RENNES, France (AP) — Marseille signed Netherlands midfielder Quinten Timber in a cut-price deal Friday with his contract at Feyenoord set to expire at the end of the season.
Marseille did not disclose the transfer fee for the 24-year-old Timber but it was reportedly 4.5 million euros ($5.3 million), well below his true market value.
Timber, whose twin brother Jurrien plays for Arsenal, played for the national team in three World Cup qualifying games last year.
He scored in a 3-2 win at Lithuania as the Dutch topped the group to advance. The Netherlands is in a World Cup group with Japan, Tunisia and the winner of a European playoff.
Also moving to France was Poland midfielder Sebastian Szymanski who transferred from Turkish club Fenerbahçe to Rennes bolster the club's push for a European spot.
Szymanski and Timber met in the Champions League qualifying rounds when Fenerbahçe eliminated Feyenoord in August.
Timber will be eligible for Marseille in the Champions League if the team advances to the knockout phase starting in February. Marseille is 19th in the 36-team standings ahead of playing at Club Brugge in the last round of league-phase games next Wednesday.
Marseille described Timber as a "modern midfielder par excellence. Comfortable on the ball, he knows how to break through the lines with his dribbling or passing, while also providing a real defensive presence.”
Rennes, in sixth place in Ligue 1 entering the weekend, said late Thursday it signed the 26-year-old Szymanski to a contract to 2029.
The left-footed attacking midfielder made 134 appearances in 2 1/2 seasons at the Istanbul club, scoring 22 goals and providing 30 assists.
Neither team specified the transfer fee, but it was widely reported to be around 10 million euros ($11.7 million).
Rennes hosts Lorient on Saturday. The team has also reached the French Cup round of 16.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Quinten Timber of the Netherlands, center, scores his side's second goal during the World Cup qualifying soccer match between Lithuania and Netherlands at Darius and Girenas stadium in Kaunas, Lithuania, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, file)
FILE - Fenerbahce's Sebastian Szymanski celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the Europa League soccer match between GNK Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce, at Maksimir stadium in Zagreb, Croatia, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, file)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A “one in a million” malfunction during a live fire demonstration over Camp Pendleton last October led to a misfire that rained shrapnel on Interstate 5, striking two California Highway Patrol vehicles, a U.S. Marine Corps investigation found
An artillery shell exploded over the highway during a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Marine Corps, attended by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Pieces of shrapnel scattered on the closed roadway and struck a CHP patrol car and a motorcycle.
In a 666-page report dated Dec. 19 and first reported on Monday, the Marines concluded that there “is no definitive answer” to why an M795 high explosive round detonated early at an altitude of about 1,480 feet (450 meters). Such a premature detonation is “beyond reasonable expectations and should not have happened, but it did,” the report says.
“It is manufactured to a tolerance of one defect in a million,” according to the report. Investigators ruled out any negligence or wrongdoing by Corps members.
Days after the malfunction, 26 California U.S. House members and the state’s two senators sent a letter to Hegseth asking who decided to shoot live artillery over the freeway and how authorities prepared for the safety risks.
The mishap deepened conflicts between President Donald Trump and California leaders including Gov. Gavin Newsom, with some Republicans initially chastising the governor for closing a 17-mile (27-kilometer) stretch of the freeway ahead of the live fire exercise. Other local leaders were exasperated by an unorthodox military display that they believe was orchestrated for the benefit of Trump administration officials.
“We’re thankful to the Marines for their thorough and precise investigation — in stark contrast to the dangerous and performative demands by JD Vance and Pete Hegseth to shoot live ammunition over a civilian area for their entertainment,” Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom’s office, said in an email Tuesday.
Newsom announced the highway closure in a statement ahead of the celebration, describing the live fire exercise as a show of force meant to intimidate Trump’s opponents, thousands of whom were demonstrating at “No Kings” protests throughout San Diego that day.
“Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn’t just wrong — it’s dangerous,” Newsom wrote at the time.
The Marine report concluded several factors could have contributed to the malfunction, including the howitzer guns being too close together when fired and the "potential presence of anomalous electromagnetic energy in the vicinity.”
The Oct. 18 demonstration at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton featured aircraft, ships, and amphibious assault vehicles to celebrate the anniversary. It involved firing artillery across the coastal freeway in a planned demonstration of 60 rounds, according to an October CHP incident report.
“It will be a good show regardless of who shows up,” Gen. Eric Smith, commandant of the Marine Corps, said in an Oct. 14 email to Brig. Gen. Garrett “Rainman” Hoffman, of the White House Military Office.
That location was unusual, military and public safety officials said at the time. Although live fire training is routine, it usually takes place on designated ranges within the 195-square-mile (505-square-kilometer) base north of San Diego.
The first round launched at 1:46 p.m. from M777 howitzers on a beach west of Interstate 5 toward the east, the CHP report stated. That artillery round failed to clear the roadway and detonated midflight near I-5 southbound, sending shrapnel flying toward protective service details assigned to the vice president. After that, the exercise was halted and no more munitions were fired, CalMatters reported in October.
An officer described hearing what sounded like “pebbles” falling on his CHP BMW motorcycle, and other shards struck an empty Ford patrol vehicle. The two officers who had driven the vehicle saw a 2 inch by ½-inch piece of shrapnel on the hood, which left a small dent or scratch. Photos in the incident reports show the patrol car struck by shrapnel, and an officer holding the metal shards.
In a Dec. 5 statement cited in the military report, a Marine whose name was redacted said the Secret Service wanted to close I-5 due to security concerns for a “Very Very Important Person” — the president — and its proximity to a viewing area for the demonstration. Trump ended up not attending.
Associated Press reporters Ed White in Detroit and Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.
FILE - Vice President JD Vance speaks during an event to mark the upcoming Marine Corps' 250th anniversary, Oct. 18, 2025, on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Camp Pendleton, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
FILE - The entrance to Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton is seen on Sept. 22, 2015, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)
