after falling behind Petr Cech and Wojciech Szczesny in the goalkeeping stakes at the Emirates-talk sport

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