BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Brighton has agreed to sign 21-year-old Diego Gomez from Inter Miami, the Premier League club said Tuesday with the Paraguay midfielder set to complete his move on Jan. 1.
Brighton did not disclose the fee or length of contract for Gomez joined, who joined Miami in 2023 and helped the MLS club qualify for the playoffs this season.
"He’s a dynamic midfielder player who can contribute goals and assists and we believe his physical profile will be important as he adjusts to the challenge of the Premier League," Brighton technical director David Weir said.
Gomez represented Paraguay in the Paris Olympics this summer.
“He has already made a real impression both at club and international level,” Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler said. “Like all young players who come to us from abroad he will need a period of adjustment to the Premier League, but I feel he can make a big contribution and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
Brighton is seventh in the Premier League standings and challenging for Champions League qualification next season.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gómez runs with the ball during the first half of an MLS soccer match against the Nashville SC, April 20, 2024, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, file)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The Columbus Blue Jackets fired coach Dean Evason and named hockey-lifer Rick Bowness as his replacement on Monday.
Evason is the first NHL coach fired this season. General manager Don Waddell announced the abrupt change with his team sitting in last place in the Eastern Conference 45 games into the season with a record of 19-19-7.
“This season has been a frustrating one for all of us and the bottom line is we are not performing at a level that meets our expectations," Waddell said. "We all share in that responsibility, me included, and while this was not a decision that was made lightly, it is one that needed to be made at this time. Dean did a tremendous job last year under extremely difficult circumstances, and I thank him for that."
Assistant Steve McCarthy, who had been with the organization for nearly a decade, was also fired.
Bowness is back in the league after he retired in the spring of 2024, ending a stint with the Winnipeg Jets. Bowness, who coached Dallas to the Stanley Cup Final in the 2020 pandemic bubble, turns 71 on Jan. 25.
“Rick Bowness is a tremendous coach with invaluable experience and knowledge, and he will bring a steadiness to our team at an important juncture in our season,” Waddell said. “He is a good communicator whose teams play with structure, are sound defensively and we believe he is the right person to bring out the best in our group.”
Bowness during his lengthy career has been head coach for seven different teams, dating to the original Jets in 1988. He did some broadcasting with TNT since stepping away from his most recent job in Winnipeg.
Evason was just past the midway point of his second season in charge of the Blue Jackets. Waddell’s first order of business upon becoming GM was to fire then-coach Pascal Vincent and put Evason behind the bench.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
FILE - Winnipeg Jets head coach Rick Bowness yells during the first period of Game 4 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series April 28, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
Columbus Blue Jackets coach Dean Evason watches his team during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils in Columbus, Ohio, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
