Transfer latest, Solanke blow for Spurs, Premier League and WSL news: football - live

2m ago 07.26 EST Pat weighs in too: “Sure, the new UCL format promises one manic night next week - but the price of that is that the first four or five matches are really devoid of suspense or jeopardy. In the old leagues of four, any loss was threatening. I was at the Arsenal home game v PSG which should have been a huge tie - but the atmosphere was flat (jokes about the library aside). All this without mentioning the two (for the top right) to four (for those 9th-16th) added games... It’s too much football and bah humbug, not a fan.” There is a jeopardy involved, though, as Dale Johnson wrote in this ESPN piece: “The league placings create the knockout bracket. Unlike in previous seasons, where there would be open draws, paths will be set after this phase has been completed. The new “seeding” system means the highest-placed teams can’t face each other until the latter stages of the knockout round. “However, the value of being placed high in the table has been complicated by poor European seasons for Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, who have unexpectedly become possible opponents earlier in the knockout rounds.” Share

10m ago 07.18 EST David Skinner on that new UCL format: “Down at the bottom, 10 of the 12 teams to be eliminated are already settled. 11 really, because Dinamo Zagreb are not going to beat AC Milan. So, we have one elimination spot to be settled between 7 clubs. Assuming City beat Brugge, then one of the 6 clubs above them will be eliminated. Stuttgart play Paris, so that game might be interesting. All of those teams will just need a point for Brugge to be eliminated (if City win). “So, after 126 Champions League matches we are left with 1 elimination spot to be settled and 3 or 4 games out of 18 to keep an eye on to see who it is. That doesn’t seem like an improvement on the previous format.” Share

11m ago 07.17 EST Africa football chief will not face legal action over fraud allegations Story by Ed Aarons Mosengo-Omba, formerly Fifa’s chief member associations officer as well as a close associate of Gianni Infantino, and who was appointed general secretary of Caf in 2021, is still waiting for the outcome of an internal investigation into allegations of misconduct after an alleged breach of its internal governance and auditing regulations that were made in August. Caf general secretary will not face legal action over fraud allegations Read more Share

13m ago 07.15 EST Kevin Wilson gets in touch: “For all talk of Man Utd not having any money and needing to sell to refresh the squad (and selling Garnacho would be very short-sighted), they could inject some more quality into the squad this Summer through the free transfer market. It works for Juventus and PSG, so why should Man Utd be coy? “OK, they won’t get Kimmich or Davies, but they could replace Malacia, Eriksen and Hojlund (loan him out) with Tyrick Mitchell, Angel Gomes and Jonathan David. If they’re lucky they can replace Lindelof with Jonathan Tah. Yes there are wages and signing on fees to consider, but they’re not paying the ‘Man Utd tax’ on ridiculous transfer fees.” Share

18m ago 07.11 EST Transfer news: Middlesbrough have agreed to sign Plymouth winger Morgan Whittaker. The fee agreed is believed to be £6 million with an extra £2 million in potential add-ons, according to Teeside Live. Swansea City are due a percentage of any transfer fee received as part of the agreement that took him to Plymouth Argyle back in 2023. The forward is now undergoing a medical to finalise the move. Finn Azaz is believed to have played his part in convincing his former teammate on the move to the Riverside. Share

26m ago 07.03 EST Postecoglou wants new blood in at Tottenham Ed Aarons Ange Postecoglou has said his Tottenham squad is struggling with the amount of games and needs reinforcing as they look for a first home win in the Premier League since November against Leicester on Sunday. Spurs held on to beat Hoffenheim in the Europa League on Thursday and take a big step towards the knockout stages despite Postecoglou only having 13 fit senior players to choose from for their trip to Germany. Djed Spence and Pape Matar Sarr remain doubts for the visit of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side, although Sergio Reguilon could return. Asked if he would be happy to bring in new players just to improve squad depth, Postecoglou said: “It just depends. It depends on the player, it depends on how they fit into what we do. It’s not just about bringing in another body, but yes, there is still no doubt we need to help these players because we’ve still got some significant games in the next two or three weeks before we get players back.” Postecoglou, whose side are sixth in the Europa League standings and face Elsfborg in their final match, has also predicted there could be a frenzy of transfer activity after next week’s European matches, when the Champions League and Europa League group stages both come to a finish. He said: “Yeah, potentially. I mean I really think that has been a factor because if you look at the way European competitions are stacked up, that would be done and dusted by now and people would know if they are in the Champions League or if they are in the Europa League and adjusted their sights. Maybe after last night and I’ve had a close look at the three-page table, thankfully we’re on the first so I don’t need to go beyond that, but if there is any significant clubs in there and out of the competition, it may make things happen a little bit quicker.” Share

27m ago 07.01 EST Storm Eowyn latest: the north and Scotland have been ravaged, down south we had a rocky night but the sun is shining. Newcastle to get a coach down? Old-school. In the old days, club coach drivers would know the best place to get fish and chips on the way home. The game’s gone. Newcastle’s travel plans for Southampton game upended by Storm Éowyn Read more Share

37m ago 06.52 EST Welsh clubs denied Euro backdoor route Wrexham, the Disney club, and other Welsh clubs have been denied a route into the Conference League after the English FA closed off access to any clubs who play in the English leagues. A statement read: “The FA board has considered a request made by four Welsh clubs to take part in a restructured version of the FAW League Cup which would provide an opportunity to qualify for UEFA competition. “As part of the request, the Welsh clubs would forfeit their existing right to qualify for Uefa club competitions through the English system whilst they remained members of the EFL. “The Welsh clubs would then seek to qualify for Uefa competition via the English system should they be promoted to the Premier League. As a result of the request, the FA undertook a thorough consultation with stakeholders and invited submissions from the Welsh clubs. “Following careful consideration, taking into account various factors including equal opportunity for clubs to participate in the same competitions, for the same rewards on an equal basis; concerns raised by stakeholders regarding competition integrity, fixture congestion and player welfare, and the impact on the standing of existing competitions, the FA board has rejected the request.” Memories of Welsh clubs playing in Europe via the old Welsh Cup but:

”In March 2012, UEFA stated that Welsh clubs playing in the English football league system could not qualify for European competitions via the Welsh Cup but they could qualify via the English league and cup competitions.” Share

1h ago 06.17 EST Solanke out for Spurs for 'six weeks' with knee injury Ange is speaking again, on the absence of Dom Solanke, a real blow. Last night, Postecoglou said: “With Dom, the information now is that we are looking at around the six-week mark. No surgery. Maybe we can get him back a little bit earlier, just see how he progresses. But, at this stage, it’s saying around six weeks.” This morning, back at Spurs HQ, he said: “All those things are known, nothing’s changed in the last 24 hours. We knew with Dom probably a few days back, I had a press conference in the meantime, so all these things are known. “We should have light at the end of the tunnel in a couple of weeks, it’s not as dire but at the same time there’s always a possibility that before those guys come back we might lose a couple of these guys [current players in form]. That’s always the challenging bit, that’s what we’re going through. “It’s been two months of hard grind for the players, just trying to support them as much as we can. Our schedule is not going to ease up at all. Share Updated at 06.29 EST

1h ago 06.15 EST Enzo Maresca has closed down talk of a Chelsea move for Alejandro Garnacho. He has a lot of wingers. NB: no mention of Christopher Nkunku. “No, no. I’m happy with the ones we have in this moment. We’ve said many times on the right side, it’s Pedro [Neto] and Noni [Madueke] and left side is Jadon [Sancho]. Misha [Mudryk] was with us and is now not with us. I think Tyrique [George] is a young profile that can help us so at this moment, we are okay.” Share

1h ago 06.02 EST Joseph Tessier gets in touch: “I don’t think we can say for certain yet that the new format has been a success, but I do think that people are too quick to dismiss or think the worst of any idea that comes out of Uefa.” Others may say there are reasons behind a distrust of Uefa decision-making. Not necessarily in ideas like the Nations League or Champions League extension. The Conference League was a good idea, too. Their handling of other affairs, and lack of responsibility when events have gone wrong, may be the root of that distrust. Share

2h ago 05.58 EST Some other transfer talk, via X, and the Telegraph’s Luke Edwards, who was sat with Eddie Howe this morning. Abdukodir Khusanov is now headed to big-spending Manchester City.

”Howe confirmed this morning that Newcastle had done all the preparation to sign Khusanov this month but were simply unable to move because of PSR situation. Man City swooped in and got him instead. Newcastle would have liked to sign him in the summer. Paul Mitchell a big fan of the centre back. Unless there is a late twist, Newcastle will not be signing anyone this month.” Share

2h ago 05.52 EST Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is pledging support to his embattled mentor: “Pep is strong enough. Like any human being, he needs support. In the last eight or nine years, they were always on top, always winning trophies and important things.” Feels like Maresca says something like this each week: “No, not for the title. If you look over December and January, we are having a tough moment.” Share

2h ago 05.45 EST Last night saw Tottenham and Son Heung-min gain redemption. Here’s some Ange Postecoglou quotes from last night. He’s speaking today, too. He bloody loves speaking to the media. “I thought he really stood up today. We needed him to. Him, Madders, Rodri, Benny, a lot of our other players, it’s not just Lucas, Archie, Radu and our young players. We also have to factor into it that Richy is just coming back from injury. There is a whole range of things we are dealing with out there. It can be easy, particularly away in Europe, to get swept away. “I thought Sonny led from the front tonight with his football but also with his general actions and most importantly the goals. Look, we are all copping stick at the moment. That is the nature of the beast. What we do, as footballers and managers, we are all in the firing line at the moment. Whether it is warranted or not, you have to stand up and reply to it in the proper way. I thought he did that tonight.” Share

2h ago 05.32 EST The Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, has been on the mic. And his dad’s been on the blower. “It’s difficult for fans. My father is also a fan, he rings and says it wasn’t as exciting against Lille. I had to say to him you can risk losing if you try to do too much, it’s hard. “I was happy with our performance against Lille, there was moment I remember where we lost the ball on the counter attack against Lille. That is the risk of what I call stupid balls, which we did against Forest. My father would love to see us do more of those. “It’s more difficult against a low block. It’s a balance we have to find. Come to the stadium to see us winning and hopefully, we can score a lot of goals. With a high press, hopefully we can win the ball all over the pitch.” Share

2h ago 05.21 EST The press conferences have begun, and the news for Arsenal fans demanding a striker isn’t exactly positive. Arteta: “You have certain resources, the ability to recruit certain players, develop certain players, use certain players from the academy. It’s a balance of what we can do.” Though he’s saying there’s a chance: “We lost two very important forwards, we have to get more goals into the team if we can do it, but the right one.” Share

2h ago 05.17 EST West Ham fancy Brobbey Jacob Steinberg West Ham are interested in a loan deal for the Ajax forward Brian Brobbey. The arrival of Kyle Macaulay as the club’s new recruitment analysis is set to accelerate transfer plans and efforts are being made to boost Graham Potter’s attacking options. A loan for RB Leipzig’s Andre Silva has been discussed but Brobbey has also emerged as a target. The 22-year-old joined from Leipzig three years ago and has three goals in all competitions this season. West Ham are also tracking Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz and Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi. Share

2h ago 05.15 EST Let’s not forget that this is the transfer window – and it’s been quiet so far, though deals are slowly happening. And as they will always tell you on that yellow-ticker show, anything can happen in the transfer window. Firstly, as it says in the headline, Kyle Walker is set for Milan. He’s just passed his medical and while outside his hotel last night told some fans he was “Very happy, very happy” before then walking into the lobby. He won’t be able to play for a while, because of red tape, because of Brexit. Share

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