Marseille signs Croatia defender Caleta-Car

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MARSEILLE, France (AP) Croatia defender Duje Caleta-Car has joined Marseille from Red Bull Salzburg, becoming the first offseason signing for the nine-time French champion.

Caleta-Car played a group game at the World Cup with Croatia.

He won four Austrian league titles and three national cups with Salzburg.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed but L'Equipe newspaper reported Marseille agreed to a fee of 19 million euros for the 21-year-old player, who was also targeted by Spanish club Sevilla.

''He is a clever player, who understands football,'' Marseille sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said. ''His very physical skills make him very good in the air, and he has good passing abilities.''

Marseille finished fourth in the French league last season and lost to Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the Europa League final, missing out on a Champions League berth.

FONTE JOINS LILLE

Portugal defender Jose Fonte is set to continue his much-traveled career in the north of France after agreeing to a two-year deal with Lille.

The 34-year-old Fonte started all four games at the World Cup in Russia as Portugal was eliminated by Uruguay in the round of 16.

Two years ago, he was a member of the squad which won the European Championship in France.

Lille said in a statement Fonte will sign ''in the coming days'' following medical tests.

The former Crystal Palace, Southampton, and West Ham center back played only a few matches with Chinese club Dalian Yifang this year before terminating his contract.

He is the second international to join Lille this summer after former France forward Loic Remy.

''It's a new challenge for me, hopefully it will be successful,'' Fonte said.

GOURCUFF TO DIJON

Former France international Yoann Gourcuff has signed a one-year deal with Dijon.

Gourcuff, who also played for AC Milan, Bordeaux, and Lyon, was once regarded as the next Zinedine Zidane but failed to live up to expectations. The 32-year-old playmaker has 31 caps for France.

He was out of contract in Rennes, where he spent the past three seasons.