Right, that’s it for the day. Thanks to Dom and Niall for their legwork and you for reading.
Updated
Nice piece from Chris Godfrey, on the agonies of being an Arsenal fan.
Transfer news: Bradford have signed Wrexham striker, and Disney streaming star, Paul Mullin on loan until the end of the season.
Mullin, 31, has scored 110 goals in 170 games in all competitions for Wrexham since joining from Cambridge in 2021 and spent the first half of this season on loan at Wigan.
Good signing at League One level. You may have seen that clip where an Everton fan champions Mullin as a signing for his club.
Jacob Steinberg reports on more happy times at West Ham.
Protests have been held at many matches this season targeting David Sullivan, the largest shareholder, and Karren Brady, the vice-chair, and the anti-board sentiment was evident when a banner stating “Time 2 Sell – Name Your Price” was held up during the first half last weekend.
We couldn’t get Barry to interview Thierno Barry, so Will Unwin will just have to do.
“I had played in Belgium and scored 20 goals, easy 20 goals, and then I went to Basel and when I went there I thought it would be easy to score there, too,” Barry says from Everton’s Finch Farm training ground before Saturday’s game at Brighton. “I found it was not easy. With the pressure and everything, I lost my confidence, I lost the love to play football – I lost everything. I saw some kids playing on the beach. My girlfriend said: ‘Go and play with these kids.’ I went and played and had a game. I was dribbling and just loved to touch the ball and when I came back to Basel I was like a different person.”
Here’s Ed Aarons’ look at the biggest moves of the transfer window…so far.
Sean Dyche on Nottingham Forest’s transfer dealings: “We’ll see. I’ve said all along, and since I’ve been at the club, the owner’s made it clear he will support the club, but they are a trading club.”
“So it depends on what’s available. It depends, people can possibly be going out, but more likely looking for people to come in. It’s not easy. These transfer windows are really difficult and January is probably the most difficult of all. But we are active in certain situations, and we’ll see if we can get them over the line.”
In short, expect some deals to be struck. Or at least attempted by Forest.
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The Hearts manager, Derek McInnes, has said he has received an apology from Mark Fotheringham, the Celtic assistant coach, after last week’s stormy 2-2 draw.
“I was annoyed. I’ve been up against loads of different dugouts over the years and loads of Celtic teams. And I was really annoyed by the reaction. It surprised me. And I thought it was out of order.
“In fairness to Mark, he’s not a boy I know too well, but I know people that know him and he’s a great lad, seemingly. But he phoned me on Monday afternoon to apologise. He said there was no offence meant. And if it was, he said he was sorry for that. So I think that says a lot about him.”
Graham Ruthven considers some leading soccer questions.
Some words from Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea manager, her team struggling to keep up with Manchester City in the WSL.
Our mentality is to fight until the end, no matter what happens. The only thing is right now we are not in control, and the most important thing is we need to focus on what we can control. Man City are top of the table and in control. We need to make sure we put the focus on how we want to perform going into the next games to make sure we have a better chance to win.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City Women | 13 | 25 | 36 |
| 2 | Chelsea Women | 13 | 16 | 27 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 13 | 15 | 26 |
| 4 | Man Utd Women | 13 | 14 | 25 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur Women | 13 | -1 | 23 |
Fermín López have agreed to extend his Barcelona contract until June 2031, the Spanish Fermín was close to a move to Chelsea last summer, the 22-year-old Fermín is one of the club’s top young talents, along with Lamine Yamal and Pedri.Fermín has scored 10 goals and registered 10 assists in all competitions this season.
Milan want Mateta on a loan deal, with £35m obligation to buy.
Ahead of that Monday transfer window, here’s one of the deals taking shape, and it’s more bad news for Crystal Palace.
Thanks, Niall. Back in the saddle….
Time to hand back to your very own John Brewin for the home straight. I’ll leave you with Football Daily, where I look ahead to Panic Monday …
Staying in Italy, where Antonio Conte is under pressure at Napoli after the team’s early Champions League exit. The home defeat to Chelsea left Napoli 30th in the final table, and their Serie A title defence has stalled after costly draws and a 3-0 loss at Juventus.
Hitting out at his side’s busy schedule, Conte said: “I’d like to know who the genius is that makes the schedules. We play on Sunday, then Wednesday at 9pm, and then Saturday at 6pm. They talk about injuries and other things, but totally don’t give a damn.”
Napoli host a big name in even bigger trouble on Saturday – Fiorentina are stuck in the relegation zone after three wins from 22 games so far.
Remember Lorenzo Insigne? The former Napoli winger and Euro 2020 winner has spent the last three years outside of Italy, joining Toronto FC in January 2022.
Insigne ended his contract with the MLS club in June and has been a free agent since then – but he’s now rejoined his former club, Pescara, who are bottom of Serie B.
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Celtic assistant manager Shaun Maloney is hoping the club can add up to three more signings before Monday’s deadline. Czech striker Tomas Cvancara and Mexican right-back Julian Araujo have already arrived on loan this month.
“I think if we bring in another two or three, it would be a massive, massive help, but they have to be the right ones,” Maloney said. “There is no need to bring in numbers. It has to be the right type of player for what we need and what probably the team’s lacking.
“The two that we brought in, I really like, but hopefully we can do two or three more.” Celtic are in a three-way title race with Hearts and Rangers, and face Stuttgart in the Europa League playoffs.
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Here are 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend, from Brighton to Sunderland.
If you’re after some free-to-air football tonight, you can watch Cologne v Wolfsburg on iPlayer – but my pick is over on BBC Scotland, where St Johnstone host Partick Thistle. Wait, come back!
It’s first against second in the Scottish Championship, and the winner will be in pole position for promotion. Last week’s Friday game saw third-placed Arbroath draw with Morton in a North Sea gale so strong, it blew one goal kick out of the stadium.
Chelsea may be searching for a centre-back, but Rosenior had a positive update on Levi Colwill’s knee injury. “I spoke to him this morning. He’s really good, he’s working so hard. It’s been brilliant to see him back on the pitch running.
“He’s itching to get back. But we need to make sure he feels 100% perfect. He could return this season, but it’s step by step. I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.”
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba was Aston Villa’s hero last night against Salzburg, and the teenage playmaker could get a loan move before Monday’s deadline.
According to BBC Sport, West Brom are keen to bring him in to boost their attacking options. Eric Ramsay’s side have already signed Crystal Palace defender Danny Imray on loan today.
Rosenior bristles at one reporter’s use of the term “bomb squad”, and says Axel Disasi isn’t close to finding a new club. If Chelsea need another centre-back, is Disasi really such a bad option?
On Cole Palmer: “He came through with two assists and an outstanding performance. [Physically] he’s fine, he’s ready to start tomorrow [against West Ham]. Was he happy after the Napoli game? He’s always happy.”
On Enzo Fernández: “He’s a winner, he wants to learn and asks tactical questions, so I know he’ll keep improving. He’s a magnificent guy and a top player – I’m really excited to see what we can get out of him.”
Time to check in with Liam Rosenior. “Things can change very quickly in the January market, and it’s about being prepared for any development. [A new centre-back] is a possibility, but we want to make the squad as strong as it can be, in every area.”
“Different players come up, and if we see someone who can improve the team, I know the guys will try to make it happen. It could be busy on Monday … it could be quiet.”
That’s an interesting tactic from Thomas Frank, perhaps trying to calm fan anger about a lack of signings. Semenyo’s release clause meant any ‘big six’ team could make a move in January but Spurs weren’t heavily linked, as far as I can tell. But at the end of the day, they didn’t sign him – and to add insult to injury, he scored his last Bournemouth goal to consign Frank’s side to a 3-2 defeat.
Frank says Spurs 'did everything' to sign Semenyo
On transfer dealings, Frank says: “The club worked relentlessly to try and improve the squad, we can’t be too obsessed with short-term fixes. I will go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there’s no doubt the club wanted to sign [Antoine] Semenyo.
“They did everything – I think that’s a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed. That’s a big signing with finances and all that. So that’s the quality of players we’re looking for to improve the squad, and if we can’t find that, then it’s definitely better to take the right decisions.”
Thomas Frank says “Micky [van de Ven] will be touch and go for Sunday” but there are no further injury updates.
Can he bring Spurs’ Champions League form to their domestic games? “Full focus on the next game, Man City on Sunday. Not everything has been perfect, but things are more consistent, we are improving.”
Did he think Spurs would be 14th in the table at this stage? “No, I didn’t – I’m very aware that this season, like any other, is one where we should be ambitious, but it’s a transitional season.”
Is your Friday afternoon dragging a bit? Why not try our sport quiz of the week, featuring goals by goalies, Adama Traoré and plenty more football teasers …
Here’s Unai Emery on Aston Villa’s injury issues: “Ollie Watkins has had a scan, he’s not clearly injured but he has felt tired so we will give him time and assess tomorrow.”
Emery adds that Ross Barkley could feature in his squad to face Brentford on Sunday, but Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Andrés García and new recruit Alysson are all out injured.
Updated
Elsewhere, Morecambe have agreed an early end to their kit deal with Terrace Teamwear, who were very popular among fans for supporting the club through their financial turmoil. Morecambe have also parted company with their manager, Ashvir Singh Johal, today – the Shrimps sit second-bottom of the National League.
Not one, but two stories about football kit trouble today: firstly, Blackburn are being sued by their kit maker, Macron, according to court records. The claim was filed on Wednesday over an alleged “breach of contract”, but no other details are currently available.
A Blackburn spokesperson said: “We confirm that the club has been served with court papers by its technical kit supplier, Macron S.p.A., in relation to a contractual dispute. The claim is being handled by the club with the support of its legal team, and it would be inappropriate to comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing.”
Blackburn, who are third from bottom in the Championship, signed a five-year kit deal with Macron in May 2021.
More from Oliver Glasner: “I can confirm JP [Mateta] won’t be in the matchday squad [on Sunday] … it’s not to do with a transfer, he’s just not in the right place to play now. I can also confirm no new players will be in the matchday squad. Everything else, we’ll have to wait and see.
“We need every player at his best, and JP isn’t at his best right now, with all the noise. He can’t play at his top level, so we all lose. There is no clear decision – it could be that he stays, it could be that he leaves the club and a replacement striker comes in.
“The club is working almost 24 hours a day [on transfers]. Marc [Guéhi] left two weeks ago and nobody is in – it’s not easy to get players in but the club is working hard. I can’t praise the players enough for how they are handling things, it’s a very challenging situation.”
Plenty for Lijnders to discuss; he says Jérémy Doku should be fit in two or three weeks, and understands Jack Grealish must be “very disappointed” after a foot injury cut short “an excellent season” on loan at Everton.
Lijnders is “really looking forward” to facing Spurs – “a fluid, high-pressing team, good at set-pieces” – and says City will “support” Ruben Dias “as a club” after the defender’s house was burgled this week.
Regis Le Bris says Granit Xhaka is getting closer to a comeback from injury but is still “two or three weeks” away from starting games. Sunderland face Burnley at the Stadium of Light on Monday.
A different Pep in the Manchester City hot seat today, as assistant Pep Lijnders stepped in for Pep Guardiola. “It is a personal matter, he will arrive back here in Manchester today,” said Lijnders. “The manager is good, as always. Full of ambition and passion.” Guardiola was in Barcelona on Thursday, where he gave a speech supporting Palestinian children at a charity event.
Wolves host Bournemouth tomorrow, and Rob Edwards has confirmed Jørgen Strand Larsen will be in his squad as things stand. “It’s pretty clear, he has trained and will be part of the squad tomorrow,” Edwards said. “That is as much as I can say on it at the moment.” The striker looked set for a move to Palace before the move stalled unexpectedly on Thursday.
Mateta will not be in Palace squad to face Forest
Oliver Glasner has confirmed that Jean-Philippe Mateta will not be part of Crystal Palace’s squad for Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest. The striker is subject of a bid from Forest, and has also attracted interest from Aston Villa, Milan and Juventus.
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Here’s Marco Silva on signing Oscar Bobb: “I’m very pleased, because I think it’s a very good move for us. Oscar was one of our targets, a clear replacement for Adama [Traoré]. He has great qualities, he’s coming here to have game time and give us options in attacking positions. He’s a very, very talented young player, he’s going to the World Cup and he can help us this season.”
Carrick brushes off a fairly speculative question about Bruno Fernandes and a possible move this summer. “That’s not really on my agenda. I’m just focusing on playing Fulham on Sunday, but there are no issues at all with Bruno.” He sees facing Fulham as home as “a great challenge – taking anything out of granted is bang out of order, really.”
Michael Carrick is concise on Manchester United’s possible transfer plans. “Never say never,” says the interim manager on January moves, while playing down speculation that Joshua Zirkzee might return to Serie A before the window closes.
Forest await Palace's answer to Mateta offer
Sean Dyche has admitted Nottingham Forest adding Premier League experience before Monday’s transfer deadline would be “helpful”, as they await an answer from Crystal Palace regarding their bid for Jean-Philippe Mateta.
Forest are thought to have made a renewed bid for the wantaway Palace striker, who also has serious interest from Serie A sides Milan and Juventus, closer to the London club’s valuation of £40m.
Asked about the value of signing players with experience of the league, Dyche said: “If you can, that’s helpful, because I’ve got a lot of young players in there [in the squad], not necessarily young in age but in their learning about the Premier League.
“If you can bring experienced players into your group to strengthen it in terms of your understanding of the league, then of course that helps. But it’s not easy in January. Not many Premier League teams want to lose their own players, that’s for sure.”
Forest saw a £20m bid for Brighton midfielder Yasin Ayari rejected this week, while they saw an inquiry for the Seagulls’s longstanding captain Lewis Dunk dismissed. They are also pursuing a deal for the Wolves goalkeeper José Sa.
Dyche laughed off talk of a growing rivalry between Forest and Palace, as the teams prepare to reunite on Sunday at the City Ground. “I’ve never heard about it, I don’t know where that’s come from, apart from the obvious … wrangles over Europe,” Dyche said.
“I don’t think it’s a derby game, that’s for sure,” he added, with a smile. “That’s nothing to do with me. I’ve got good people I know at Palace, a good club, well run, and they had brilliant success last season. They’re in a tough period at the moment but that happens, football’s not easy.”
Thanks, Dominic. Busy is the word – right now, six Premier League managers are settling in for their pre-game press conferences. Carrick, Frank, Rosenior. Glasner. Silva. Le Bris. But let’s start with a bit of Forest news …
And with that I shall hand the reins to Niall McVeigh to steer you through the afternoon.
It’s a busy one, Niall!
Bayern Munich have announced that Leon Goretzka will be leaving the club in the summer after eight seasons.
The German midfielder is still only 30 and has been linked with a move away this month. But it now seems he will stay until the summer before a mutual parting of ways.
Taking to Instagram, Goretzka said: “The last few days have been more turbulent than expected. At the same time, they’ve brought clarity: As much as I’m honoured by the interest from top international clubs, I’ve made a clear decision that I want to stay with Bayern until the end of the season, with a team that’s incredibly fun to be around, both on and off the pitch, and a coach who has moulded our squad back into a true unit. I feel a deep commitment to this team and the club.
“At the same time the club and I have decided, after good and constructive discussions, that our successful time together will come to an end this summer. It’s the right time for me to start a new chapter: as a footballer and as a person. But there’s still a lot to do before then.
“Let’s all give it our all to achieve maximum success this season and at the World Cup with the national team! I’m looking forward to it!”
About that Tottenham versus Manchester City game… rivals fans joke about ‘Dr Tottenham’ – and my word West Ham certainly benefitted from that effect a couple of weeks ago, a win away at Spurs jumpstarting the Hammers back into form. But if Spurs could choose anyone to play to snap out of their own struggles, weirdly it may actually be Man City.
They have won three of their last four games against Pep Guardiola’s side and eight of the last 15 dating back to 2020.
Considering Spurs have never finished ahead of City in the league during that run, and it coming during City’s four successive titles, it is quite remarkable.
The only fly in the ointment for Tottenham fans on Sunday would be how a victory would/could give Arsenal a boost in the title race. Yes, we are back there.
Pep Guardiola is missing miss Manchester City’s press conference today for “personal reasons” with assistant boss Pep Lijnders to take his place. Lijnders will be asked about Sunday’s clash away at Tottenham.
Everton expect to lose Grealish for rest of the season
Bad news for Everton. David Moyes says he expects Jack Grealish to require surgery on a fractured foot, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.
That would surely vanquish Grealish’s lingering hopes of making England’s World Cup squad and effectively bring his loan spell with the Toffees to a close. A final decision will be taken in conjunction with the 30-year-old’s parent club, Manchester City.
“We believe he’s probably going to need surgery but that’s still not absolutely confirmed, but it probably rules him out for the rest of the season,” said Moyes. “It’s really disappointing for the player, the club, for all of us here. He’s such an important part and he’s a big character with big experience for us and we’ll miss him, he’s done a lot of really good things for us.”
Arteta compares Dowman to young Lionel Messi
Mikel Arteta has likened Max Dowman to a young Lionel Messi after the teenager committed his future to Arsenal.
Dowman, now 16, in November became the youngest player to play in the Champions League at 15 years and 308 days. He has signed a pre-agreement for his first professional contract when he turns 17 in December.
“Certainly one of the best,” said Arteta of the youngster. “What he’s done with us at the age of 15, me personally, I haven’t seen it before. Only with a guy that used to play in Barcelona but maybe not even that. He has a certain charisma as well and personality that he doesn’t get overwhelmed, whether it’s by the situation or the stadium or the opposition, and that’s a huge quality to have. Now it’s down to him and us to build an amazing career with him.”
No pressure, Max.
Manchester City are marching towards the WSL title – seemingly. Putting an end to Chelsea’s sheer dominance of that league is/would be a mighty feat for anyone, so how is Andrée Jeglertz managing it?
(They are nine points clear with nine games to go).
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Thanks John. What do you make of those draws, then? Benfica meeting Real Madrid again is quite delicious isn’t it? José Mourinho will be smelling another shock.
And in the Europa League, Fenerbahce v Nottingham Forest should be really tasty.
And with that, for reaction to that Bobb move, and more, here’s Dom Booth.
Fulham sign Oscar Bobb from Manchester City
The Norwegian winger is reported to have signed for a fee of £27m, and Marco Silva seems to have charmed him into the move.
A club statement reads: “The club is delighted to confirm the signing of Oscar Bobb from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee.
A Premier League champion, Bobb has agreed a five-and-a-half-year deal, keeping him at Fulham until the summer of 2031. He will wear the number 14 shirt.
The 22-year-old said: “It feels great to be here. I had a great day meeting everyone and I’m very excited. “I’ve always known Fulham to be a good club, with good players and a great stadium. I spoke to Sander, my good friend, and I spoke to the manager, and he explained what the system’s like, and how the lads are, and how the club is.
“He seemed lovely, so it was an easy decision basically.”
A note on Newcastle’s schedule. Eddie Howe’s men will travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag on 17-18 February. They are due to play Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, 21 February at 12:30 pm. There’s a reason they are calling it the “punishment round”.
So, Forest will get an earlier look at Istanbul than the final, and Celtic have a trip to Germany.
The draw for the round of 16 will be held on 27 February 2026.
Europa League play-off ties
PAOK v Celta Vigo
Lille v Red Star
Panathinaikos v Viktoria Plzen
Fenerbahce v Nottingham Forest
Ludogorets v Ferencvaros
Celtic v VfB Stuttgart
Dinamo Zagreb v Genk
Brann Bergen v Bologna
We now run through the unseeded clubs being allocated to silver and orange, the latter being the colour of the Europa League. Blue for the Champions League, of course.
Updated
Mick McCann gets in touch: “Amazing, before Wednesday night Benfica hadn’t played Real since 1965 and now another 2 matches straight away! Talk about waiting for a bus.”
Uefa are running through their procedures, silver and blue sides and all that.
Guest of honour is Ilhan Mansiz, Turkey’s World Cup star in 2002. “As a player you dream of those European nights.” Istanbul will host the Europa League final at Besiktas’s ground.
Here’s Pedro Pinto again, and soon enough here’s Giorgio Marchetti, the true master of ceremonies. He offers condolences to those associated with PAOK, who lost seven fans in a road crash in Romania.
The Europa League play-off format is similar to the Champions League, and here’s the teams competing:
9th: Genk
10th: Bologna
11th: Stuttgart
12th: Ferencvaros
13th: Nottingham Forest
14th: Plzen
15th: Crvena Zvezda
16th: Celta Vigo
17th: PAOK
18th: Lille
19th: Fenerbache
20th: Panathinaikos
21st: Celtic
22nd: Ludogorets
23rd: Dinamo Zagreb
24th: Brann Bergen
And we now go live – in five minutes – to the Europa League draw. More pathways to come…
Charles Antaki gets in touch: “Your correspondent Kári Tulinius will start to panic if Leeds beat Arsenal tomorrow. Oh Kári! The appropriate reaction will be wailing despair, inconsolable misery and the certainty of the entire season collapsing, with only the threat of relegation averted. Well, that will be my reaction anyway; I strongly suspect that he is a more sensible person, and a bit of panic is the more mature response, tempered with, as he says, the reassuring acknowledgement that Arsenal are, in fact, top of the Premier League. Of course, they might actually win.”
Reminder: the draw for the round of 16 will be held on 27 February 2026. The first legs will be played on 10 and 11 March, and the second legs will be played on 17 and 18 March 2026.
Jose Mourinho could line himself up for a prodigal return to the Bernabeu. As coach, if Benfica manage to pull off a two-leg tie win.
The games will be played over the midweeks of 17-18 and 24-25 February.
There’s two types of pathway in that draw, silver and blue.
Silver pathway
Monaco v Paris St-Germain
Galatasaray v Juventus
Benfica v Real Madrid
Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta
Blue pathway
Qarabag v Newcastle United
Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid
Bodo/Glimt v Inter Milan
Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen
So, a reunion of Benfica and Real Madrid, so soon after Anatoly Turbin winner. Newcastle face that long trip to Qarabag but will be happy with that draw.
Champions League playoff draw
Here come the actual pairings:
Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta
Olympiakos v Bayer Leverkusen
Galatasaray v Juventus
Club Brugge v Atletico Madrid
Monaco v PSG
Qarabag v Newcastle
Benfica v Real Madrid
Bodo/Glimt v Inter
Updated
Here we go in Nyon….and first out are Benfica and Bodo/Glimt, but only for the pathways…
How it works
Seeded teams first, unseeded teams second
Seeded teams are split into four pairs based on league rank and the unseeded teams are also clustered into four pairs based on league rank.
Real Madrid (9) or Inter (10) v Bodo/Glimt (23) or Benfica (24)
PSG (11) or Newcastle United (12) v Monaco (21) or Qarabag (22)
Juventus (13) or Atletico Madrid (14) v Club Brugge (19) or Galatasaray (20)
Atalanta (15) or Bayer Leverkusen (16) v Borussia Dortmund (17) or Olympiacos (18)
The draw that will determine the last 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final will take place on 27 February.
The guest of honour, David Guetta acolyte and Arsenal legend, Robert Pires, looking as dapper as ever. “I like the new format,” he says dutifully. “It feels fresh…it was a perfect ending.”
On Arsenal: “They scored 23 goals and only concede four and this is a great performance from Arteta and the players.”
“Rolling the dice is very important but you need to stay consistent.”
Marchetti, ever the hype man, is wishing the 16 participants the best. He’s looking to “complete the jigsaw puzzle” of the Champions League season.
Good morning from just beyond Greater Manchester. I’m currently watching the Champions League preamble, and here’s Pedro Pinto, and Giorgio Marchetti, the Henry Kelly of the Uefa draw.
As is now Friday football blog lore I am now duty-bound to hand over to my south Manchester bretherin, John Brewin. All yours, JB.
“Unlike a lot of my fellow Arsenal fans, I’m still feeling relatively confident,” emails a bullish Kári Tulinius. “In recent seasons, the Gunners have wobbled, but then they’ve steadied the ship. However, in the past they’ve come out of the wobble lagging behind in the title race. They can lose against Leeds and still be on top. Meanwhile, City and Villa have been even more fallible. Mind you, if Leeds win, I’ll probably start panicking, but at least it’ll be from the top of the league.”
Grimsby Town are currently advertising for a new Mighty Mariner mascot. I expect a flood of applications. Because… why wouldn’t you want to look like this while standing on a cold Cleethorpes pitch?
Howe says Newcastle still adjusting without Isak
Given Newcastle are going to Anfield tomorrow there is an inevitable question for Howe about Alexander Isak. The Swede won’t feature against his former club for Liverpool this weekend, of course, as he’s out long-term with a fractured fibula and ankle ligament damage.
Howe says Newcastle have taken a while to adjust after the £125m British record sale of the striker.
“It’s an ever-challenging thing,” he said. “You lose a player like Alex and – let’s put this right – Liverpool paid the money they did because he’s an outstanding footballer, an unbelievable talent. We were privileged to have him for the years that we had him. We loved working with him. He was an outstanding player.
“When you take that player away from your team, it’s going to change the dynamics, that’s for sure. Then you have to try to find a way of, not replacing him, but finding a player or players who can still make the team really effective.
“We’re still in that moment and we’ve been trying to do that all season. I think the guys who have come in have done a very good job. But we’re still finding ways to get the best out of the new players that we’ve signed with very minimal time to do any work with them. There’s been video analysis, talking to them, which is great, but it’s not the same as getting the work on the training pitch. They’ve done really well and they’re trying to give the team the best that they have. We are trying to adapt.”
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Eddie Howe wants a short trip to whoever Newcastle get in the Champions League playoff draw – that’s coming up soon, by the way. “Monaco possibly makes sense,” he says before adding: “but whoever we get it will be a great moment for us. We head with real positivity and I am excited to see who we get.”
Monaco or Qarabag are the only possible opponents for the Magpies.
“Hi Dominic. How delightful to see my beloved Gas mentioned in (almost)
the same breath as the Champions League,” says Bristol Rovers fan Richard Woods on email.
“However, that’s as close as it gets. Our form has been beyond awful since September ended, with just one win in the last 17 including a club record eight home losses in a row leading into tomorrow’s game. It doesn’t inspire confidence for a match against a Newport team that has been doing (relatively) well recently, and my fingernails are already bitten to the bone while I contemplate what tomorrow might hold. We did beat Newport away in September, but playing well and scoring goals feels like ancient history.
“Anyway, slim Steve Evans has done a lot of work in the transfer market already this month and there is expected to be more happening in the next two days, and we weren’t absolutely dreadful against MK Dons on Tuesday. These are causes for hope, right? Right?”
Hope springs eternal, Richard.
Brighton defender Diego Coppola has joined Paris FC on loan for the rest of the season.
Fabian Hürzeler said on the 22-year-old, who arrived from Hellas Verona last summer: “We definitely saw him more for the future. He had an incredible start for the club, he has an unbelievable attitude. Now it’s about improving small details regarding his game in possession. I’m definitely looking forward to working with him here, because he has big potential and can be a big player for us in the future.”
In the meantime please enjoy this lovely piece from Nick Ames on a great time for Polish football.
The Polish league is in its best shape for at least 30 years, according to Nick, with three clubs qualified for the Conference League knockout phase.
Mikel Arteta and Eddie Howe will be speaking soon. Two titans of management speak.
This was interesting from Slot. He was asked why Premier League teams are becoming so dominant in Europe, with Liverpool particularly impressive in the Champions League this season especially compared to many of their domestic showings. See also: Spurs.
“The Premier League has become a bit more of an ‘in the box’ game, while in the Champions League there is more play in between both boxes. That is my take on it.”
Could Liverpool make a late move in the January window? Arne Slot has teased us a tad …
He said: “If we have addressed a player we think can help us and the figure is possible then we will do so – those are conversations that take place not far away from here, but not in this room.”
Arne Slot has held his Liverpool press conference bright and early.
He’s revealed that Jeremie Frimpong is “out for a few weeks but not as bad as we thought” after picking up and injury against Qarabag on Wednesday. Ibrahima Konaté returns after being granted compassionate leave following the death of his father, while Curtis Jones is available after sickness. Joe Gomez is still out.
Liverpool are just three points ahead of their Saturday opponents, Newcastle, and one point off fifth-placed Chelsea. So it’s another crucial game for their hopes of Champions League qualification.
Marc Skinner has said Manchester United are unlikely to sign any more players in this transfer window, as Tuesday’s WSL deadline day approaches, and that the club are pleased with the early business they did this winter.
United added Hanna Lundkvist, Lea Schüller and Ellen Wangerheim, while Geyse and Rachel Williams left and the full-back Hannah Blundell was among those to go on loan.
“Right now, there’s nobody that’s imminent,” the head coach said before Sunday’s meeting with Liverpool. “I’m really happy with the work that we’ve done as a collective, in this window, but we’re still working towards summer targets as well.
“Unless there’s a miracle, probably not [any more signings in this window], at this moment. We’ll wait and see, but right now we’re in a space where nobody is imminently coming in.
“We’ve prepped and we’ve done our work early [and] you can already see them coming up to speed.”
Forgive me for picking out my own passage in the Rumour Mill. This, on clubs’ summer plans, I found extraordinary. We’ll wait to see if any of it comes to pass.
Plenty of clubs have seemingly given up the ghost on the notoriously tricky January window and are already plotting their summer swoops. In totally-feasible transfer news, Chelsea want Jude Bellingham, Arsenal and Liverpool are chasing Eduardo Camavinga and Real Madrid, in this scenario having been gutted and stripped of their best assets, are targeting … Diogo Dalot.
The Rumour Mill is certainly spinning. And how on earth did Raheem Sterling – who hasn’t kicked a competitive football in eight months – find himself at the centre of the speculation?
Crystal Palace’s proposed move for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen is reportedly on the rocks after the Eagles signalled their intention to walk away from a £50m deal.
It is claimed Wolves expected a formal offer to arrive on Thursday but that’s not been forthcoming, and Palace are apparently ready to pull out.
Jean-Philippe Mateta might be a little unhappy to hear this news, as Palace would surely veto his exit if they cannot seal a deal for the Norwegian striker.
Just another regular day in the Premier League transfer circus.
Let’s kick off with 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend.
Can Michael Carrick make it three from three?
Can Arsenal bounce back?
Can Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace stop the rot?
Preamble
Hello and welcome to our Friday football news blog – the place you can join us to count down to the weekend’s action. As well as bringing you the latest from today’s Premier League press conferences and previewing the games, we’ll also be all over the Champions League and Europa League knockout phase play-off draws, which take place in Switzerland from 11am GMT (but most likely a bit later knowing Uefa draws).
Leeds v Arsenal, Liverpool v Newcastle and Tottenham v Manchester City are probably the standout games in the English top flight this weekend, but there’s a lot to play for down the EFL and across Europe, as always. Take Bristol Rovers v Newport County for example: a Severnside derby between two fourth tier clubs scrapping for their lives at the basement of the Football League.
From the glitz and glamour of European knockout draws to the muck and nettles of League Two, consider us your one-stop-shop for all things weekend football buildup. Oh, and there will be a whole heap of transfer news as that January deadline looms large – expect a few deals to get done today. So get your emails in, grab a coffee and stay tuned.
