And with that, I’m going to tie this blog up in a neat little bow and head off into the weekend. Watford v Norwich awaits for me tomorrow. I wish you well in all your football adventures, and a more relaxing weekend than the one in store for these folk, tasked with transferring nearly-signed Neymar’s name and number onto Santos shirts. Bye!
Wrexham have signed Burnley’s Jay Rodriguez, who has said he is “excited to join the story” unfolding in Wales. Sam Smith, who has scored 11 goals for Reading this season, has also joined, signing a three-and-a-half-year deal with an option for an additional year.
“I’m made up to join the club. I can’t wait to get out on the training pitch and meet everyone,” 35-year-old Rodriguez told Wrexham’s website. “I hope I can use my experience to help every single player in the squad and gain something from the group as well. To join the story that has evolved at Wrexham with clear targets is exciting for me.”
Smith said: “It feels amazing to join the club and I’m happy that the deal is over the line. I’m excited to be a part of the journey now and I want to try and help the club achieve its ambitions.”
Wrexham have also announced the departure of Scottish midfielder James Jones to Burton.
Paul MacInnes has spoken to Richard Masters, the Premier League’s chief executive, about, among other things, whether the competition is still competitive:
I’m not blind to these things, but also we shouldn’t overreact to one or two seasons. City have won the league four times in a row, but two of those were final-day finishes, and every single one was a massive mountain to climb. Whilst we have got the same name scratched on the trophy, it’s incredibly competitive still to win the Premier League.
Much more here:
Sky are reporting that Mathys Tel has rejected the chance to move permanently to Tottenham. Several other Premier League clubs are interested in signing the Frenchman, potentially on loan.
Aston Villa have been fined £30,000 and Newcastle United £20,000 for failing to control their players and staff members during an altercation in their Premier League match on Boxing Day, Reuters reports.
Villa pushed for an equaliser in an increasingly physical game at Newcastle, but their task got harder when forward Jhon Duran was sent off in the 32nd minute for stamping on Fabian Schar and the match ended 3-0.
The furious Colombian kicked a water bottle before heading down the tunnel. Tensions flared after the first half ended which led to Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall and Villa analyst Victor Manas also being sent off.
“It was alleged that both clubs failed to ensure their players and/or technical area occupants did not behave in an improper and/or provocative way around the tunnel area at half time,” the FA said in a statement.
An independent regulatory commission fined both clubs along with a warning and imposed a two-match ground ban along with a £4,000 fine on Manas after both clubs and the analyst admitted to acting in an improper manner.
It was also alleged that Tindall acted in an improper manner during the same incident but the regulatory commission found the charge against him to be not proven, and he will face no further action.
Duran was fined £15,000 earlier in January after he admitted that he acted in an improper manner in the same game.
Chelsea waiting for confirmation before announcing Walsh deal
Chelsea are still awaiting international clearance to confirm their signing of the England midfielder Keira Walsh from Barcelona, the Guardian understands, but all parties remain very confident that they will be able to formally announce the deal shortly, with the deal having been concluded on Thursday.
According to multiple sources, the transfer was completed with more than four hours to spare, with all the required paperwork submitted comfortably before the 23:00 GMT deadline on Thursday. Walsh passed a medical on Thursday and the deal progressed without any problems between the clubs or the player.
However, for international transfers, correspondence between both national FAs is required to confirm the deal with Fifa, and sources have alleged that the relevant administrative team at the Spanish FA had already closed their offices at the end of the afternoon, when the deal was completed, hours before the English women’s transfer deadline.
For this reason, international clearance via Fifa’s ‘Transfer Matching System’ could not be officially confirmed on Thursday night, so the clubs are now awaiting final confirmation from Fifa that the transfer can be announced. The relevant Fifa team, likely to check what time the paperwork was submitted, is based in Miami, USA, and such situations have been described as common across international football. The Guardian understands there is high confidence at Barcelona and Chelsea that the clubs did everything required in plenty of time for Walsh’s move. Sources with knowledge of the deal told the Guardian that both clubs acted thoroughly professionally throughout the process and expressed frustration at perceived delays in correspondence from the Spanish FA
Chelsea also signed the young goalkeeper Femke Liefting from the Dutch club AZ Alkmaar on a three-and-a-half-year deal on Thursday night, a deal which similarly required international clearance and administrative cooperation between the two relevant national FAs. The paperwork for that deal is understood to have been submitted far later than the paperwork for Walsh’s move but, in contrast, the Guardian understands the Royal Dutch Football Association responded rapidly, enabling Chelsea to announce Liefting’s arrival on Friday morning.
Manchester City’s Brazilian winger Savinho has opened up on the excitement - and initial reluctance - he felt when Pep Guardiola contacted him during the summer regarding joining the Premier League champions.
“I was at the Copa America in the US and my agent told me that Pep wanted to call me. He calls, he gives me confidence, tells me he wants me in the team,” said the 20-year-old winger. “I told him, ‘Coach, I already have an answer, but I need to think it over again and I’ll get back to you’. And he went, ‘Fine, I’m on holiday as well, no problem, have a think about it’. I though to myself: “God, it’s Manchester City.” I left my room, went to dinner with the Brazil team and started asking questions to Marquinhos, Danilo, the experienced players.
“Danilo goes, ‘You’re kidding me aren’t you? Manchester City is the top, lad. You’re going to reach the top’. After that I went back to my room and said to myself, ‘I want to call Guardiola, I’ve made my decision’. I said to him, ‘I do want to sign’.”
“I’m 20-years-old at Manchester City. Not long ago I played with them [his teammates] in my video games,” added Savinho. “When I was at Atlético Mineiro I used to play Champions League against PSG [Paris Saint-Germain] at my friend’s home. I was watching them on a screen and now I’m here with them.”
Here’s Andy Hunter on Everton, David Moyes and irritating PSR regulations:
David Moyes has expressed his surprise at the extent of the financial restrictions imposed on Everton and admitted jealousy over the spending power of rival Premier League clubs.
Everton have money to spend this month after the The Friedkin Group’s takeover and were recently declared compliant with Premier League profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) up to the 2023-24 season. But the club remain limited by PSR calculations for this financial year and are unlikely to feel the full benefits of the takeover until the summer.
Much more here:
Brendan Rodgers has been talking about his Celtic team, the Champions League and the possibility that they will have to play Bayern Munich with no fans supporting them. Here’s PA Media’s take:
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers found it “hard to fathom” why one fan has risked the prospect of “genuine supporters” being able to attend the Champions League encounter with Bayern Munich.
The Scottish champions have been hit with a Uefa disciplinary notice that could trigger an automatic ban on away fans being present in the Allianz Arena for the second leg of the knockout round play-off tie on February 18-19.
Celtic were on a suspended ban following a series of fines over the use of pyrotechnics before a supporter appeared to throw a green smoke cannister onto the pitch in Wednesday’s 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa.
The club vowed to make “robust representations” to allow fans to attend but warned there was a risk of a ban being enforced.
“I’d be bitterly disappointed for every genuine Celtic supporter,” Rodgers said. “Clearly, that’s not decided yet, but it’s serious enough for the club to put that statement out. For those Celtic supporters that genuinely bond with their club and their team and have travelled near and far over many, many years, to even be at the risk of not going tells you the culmination of events that have taken us to that point.
“We would never want to get to a point where we go into a game of such magnitude and we can’t take our support base. I would hope it wouldn’t, but if it takes something like that, then it has to change.
“The football club, we can’t keep paying hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of fines because in the main, Celtic is what they are because of the supporters, those genuine supporters that bond with the club.”
Celtic went into the Champions League playoff draw knowing their opponents would be either Bayern or Real Madrid. “We got the easier one, didn’t we?” Rodgers joked. “Listen, it’s brilliant. We’ve earnt to get to the play-off stage. The players have been outstanding over the eight games and that qualifies us to play one of these top teams. There’s no doubt that the team have progressed over the course of the competition.”
Santos have confirmed the signing of Neymar on social media, titling their video: I’m leaving, but I’ll be back.
Good news for Ange Postecoglou: Brentford boss Thomas Frank is a fan. Spurs play the Bees at Gtech Community Stadium on Sunday, hoping to end a run of four straight league defeats, and Frank can see then converting their 1-0 first-leg Carabao Cup semi-final lead into a trophy to sprinkle some stardust on what has been a difficult season:
When results are also not going your way, that’s tough. They’re things we need to deal with as managers and I’m convinced that Ange is doing that well and he will get through it. He doesn’t need advice, but he just needs to trust his own processes and trust what he believes in, which he does and that’s the main thing.
I have massive respect for Ange. Speaking for myself, it is tough at times and feels like you’re carrying everything on your shoulders. It is always my final call, it’s the manager who stands there. That’s why I can definitely put myself in his place. He’s done very well to keep going and keep believing. Maybe, in one of his toughest moments, they will win a trophy, which will be massive for Tottenham. It could be one of those seasons where they suffer incredibly - and maybe they suffer even more - but they win a trophy.
Marco Silva has challenged his team to give his strikers more to work with when they face Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday. The Cottagers were on top for large periods against Manchester United but there was little in the way of clear-cut opportunities for Raul Jimenez and Rodrigo Muniz. They were punished for not taking advantage when they were on top as Lisandro Martinez’s strike deflected off Sasa Lukic and looped over Bernd Leno to give Ruben Amorim’s side a 1-0 victory. Here’s some of what the Fulham manager said:
Sometimes strikers can be ruthless and clinical if we provide for them in the right moments and give them the right balls. I think in the first half [against United] with the way we played, we should’ve provided more for the attacking players.
Let’s hope we don’t concede and we need to work for it. It’s two teams who when they normally face each other they play to win the game. We have a philosophy which means we don’t change how we play when home or away. When they play home they have a great support and they have a really physical side. We need to be brave and show enough courage to create problems for them.
Silva has also warned his side about the threat from Newcastle in attack, spearheaded by 17-goal Alexander Isak.
Silva added: “They have the quality, a top striker who is hot.
“They have top quality with (Anthony) Gordon and (Jacob) Murphy who are hard workers and can create.”
That’s all from me today but Simon Burnton is back on board to steer you through the rest of the evening’s news.
Manchester City: Pep Guardiola could not hide his frustration with Manchester City’s fixture schedule in February after being handed a daunting two-legged Champions League playoff tie with Real Madrid.
“The schedule is what it is,” said Guardiola. “In the Premier League everyone has to play everyone but what normally happens is we have tougher schedules for the [Premier League] teams in Europe. It’s tough playing against Real Madrid, the problem is in the middle playing Newcastle.” He sarcastically added: “They are always so kind with the calendar, for many years it always happened that way.”
Transfer news: Marcus Rashford has his heart set on a loan move to Barcelona before Monday’s transfer deadline but a deal will go through only if the La Liga club can off-load up to two players.
Rashford has rejected offers from several other clubs including Tottenham because of his determination to join Barcelona. Under La Liga’s squad cost limit rules Barcelona will have to generate funds to be able to spend the money required to sign Rashford from Manchester United. They are prepared in principle to cover most or all of Rashford’s £375,000-a-week salary.
More below from Jamie Jackson.
Chelsea: Enzo Maresca says transfer talk has “100%” contributed to a mid-season slump, predicting there will be comings and goings in the final days of the window.
Chelsea were just two points behind the Premier League leaders Liverpool in December but are now 13 points off the pace after just one win in their past seven games.
Maresca, whose sixth-placed team host London rivals West Ham on Monday, was asked at his pre-match press conference on Friday whether the rumours about outgoings had unsettled his squad.
A hundred percent for me. But not only us, all the teams, because in the end the players are human beings.
Even if they say, ‘No, I’m professional, I’m focused on this’, in the end if they are talking about you, about different clubs, probably the focus is not 100%. But it’s not just for us.
You can expect players to arrive and you can expect players leaving so it’s like this in this moment. I don’t have any idea about the ones that can leave or the ones that can arrive. Anything can happen.”
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Everton: David Moyes has expressed his disappointment in the limitations he is facing in an attempt to bring in squad reinforcements.
Last season Everton were docked eight points for profit and sustainability Rules (PSR) breaches and while the situation has improved significantly since the December takeover by The Friedkin Group, it will be the summer before they can begin to compete in the transfer market at the level Moyes believes they should be.
I’ve been really surprised in the way it’s restricted the club. Everton’s a huge football club and it should be competing with many big clubs in the country.
It’s hindering us in maybe, what does David Moyes want and what do I want to bring to Everton? It’s not really what I can do, but I know I have to find a way of bringing players in who can hopefully contribute in some way.
Behind the scenes, we’re really looking what’s out there and who we can bring in. But without doubt, we’re still hampered by PSR.
We have to be mindful of what we can do and I hope the supporters understand that and go with us. We hope to bring in some players but maybe it’s not the ones which – if we really had the money – we’d be trying to do.
I think this football club should be buying in a market where we can compete and challenge other teams. At the moment, we’re not in that buyer’s market, I don’t feel.
I’ve got to say, this market – in general – is a bad market. I think there have only been 11 or 12 deals.
Aston Villa: Unai Emery says Ollie Watkins wants to stay at the club after Arsenal made a bid for the striker.
Watkins was the subject of a rejected offer from the Gunners earlier this week, reported to be £60m. The striker reacted by scoring in Wednesday’s Champions League win over Celtic, tellingly tapping the badge in celebration.
While fellow striker Jhon Durán will join Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr later on Friday in a deal worth up to £71m, Emery says Watkins will be staying at Villa Park.
Yes, he is happy to stay. You can ask him, but we asked him how he is feeling every day, every year he has been here with Aston Villa, with us and without us.
We talked with him and he is very focused on the message we have. The commitment of Ollie Watkins with us is a huge commitment, he appreciates a lot how Aston Villa was always supporting him, helping him and when we joined him here two years ago, how we worked with him, always trying to get the best of him.Now we need him, like he needed Aston Villa. The conversation we are having usually, I am speaking with him a lot, he is always adapting of every circumstance we have in the squad and individually with him. When there are some teams calling us being interested in the players of course it is very good for us and very good for the players.
With Duran to head out before tonight’s transfer deadline in Saudi Arabia, Villa are looking for attacking recruitments.
They are interested in Chelsea’s João Félix and Paris Saint Germain’s Marco Asensio, but can only bring in players if it is financially viable.
The president of football operations Monchi revealed in an interview with Spanish radio that Emery has always been a big fan of the Portugal forward Felix.
There are names, one of them being João. Emery likes him, because in the three transfer markets I have been in, the fourth with this one, he has always been mentioned and has been a small object of desire for Emery.
But it is complicated and I don’t know if we will be able to be there. He is a player with a lot of quality and Emery has been able to recover players who were considered lost in his history as a coach and he trusts in Joao’s talent. PA Media
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta has insisted that he did not take Erling Haaland telling him to “stay humble” personally after Arsenal’s 2-2 draw against Manchester City earlier this season and is looking forward to facing Pep Guardiola’s side again on Sunday.
The Arsenal manager was confronted by Haaland at full-time of a bad-tempered game at the Etihad in September, with Gabriel Jesus continuing the argument with the Norway striker. But ahead of their meeting in north London this weekend, Arteta recognised that rivalries are just part of the game.
I don’t take anything personally what happens on the pitch for me. And since I’ve been a player, it stays there and it’s full of emotions and things there and I just leave it aside and move on.
Asked whether his players had something to prove after a late equaliser from John Stones denied Arsenal victory in the last game, he added: “The business is to try to be better than them, to beat them, that’s it. The only thing I review is what happened in that match, how competitive it gets is normal when two big teams want to win the game, and nothing else from that side.”
Arteta also said that Arsenal are attempting to bring in reinforcements before Monday’s transfer deadline but could make no guarantees.
I’m very confident with the work that the club is doing, and exploring every single opportunity that we believe can have an impact on the team. If that’s certainly the case and we can agree on something, we will, and if not, we won’t.
We are trying everything that we can, but I don’t want to give any reassurance or not. It doesn’t depend only on us, so our intention is clear, but the possibilities are affected by three parties.
Liverpool: More from Slot on his side’s team news and any last-minute transfer deals.
On squad fitness:
I rested a lot of players [in midweek], you can also say you played the ones who needed playing time. And I was really pleased how they performed at PSV Eindhoven, who, apart from three or four players that were not playing, had quite a strong team and we were more than competitive. Even in the second half when there were so many youngsters on the pitch. And the ones that stayed behind, they didn’t rest in the sense that they had three or four days off – they did train but they didn’t play a game. I’ve said already, that doesn’t give us any guarantees for Saturday but it hopefully will help us during the upcoming three or four months because the Premier League and the Champions League is a long season for them, with 10 months in a row non-stop playing games without any weeks off in between. So, hopefully that will help them stay fresh for the upcoming months.
On Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez:
All three of them are in training today so then the question is, ‘Are they already far enough to join us towards Bournemouth?’
That’s something we have to wait and see today because we have probably also more than 20 players available. We always have more than 20 available but the ones that are mostly there.
So, we have to make the smartest decision for them, but also for winning the game tomorrow.
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Liverpool: And Arne Slot has been speaking to media ahead of his side’s match against Bournemouth tomorrow afternoon.
On the challenge of Andoni Iraola’s side:
It’s a big one and this is probably going to sound strange [but] I knew this already when we played the second half against them in our home game. We were 3-0 up at half-time and I was expecting a second half where we could just control the game, have the ball a bit and maybe score the fourth one – but they just kept on going at us for 45 minutes and that showed me the character of the team. Since then they have been outstanding. They were before that game also. Because we were 3-0 up at half-time, we didn’t really match the first half, in my opinion, maybe we deserved to be up but not with three goals.
And afterwards they have beaten so many strong teams and there is a simple reason for that: a lot of quality. Created by Richard [Hughes], of course, our current sporting director who worked there for a few years. And he hired a fantastic manager as well. Why is he a fantastic manager? He has a great gameplan and his players work incredibly hard. And then in a different way than Arsenal, they are also a threat on set-pieces. Where Arsenal nine out of 10 times does the same, they always come up with worked ones that have been very useful for them as well. So, in every department a very good and strong team and they deserve to be where they are – maybe they even deserve a bit higher than the position they are at the moment.
On Justin Kluivert:
He is one of the many examples where I think Richard deserves a lot of credit, but not only Richard, the manager of course as well because he started working with him. And you know that I believe the team makes individuals better. You need quality and that’s what Richard brought there, and his successor probably as well. But I think most of the players that are there were there last season already as well. And the manager has done an incredible job.
Great season he’s having – nice and good to see for us because we always knew he was a big talent. He left Holland quite early, he was a bit criticised for that because in Holland many people always feel you need to have some extra years in the Eredivisie before you go aboard. But he is a great example that you can be really successful by going abroad early and going to a few clubs and then at a certain age – because I think he is only 24, he is not so old yet – be at this level already. He will play another big talent that has grown up at Ajax, Ryan Gravenberch, so interesting match-up tomorrow.
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Bournemouth: Andoni Iraola’s side host Liverpool on Saturday and look like one of the league leaders’ toughest away assignments. Here is John Brewin and how they’ve become such a force:
Is this the sweet spot? The high point? Is such progress sustainable? A brain drain of sorts has begun already. Richard Hughes, the adviser behind the appointments of Iraola, joined Liverpool, with Francis stepping into his technical director role. Yet Hughes, an Italian speaker and previously a Serie A expert TV summariser, was beaten to signing Huijsen from Juventus, whose capture is described by one industry source as a “masterstroke”. President of football operations Tiago Pinto, who arrived last May, knew the teenage defender from working with him at Roma. Within football, Bournemouth’s recruitment team is respected and incoming talent is offered a Premier League chance on decent wages.
WSL: Chloe Kelly has accused Manchester City of attempting to “assassinate her character”, as she leaves to join Arsenal on loan for the remainder of the season.
Kelly used social media late on Thursday to allege that her parent club had been “planting negative stories” about her in the media. City have been contacted by the Guardian for a response.
It was the second time in just over 24 hours that Kelly had aired her disappointment at City, having posted a longer statement on social media on Wednesday night, accusing the club of dictating who she could and could not join.
So disappointed to find out tonight that people at the club are briefing journalists against me if I am to sign at a club before the window shuts. They’ve called reporters to assassinate my character and tried to plant negative stories about me in the football media.
To those responsible, I am disappointed in this. As I said in my previous statement, I just want to find happiness again.
Brighton reject £75m Al-Nassr bid for Mitoma
Brighton have rejected an improved offer of £75m for Kaoru Mitoma from Al-Nassr, with the Saudi Pro League side set to give up on their hopes of signing the Japan winger.
An initial £54.4m offer was rejected on Thursday by Brighton for Mitoma, who signed a new contract worth about £80,000 a week in October 2023 and will have another two years remaining on his deal at the end of the season. He is believed to be not interested in moving to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career having scored five goals in 23 appearances so far this season.
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Manchester United: Ruben Amorim has praised Alejandro Garnacho for the way he has kicked on and “changed in everything” since the disappointment of being left out of the Manchester derby.
It has been seven weeks since Garnacho and Marcus Rashford were surprisingly omitted from the United squad that went on to secure a late comeback win at City.
Amorim has not been happy with the latter saying on the eve of the Europa League match against FCSB that he “has to change” and meet his standards to have a future at Old Trafford.
Speculation rumbles on over Rashford ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline, as does talk about Garnacho’s future – although the 20-year-old’s response to the City setback appears starkly different.
He changed right away since that game against City. The way he understands things and understands that I just want to help him, I just want to win games. He changed in everything: the approach when you talk with him, the way he recovers.
He understands that sometimes I’m a different coach, that I am demanding in my way and sometimes it’s hard with the first impact because it’s a different kind of coach. He understands that it is never in a bad way, it’s always for him, but I am different person.
Garnacho has been linked with a January exit due to Chelsea due to United’s need to juggle profit and sustainability requirements.
Steven Gerrard: Farewell, Stevie G. The 44-year-old former Liverpool and England midfielder has left the Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq with them 12th in the 18-team table, having lost eight of their 17 matches.
Whether he jumped or was pushed, the former Liverpool captain is once again bequeathing a club at risk of the drop. So what comes next for the manager?
Coaches come and go in Saudi Arabia and just like with Nuno Espírito Santo, fired by Al-Ittihad in November 2023 after a similar length of time despite winning the Jeddah club’s first title for 14 years, Gerrard’s coaching career will not be defined by what happened to him at Al-Ettifaq. It won’t help his reputation though. As he leaves, perhaps the positive is that living and working in a different country (literally so as he reportedly stayed in Bahrain, making – as many expats in that part of the world do – the short commute into eastern Saudi Arabia) and in a very different football culture could turn out to be a significant learning experience for a coach who is still relatively young.
More from John Duerden below.
Rangers: Vaclav Cerny says Rangers feel at home in Europe after qualifying for the last 16 of the Europa League with a 2-1 win over Union Saint-Gilloise last night.
Rangers, whose erratic domestic form this season has all-but handed the title to their Old Firm rivals Celtic, held on for the win that took them to eighth place – avoiding the playoffs.
Philippe Clement’s side were joined in the last 16 by earlier opponents Lyon, Olympiacos, Manchester United and Tottenham and, asked if European football suited Rangers, Cerny, on loan from Wolfsburg, said:
Yeah, almost every game we’ve played has been a good game. I don’t think we have had a bad game in Europe this season. We were just well prepared for every single game. It’s a big one. That’s what we wanted before it all started. We had some tough opponents, and it’s a very, very good achievement to go into the top eight.
If you see that many of the opponents we played finished in the top eight as well, it is a good sign and we should be confident to go through. There are more eyes on those games, obviously, but the mindset is to do this every game. But I think it’s a good thing also that we can measure [up] with such an opponent.
Analysis: The WSL transfer window closed last night and in a month featuring a world-record move, Tom Garry rates who got top marks and whose dealings are rated as two out of 10?
Transfer latest: Arsenal and Aston Villa’s hopes of signing Sverre Nypan have been dealt a blow after the Norway under-21 midfielder decided to stay at Rosenborg until the summer. Mikel Arteta’s side had been hopeful of beating Villa and Manchester City’s sister club Girona to the signature of the 18-year-old who has been compared to the Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard.
But after holding talks with Arsenal and Villa this week about a potential move this month, it is understood that Nypan has opted to defer a decision on his future for now and will stay in his homeland. Arsenal are still believed to be in talks with his representatives over a potential move in the summer, with Rosenborg thought to want around £10m upfront and significant add-ons.
Manchester City: Pep Guardiola was asked about his reaction to the Champions League playoff draw first thing in his press conference today.
It’s like a derby now – four years in a row facing Madrid! Either Bayern or Madrid, it was going to be tough. The draw could be nicer, yes. But the draw is the draw. Real Madrid is extremely difficult and Bayern [would be] extremely difficult.
A look back on the past few years of Real Madrid v Manchester City:
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Celtic fans face ban from Bayern Munich away leg after Uefa charge
Celtic fans face being banned from attending the Champions League clash at Bayern Munich after the club were hit with a Uefa disciplinary notice.
The Scottish champions were on a suspended ban for away fans after a series of fines over the use of pyrotechnics, and an incident at Villa Park on Wednesday has sparked a potential triggering of the punishment.
Photographs show someone among the travelling support holding a green smoke canister, which was then thrown on to the pitch during Celtic’s 4-2 defeat by Aston Villa.
A club statement read: “As a result of the use of pyrotechnics during our match against Borussia Dortmund last year, Celtic Football Club was sanctioned by the Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
“The decision meant that, not only did the club receive a fine of E20,000, but also that, if such behaviour was repeated at a match in the next two years, the club would be prevented from selling tickets to supporters for one away match in UEFA club competitions.
“Unfortunately, the club has received a further disciplinary notice from UEFA following the match against Aston Villa FC on Wednesday evening.
“The club will obviously make robust representations to UEFA and will make every effort to ensure that our fans can attend our next UEFA Champions League match. However, clearly there is a risk that supporters may not be able to attend.
“In light of this situation, it is incumbent on the club to make supporters aware of this risk, when considering making arrangements for travel, until further information is provided by Uefa.”
Celtic are due to play the second leg in the Allianz Arena on February 18-19. PA Media
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Newcastle: Eddie Howe has warned that Newcastle’s hopes of Champions League qualification could be jeopardised if they do not replace Miguel Almirón (which they are not expecting to).
Almirón made the move to Atlanta for about £10m this week after 6 seasons at the club.
Miguel’s departure leaves us a little bit short in the position he played. We’re certainly stretched in that area but, as I’ve said many times this month, it was a deal we needed to do. It’s probably not ideal for us in this moment to be light in that [right wing] position but it is what it is.
We knew that this window would be a window that we didn’t recruit in. That’s still the case. We’re not actively looking to bring players in.
More from Louise Taylor on Howe before Newcastle’s trip to Fulham tomorrow.
And here’s a reminder of those Champions League matches we have to look forward to.
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The Europa League draw in full
Ferencvaros v Viktoria Plzen
Porto v Roma
Winners to play Lazio or Athletic Bilbao in round of 16
Twente v Bodø/Glimt
Fenerbahce v Anderlecht
Winners to play Olympiacos or Rangers in round of 16
Union SG v Ajax
PAOK v FCSB
Winners to play Lyon or Eintracht Frankfurt in round of 16
AZ Alkmaar v Galatasaray
Midtjylland v Real Sociedad
Winners to play Manchester United and Tottenham in round of 16
The seeded team, named first, will play at home in the second leg.
First legs will be played on 13 February, with the second legs a week later.
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The first few ties:
Ferencvaros v Viktoria Plzen
Porta v Roma
AZ Alkmaar v Galatasaray
And a reminder of the teams in the draw, which will be performed by Aritz Aduriz, the former Athletic Bilbao striker.
Seeded teams
9. Bodø/Glimt
10. Anderlecht
11. FCSB
12. Ajax
13. Real Sociedad
14. Galatasaray
15. Roma
16. Viktoria Plzen
Unseeded teams
17. Ferencvaros
18. Porto
19. AZ Alkmaar
20. Midtjylland
21. Union SG
22. PAOK (GRE)
23. Twente
24. Fenerbahce
Thanks Simon and hello all! Before this draw begins, a quick reminder as to how it works. It is very similar to the Champions League.
From the knockout phase play-offs onwards, the tournament is a bracket. The teams that finished the league phase between ninth and 16th will be seeded for the first draw of the knockout phase, and will face a team placed 17th to 24th. The seeded team will, in principle, play the return leg at home.
Potential opponents are also pre-defined by pairings of teams’ final league positions. For example, teams finishing ninth and tenth will face the sides that ended 23rd or 24th; teams finishing 11th or 12th will be drawn against either the 21st or 22nd-placed sides and so on.
The eight clubs that prevail in the knockout phase play-offs progress to the round of 16.
With that I’m going to hand over to Yara El-Shaboury, who will take you through the Europa League draw and whatever the next chunk of Friday has in store for us. Bye for now!
Plymouth have broken their transfer record this morning by signing the Ukraine international defender Maksym Talovierov. The 24-year-old, who has joined from Austrian club LASK, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract. Plymouth did not disclose the size of the transfer fee but it is understood to be in excess of £1.5m.
Plymouth head coach Miron Muslic said: “I have been open since I joined Argyle that we would be patient to bring in the right players who could help the team. In Maksym we feel we have done just that as he is a commanding presence who will add height and physicality to the side, but he is also good on the ball and technically good.”
Talovierov will be available for selection for Saturday lunchtime’s clash with West Brom, subject to EFL approval and international clearance.
Updated
The Europa League draw is just a few minutes away. TNT Sports are broadcasting it in the UK, and on their YouTube channel here:
The teams in the hat: Ajax, Anderlecht, AZ Alkmaar, Bodø/Glimt, FCSB, Fenerbahçe, Ferencvaros, Galatasaray, Midtjylland, PAOK, Porto, Real Sociedad, Roma, Twente, Union SG, Viktoria Plzen.
Ben McAleer from WhoScored has taken a look at Jacob Murphy, the (relatively) underappreciated member of Newcastle’s scalpel-sharp attacking trident:
Newcastle’s 4-1 defeat by Bournemouth was an exception rather than the rule. Since mid-December, Newcastle have been imperious in the Premier League. They have won seven of their past eight games and bounced back from that Bournemouth game by beating another south-coast side, Southampton, to climb to fifth.
Eddie Howe’ team, who trail fourth-placed Manchester City on goal difference, will fancy their chances of another victory when Fulham visit on Saturday. Very few defences can handle the Newcastle attack at the minute. Alexander Isak has been sensational this season, scoring 17 goals in the Premier League – only Mohamed Salah (19) and Erling Haaland (18) have more. Anthony Gordon has directly contributed to a goal in 10 of his past 11 Newcastle outings. The pair deserve immense credit, but so does the third member of the scalpel-sharp trident.
Much more here:
Obviously I initially said teams would progress from the playoffs into the quarter-finals, which isn’t a thing. They’ll go into the round of 16.
A date for the diary: The draw to determine the round of 16 and with it the remainder of the knockout rounds will be held on 21 February.
The Champions League draw in full!
Paris Saint-Germain v Brest
Benfica v Monaco
The winners of these ties play Liverpool or Barcelona in the round of 16
PSV Eindhoven v Juventus
Milan v Feyenoord
The winners of these ties will play either Arsenal or Internazionale
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Bayern Munich v Celtic
The winners of these ties will play Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16
Atalanta v Club Brugge
Borussia Dortmund v Sporting
The winners of these ties will play Lille or Aston Villa in the round of 16
The seeded team, named first, will be at home in the second leg unless there’s a very good reason why they can’t be.
First legs will be played on 11 and 12 February, with second legs a week later.
Updated
It’s Real Madrid v Manchester City! And Bayern v Celtic
Real Madrid v Manchester City
Bayern Munich v Celtic
The winners of these ties will play Atlético Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16
Updated
OK, this is happening! The first ties:
Paris Saint-Germain v Brest
Benfica v Monaco
The winners of these ties play Liverpool or Barcelona in the round of 16
PSV Eindhoven v Juventus
Milan v Feyenoord
The winners of these ties will play either Arsenal or Internazionale
Updated
I don’t want to short-change you, but I’m not going to bother with the rest of the silver/blue business. I’ll be back when they start completing ties.
The first draw has been made! And it has sensationally thrown Brugge into the silver side, and Sporting in the blue.
In their infinite wisdom Uefa are going to draw all the unseeded teams followed by all the seeded teams. In other words, they’ll draw half of all the ties followed by the other half of all the ties, meaning it’ll be a while before any actual pairings are confirmed.
Uefa are still preambling. I have learned that one side of the draw will be silver and the other side will be blue.
Uefa are going big on the preambles here, so I’ve got time to remind you of the basic rules. There are eight seeded teams and eight unseeded teams. The two seeded teams with the highest league finish will be drawn against the two unseeded teams with the lowest league finish and so on, until everyone’s paired up. So Atalanta will play Sporting or Brugge, and Borussia Dortmund will play the other one, while PSG will play Monaco or Brest and Benfica will get the other one. You can play teams from your own country, and teams you played in the group. Got it? Great.
Seeded teams
9. Atalanta
10. Borussia Dortmund
11. Real Madrid
12. Bayern Munich
13. Milan
14. PSV Eindhoven
15. Paris Saint-Germain
16. Benfica
Unseeded teams
17. Monaco
18. Brest
19. Feyenoord
20. Juventus
21. Celtic
22. Manchester City
23. Sporting CP
24. Club Brugge
Updated
Here’s the final Champions League group stage megatable:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 8 | 12 | 21 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 8 | 15 | 19 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 8 | 13 | 19 |
| 4 | Inter Milan | 8 | 10 | 19 |
| 5 | Atletico Madrid | 8 | 8 | 18 |
| 6 | Bayer Leverkusen | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 7 | Lille | 8 | 7 | 16 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 8 | 7 | 16 |
| 9 | Atalanta | 8 | 14 | 15 |
| 10 | Borussia Dortmund | 8 | 10 | 15 |
| 11 | Real Madrid | 8 | 8 | 15 |
| 12 | Bayern Munich | 8 | 8 | 15 |
| 13 | AC Milan | 8 | 3 | 15 |
| 14 | PSV | 8 | 4 | 14 |
| 15 | PSG | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| 16 | Benfica | 8 | 4 | 13 |
| 17 | Monaco | 8 | 0 | 13 |
| 18 | Brest | 8 | -1 | 13 |
| 19 | Feyenoord | 8 | -3 | 13 |
| 20 | Juventus | 8 | 2 | 12 |
| 21 | Celtic | 8 | -1 | 12 |
| 22 | Man City | 8 | 4 | 11 |
| 23 | Sporting | 8 | 1 | 11 |
| 24 | Club Brugge | 8 | -4 | 11 |
| 25 | Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | -7 | 11 |
| 26 | Stuttgart | 8 | -4 | 10 |
| 27 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 8 | -8 | 7 |
| 28 | Bologna | 8 | -5 | 6 |
| 29 | Red Star Belgrade | 8 | -9 | 6 |
| 30 | Sturm Graz | 8 | -9 | 6 |
| 31 | Sparta Prague | 8 | -14 | 4 |
| 32 | RB Leipzig | 8 | -7 | 3 |
| 33 | Girona | 8 | -8 | 3 |
| 34 | Red Bull Salzburg | 8 | -22 | 3 |
| 35 | Slovan Bratislava | 8 | -20 | 0 |
| 36 | Young Boys | 8 | -21 | 0 |
Brace yourself for the Champions League draw, which starts in just a few minutes. Today’s draws will be broadcast live in the UK by TNT Sports and on their YouTube channel, here:
And here is a healthy dollop of further transfer gossip:
Here’s more on the future of Evan Ferguson, with Chelsea joining a six-way race for his services as we go into the final weekend of the transfer window:
The Brighton manager, Fabian Hurzeler, has said that the reason he has been limiting the playing time of the club’s record signing, Georginio Rutter, is that he has “issues with his muscles” that means “we have to protect his health”.
Rutter has played only two full games since signing for the club from Leeds for £40m last August, and has played more than 45 minutes only once since Christmas, against Norwich in the FA Cup.
“There have been some small issues with his muscles and therefore we also need to protect his health,” Hurzeler said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest. “I know that it is not always understandable why we choose the starting XI, but there are so many things going on.
“The main thing for me is that I am responsible for the person behind the player, to protect him and protect his health. It’s not only a decision about performance, especially when young players get injured.”
Chelsea join race for Brighton's Evan Ferguson
Chelsea have joined the race to sign the Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson. Brighton are willing to sell or loan the Republic of Ireland international, who has been the subject of interest from Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Everton Tottenham and West Ham.
Champions League and Europa League draws will be happening over the next couple of hours: the Champions League goes first, at 12pm CET/11am GMT, with the Europa League an hour later.
In short the teams that finished between ninth and 16th in both league stages will be seeded, and those that finished between 17th and 24th will be unseeded. In each pairing the unseeded team will, unless there’s a good reason not to, play the second leg at home. So far, so straightforward.
Beyond that, and to add a bonus level of complication, sides have been paired for the draw. So the ninth and 10th-placed teams can only play either the 23rd or the 24th-placed teams, and so on until 15th and 16th play 17th and 18th.
Then in the round of 16 the teams that progressed directly from the group in first and second place will face the winners of those 15th/16th/17th/18th playoffs and so on from there, until the teams that finished seventh and eighth play the winners of the ninth/10th/23rd/24th playoffs. In each of these pairs, one will go into the top half of the draw and one into the bottom.
All clear? Good.
Updated
Hello world!
Well this could be a big, messy, sprawling, wild Friday. Just over three days to go in the men’s mid-season transfer window, which officially closes at 11pm GMT on Monday, there’s fallout from a busy week of European action with every British club involved in the Europa League snagging spots in the round of 16 in Thursday’s last round of group games, and there’s a look ahead to a weekend in which the Premier League leaders go to the division’s form team and the bottom two face off. Here are some things to look out for in the English top flight this weekend:
