With the tea leaves drying out and yielding little this day, time to wrap up here. If you feel your favoured squad is still looking a little thin, fret not – the transfer window remains open until 31 January in France and Spain, and 1 February in England and Germany.
Today’s story of the day so far is undoubtedly word that Kalvin Phillips’ time on the Manchester City fringes might be nearing an end. Here’s Jacob Steinberg’s story on the latest.
With that, good day and good luck – here’s hoping for a busier day of completed moves to report tomorrow!
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Create your own Manchester United tittle-tattle. Training images from club training today have showcased post-injury returns for Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. Amad Diallo, who has struggled to break into recent matchday squads and has only 36 league minutes to his name this season, was also involved.
Anthony Martial, Tyrell Malacia, Victor Lindelöf and Mason Mount remain sidelined.
Egypt’s injury woes continue at Afcon. Goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy has been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after he sustained a dislocated shoulder. The Egyptian FA report that the 35-year-old Al Ahly stopper will travel to Germany to see a specialist, after his injury at the end of Egypt’s draw with Cape Verde.
His club’s domestic Premier League season campaigns resumes on 15 February, and his deputy Mostafa Shobeir will doubtless be running swiftly between some cones in the coming days.
And even more, from our correspondent …
West Ham are set to sign Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City for the rest of the season. The deal has not been finalised but the midfielder has agreed to move to the London Stadium.
It remains to be seen whether West Ham will have an option to buy Phillips. They are covering his wages of £140,000 a week but talks over an option are ongoing. West Ham will take their financial fair play position into consideration when they decide whether they can afford Phillips on a permanent basis.
The short-term arrangement is expected to be sealed by the end of the week. Phillips is flying back from holiday on Tuesday and is due to undergo a medical on Thursday. He had been targeted by Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Fulham and Juventus but the strongest push has come from West Ham.
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More on Kalvin Phillips’ near-done loan to West Ham …
West Ham have agreed a loan deal with Manchester City for England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, the PA news agency understands. Neither club have commented but it is understood, if completed, the 28-year-old would join the Hammers for the remainder of the season.
Phillips is now expected to discuss personal terms after returning from Abu Dhabi, where he has been warm-weather training with City. If talks progress, he could undergo a medical and complete the move before the end of the week. PA Media
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Quick point of order … during this window, if your club of choice is suddenly linked to a player as old as in their early-30s, let’s not be too hasty with the huffiness please.
Its’s never too late to do some damage in sport. See: Jari Litmanen, Christine Sinclair, Ben Foster, Gigi Buffon, Zlatan, etc, etc …
And here’s a new name for you, this time in the pool: Betty Brussel. Go ’ead Betty …
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Thanks Tom and greetings all. While I sift through the transfer tumbleweed, a bit of live business to flag for you – team news is imminent for the pivotal Group C Africa Cup of Nations games. Luke McLaughlin will be on hand for updates from both games (5pm GMT KOs) …
Time for another baton change: Stuart Goodwin is preparing to take today’s transfer tittle-tattle down the home straight. Thanks for your company.
More on Roy Hodgson’s fragile position at Crystal Palace, courtesy of our own Ed Aarons:
Roy Hodgson is set to remain in charge of Crystal Palace for now after holding talks with the chairman, Steve Parish, in the aftermath of their 5-0 thrashing against Arsenal but has been warned he could be sacked if results do not improve.
It is understood Parish seriously considered parting company with the 76-year-old after seeing his side slump to the embarrassing defeat at the Emirates, with other members of the board believed to have been strongly in favour of Hodgson’s departure after one win in the past 12 matches.
Jarrad Branthwaite is a name that has flitted in and out of conversations throughout this window – unsurprisingly given Everton’s financial situation. And now comes reports that Tottenham, one of the few big clubs to have had a busy window so far, are interested in the defender, either this month or in the summer. Manchester United have been assumed to be leading the race to sign Branthwaite, if he does go, though Manchester City and Chelsea are keen as well.
And in the Championship, a bullish Daniel Farke has proclaimed that no key players are leaving Leeds in this window.
“I think in recent years, Liverpool dropping a video of Nabil Fakir as he was failing his medical has to be the best facepalm in recent windows,” recalls Kev McCready. “Mind you, the rumour mill isn’t what it was. I’m old enough to remember John Barnes signing for Real Madrid. Everyone in Liverpool was a friend of the postman who had delivered the Linguaphone Spanish course to his house.”
There’s scope to work this one up into an all-time wrongly announced XI over the remaining nine days of this window
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“Saints sign Haaland!” yelps an email header from Barney Jeffries. And he’s not wrong. Southampton’s women have signed the goalkeeper Benedicte Haaland after her departure from Bristol City to bolster their campaign for promotion to the Championship.
And a reminder that you can keep on top of all the major deals in the women’s game here.
Up to Scotland now and Rangers’ manager, Philippe Clement has refused to confirm reports that the midfielder Mohamed Diomande will be arriving from Danish side FC Nordsjaelland, according to PA Media. So far in the winter transfer window only Fabio Silva has joined the Ibrox club, on loan from Wolves. While Clement expects to add further to his squad, he was tight-lipped about 22-year-old Diomande. He said: “I don’t speak about many rumours because there has been how many, 50 names in the last couple of weeks?”
Of greater concern to Clement is the news that Abdallah Sima is set to be sidelined “long term”. The 22-year-old Senegal international, who has scored 15 goals since arriving on loan from Brighton in the summer, was sent home from the Africa Cup of Nations with a thigh problem. Clement also revealed that the 20-year midfielder Alex Lowry will go back out on loan after returning from a temporary spell at Hearts which was cut short.
“Just two random musings from looking at your blog just now,” muses John Brennan. “1) Considering the grief that Paul Ince got all those years ago for posing in a Man Utd shirt before joining West Ham, does it make it kind of strange that we all see prospective signings photoshopped into club shirts before signing is made official? I don’t think anyone will be too upset about photos of Kalvin Phillips in a West Ham shirt if the move falls through. On the other if you had someone moving from West Ham to Man City but then it fell through (e.g Lucas Paqueta in the summer) and there was photoshops floating around of him in a Man City shirt you could imagine some fans thinking it was genuine and giving the player unwarranted abuse.
2) One of the main guys in the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) now is Marc Canham. I really want to believe that he is Scotty Canhams brother....does anybody have any information on this? Also I’d just like to point out that the other player mentioned by Harry Redknapp in that outburst went on to score at a World Cup finals which Frank Lampard never did.”
Re point 1, perhaps it’s because nowadays – as referenced earlier – it feels as if club PR departments are hiring Hollywood studios, film and music directors and numerous others just to make their portentous signing announcement videos, so getting your man in a shirt needs to be done right at the start of the process.
Thanks Luke. Scott Canham did OK at Orient to be fair, albeit in a really poor side. He did score at Goodison though, against a Paul Gascoigne-adorned Everton, so he’ll always have that.
Enough 2002 already – back in 2024, Chelsea are showing interest in Karim Benzema, but it seems Lyon have set some wheels in motion already:
Understand that Lyon owner John Textor is still hopeful of structuring a deal to sign Karim Benzema. Much will rely on working out how to compensate Al-Ittihad for enormous outlay on France striker. Chelsea also starting to show an interest ...
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) January 23, 2024
That’s the end of my stint on today’s transfer blog. Thank you, Kalvin Phillips, for saving the day. Tom Davies is now stepping in for the next bit.
Trevoh Chalobah is another name that keeps cropping up in the recent transfer tittle-tattle. Fulham are said to be keen on the Chelsea defender / defensive midfielder … not to mention Milan (them again!). Nottingham Forest, who are the new Tottenham in terms of their prolific levels of player-linkedness, are also reported to be keen to sign him in the summer. Time will tell.
Is Scotty Canham going to be on the move in this transfer window? It feels unlikely.
He deals with more moaning fans when he promotes his nephew Frank Lampard to the first team.
— The Upshot (@UpshotTowers) June 7, 2023
Responding to claims that Lampard isn't as good as Scott Canham, Harry launches a passionate defence of young Frank.
"He will go right to the very top", Redknapp predicts. pic.twitter.com/2WT6cINZjz
What is to become of Mateusz Musialowski, the young Polish schemer who it appears will be leaving Liverpool? The 20-year-old signed at Anfield in 2020, but it seems the club are readying themselves to sell him come the end of the season. Birmingham City and Leeds United are both being linked with the former Lodz midfielder/forward. Could he leave on loan or even in a permanent transfer before the end of the month?
Manchester City's Phillips set for West Ham loan move
Kalvin Phillips is off to West Ham in a loan deal from Manchester City. Fabrizio Romano reports that the Hammers will have an option to buy the England international, presuming the deal is finalised after a medical booked in for tomorrow.
🚨⚒️ Kalvin Phillips to West Ham, here we go! Loan deal agreed with Man City and also on player side. One more from Tim Steidten.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 23, 2024
Understand it will also include an option to buy clause in June for #WHUFC.
Medical tests booked on Wednesday.@TurkishAirlines ✈️ pic.twitter.com/zfv9UAOLXO
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Liverpool’s assistant manager, Pepijn Lijnders, has said Mohamed Salah’s commitment to Egypt should never be questioned amid fierce criticism of the forward’s exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
It is being reported today that the Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood – currently on loan at Getafe in Spain – is attracting interest from Barcelona, as well as Valencia and Real Sociedad in La Liga.
Barça have been monitoring the forward all season, reports The Sun, and are keen to sign him in the summer.
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Asian Cup match report! Australia 1-1 Uzbekistan:
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Philippe Clement, the Rangers manager, has just rejected the chance to give any comment on various transfer rumours, including the potential arrival of Mohamed Diomande from Nordsjælland in Norway. How close is he to bringing new players in?
“Oh, that question again. [laughs] What is close, what is far? The first second that somebody is in this building and signed a contract, I’ll tell all of you,” Clement tells journalists.
“The rest, it’s talk. You never know how close you are, or how far you are. Everybody’s working really hard [to improve the squad] on that way. I think there are things that are interesting that are possible … But we will see at the end.
He is asked specifically about Diomande: “No, I don’t speak about any rumours,” Clement replies. “There’s been how many? 50 names already [mentioned] in the last couple of weeks? I can say we weren’t interested in all those players … so if you start to talk about one rumour, you need to talk about the other rumours … and then I’m only busy with that and not making trainings anymore, or looking at players, or talking with players, or talking with my own players. So I’m doing a different job. I never do that, that’s the best way.”
Second-placed Rangers travel to sixth-placed Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership tomorrow night.
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Ed Aarons reports that under-pressure Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson remains at the club for now following that 5-0 drubbing by Arsenal over the weekend.
Understand that Roy Hodgson is set to remain in charge of Crystal Palace for next week’s game against Sheffield United after holding talks with chairman Steve Parish after Arsenal defeat. That and games against Brighton and Chelsea will be crucial in determining his future
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) January 23, 2024
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Fulham’s manager, Marco Silva, has just been having a chat with the media before tomorrow’s Carabao Cup semi-final second-leg against Liverpool. He is asked about the rumours linking Tosin Adarabioyo with Milan in Serie A.
“About rumours, I am not going to talk,” Silva said. “Of course we are trying to keep our players ‘inside’. We don’t have conditions to lose players. It’s not easy to sign players.
“We know what we need, and we’re always trying to improve ... until now we haven’t done anything because it was not possible.”
It’s a tough market out there.
Here’s our match report of the first leg of that Fulham-Liverpool tie, won 2-1 by Jürgen Klopp’s men.
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Actual sport is occurring Down Under. There’s the Australian Open tennis, for a start:
In Qatar, meanwhile, Australia are being held to a 1-1 draw with Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup:
Joshua Zirkzee is a name that keeps cropping up as the transfer merry-go-round continues to spin. The 22-year-old Bologna forward has been linked with Arsenal in recent days/weeks, but Manchester United have now emerged as potential suitors for the young Dutchman. Ange Postecoglu’s Tottenham (naturally) have also been linked with the player who has scored eight goals in all competitions this season.
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How about an interview with Nigeria and Napoli goal-machine, Victor Oshimen? (The Super Eagles are into the last 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations, and are next in action on Saturday.)
Here’s the story, by Osasu Obayiuwana:
Breaking news: Éder Militão, the Real Madrid centre-back, has extended his contract with the club until 2028. The Brazil international has won no fewer than nine trophies since signing for the Spanish club in 2019, including one Champions League and two La Liga titles. The announcement on the club website is here.
It’s worth noting that the transfer window closes on Thursday 1 February in most leagues around Europe. Although according to this handy explainer on Chelsea’s website, the Portuguese window closes on 2 February, Turkey’s closes on 9 February, while Switzerland stretches things out all the way to 15 February.
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The forward Emmanuel Dennis, who joined Nottingham Forest from Watford in the summer of 2022, is heading back to the Hornets on loan until the end of the season. He was on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey, but that came to an end just after Christmas. So there he is, back at Watford, and relieving a bit of pressure on Forest’s overcrowded dressing room.
Will Ben Godfrey leave Everton this month? The defender is short of minutes at Goodison Park under Sean Dyche, and it’s said that Leeds, Sheffield United and even Milan have the former Norwich City man on their radar. More as we get it.
In “Like a new signing” news, David Squires reflects on Ivan Toney’s return for Brentford, including that crafty free-kick against Forest:
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Omniscient transfer guru Fabrizio Romano reports Marseille want to sign the Arsenal left-back Nuno Tavares – and that the Gunners are keen to sell – but the deal will depend on the agreement of Nottingham Forest, where the player is currently on loan. It’s said the powers-that-be at the City Ground want to keep the player until the summer.
🚨🔵 Understand Olympique Marseille are still trying to sign Nuno Tavares as new LB.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 23, 2024
🔴⚪️ Arsenal are 100% open to selling Nuno to OM now on permanent transfer.
…but deal depends on Nottingham Forest as they insist to keep Nuno until June and there’s no re-call clause. pic.twitter.com/FneEiu9jkn
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A deal that was confirmed yesterday was Corey Blackett-Taylor’s loan switch from Charlton to Derby County. He is expected to sign a permanent deal during the summer. The 26-year-old winger joined the Addicks in 2021, and scored 20 goals in 97 appearances for the south London club.
Charlton’s technical director, Andy Scott, said in a story on the club website: “We’d like to thank Corey for his contribution to Charlton during his time here.
“Over this season we have made Corey a number of very attractive contract offers but he was very clear he wanted to move closer to home and that Derby was his preferred option. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, it was important to make sure we got the best deal for the club in this situation.
“We’ve been able to negotiate a sizeable loan fee which will go into the continual improvements we are looking to make to the men’s first-team squad.”
Internazionale defeated Napoli 1-0 in the Supercoppa Italiana final last night – a tournament that naturally took place in Saudi Arabia, and that featured semi-finals for the first time, rather than a one-off final.
Here’s Nicky Bandini:
“It is not the first time the Supercoppa has gone abroad. Previous games have been played in Libya, China, Qatar and the United States. Still, this expanded version met resistance from the start. Supporters’ groups from three of the clubs involved – Napoli, Fiorentina and Lazio – released statements saying they would not attend. The latter club’s manager, Maurizio Sarri, called it “anything but sport”.”
Aaron Wan-Bissaka has already been mentioned this morning – a swap deal involving Internazionale’s Denzel Dumfries has been mentioned – and now the Telegraph are reporting that the Saudi Pro League club, Al-Nassr, are considering a bid for the Manchester United full-back during the January window.
Linyan Zhang’s loan spell with Tottenham Women has ended, with the 23-year-old forward recalled by her parent club, Wuhan Jianghan University.
On that note, all the women’s January deals are here:
You can keep track of all the men’s January transfer deals here with our interactive guide:
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Casting a glance at Manchester United’s website, I can reveal that their latest podcast episode is billed as “Malta special with Dimitar Berbatov.” All part of the club’s commercial tie-up with Visit Malta.
I have to admit, I couldn’t see any transfer news.
“Whatever happened to the rumors around Serhou Guirassy’s leaving Stuttgart this month?” emails Sam.
“Even with his participation in AFCON, I felt like that story could’ve kept you busy on these slow days, especially with his reportedly low release clause.”
Great call, Sam. Ed Aarons was ahead of the game on that one on Christmas Eve:
The Liverpool assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, has said Mohamed Salah’s commitment should never be doubted after his return from the Africa Cup of Nations to have treatment on a hamstring injury provoked criticism.
The Egypt captain will fly back from the Ivory Coast on Wednesday so the club’s medical staff can take care of him, and may rejoin the national team should they reach the tournament’s latter stages.
That move has drawn criticism from Egypt’s record caps-holder Ahmed Hassan, who said Salah should have stayed with the team “even if he only had one leg to stand on”, but Lijnders has defended the 31-year-old.
“The one you should never doubt the commitment of is Mo Salah,” the Dutchman said. “I know the country is devastated to lose him. He is massive. The only reason ours and their medical team decided for him to come back is to give the best chance to make the final if Egypt reach it. The medical team of Egypt and LFC really worked together in close contact. They made this decision. The player is central.” (PA Media)
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Rob Smyth has Australia v Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup, LIVE, right here:
The Hibernian defender, Riley Harbottle, has joined League Two side Colchester on loan until the end of the season. The 23-year-old signed for Hibs from Nottingham Forest on a three-year deal last summer, after loan spells at Wealdstone and Mansfield. However, Harbottle has only made two appearances with his Premiership debut coming against Livingston last August.
The head coach, Nick Montgomery, told Hibs’ official website: “At this stage of Riley’s career it’s imperative that he goes out and gains regular football. Game time has been limited for him this season and he needs to continue developing. We hope he embraces this challenge and it’s a successful loan spell where he plays week in, week out.” (PA Media)
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Thank you Tom and hello everyone.
This year’s January transfer window all feels a bit Ozan Kabak but there is still time. Let’s hope for some exciting news to get our pulses racing as the day goes on.
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Anyway, as a fairly uneventful morning meanders on, it’s time for Luke McLaughlin to take control of the ship. Laters.
Some off-field news at Bayern Munich, whose technical director, Marco Neppe, is set to leave the Bundesliga champions. His influence is seen to have waned since the arrival as sporting director of Christoph Freund, who oversaw the recent signing of Eric Dier.
🚨🔴 Marco Neppe leaves FC Bayern with immediate effect. Decision has been made as director will part ways with the club after 10 years.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 23, 2024
He was key to help on deals like Kane, Kim Min-Jae, de Ligt — but also in the scouting process for Davies, Musiala and more talents. pic.twitter.com/d0C847dEFh
More Middlesbrough talk: Aston Villa are understood to have submitted two bids for Boro’s highly rated winger Morgan Rogers but they’ve apparently fallen short of the Championship club’s valuation, and Boro are understandably keen to keep him while they’ve got a potential League Cup final and promotion challenge ahead of them in the coming months. There are rumours, though, that Rogers is increasingly keen on a switch to Villa Park.
Anyone missing the days when signing announcements were just a sober single sentence containing the relevant details, rather than something that took longer than arranging the deal itself? Tl; dr: Fulham winger Ollie O’Neill joins Leyton Orient.
We've got another one 🍀#LOFC #OneOrient pic.twitter.com/t8SFpngyS0
— Leyton Orient FC (@leytonorientfc) January 23, 2024
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Pumped up by parachute payments, promotion rivals Southampton and Leeds are tussling over the Burnley winger Manuel Benson. Sky’s Mark McAdam reports that Saints have opened talks with Burnley, though Leeds have shown interest. However, the fact that Wily Gnonto appears close to agreeing a new deal at Elland Road may give Southampton a clearer run.
David Squires’s latest cartoon has landed, featuring Ivan Toney, Ludo and Mogwai references.
Kalvin Phillips conjecture latest: Juventus could hijack West Ham’s move for the Manchester City midfielder, says the Daily Mail, but West Ham remain favourites.
And as I type that, a splendid retro picture of another British player who went to Juve flits across my social media timeline. Like a foreign country …
Ian Rush posing with his Porsche. pic.twitter.com/8Bx6hQpBox
— Retro Football Network (@retrofootballnw) January 22, 2024
Some developments in the Championship:
🚨🩺 Medical day for Michael Obafemi at Millwall joining on loan from Burnley and Emmanuel Dennis at Watford, back after accepting 70% pay cut.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 23, 2024
Exclusive stories, confirmed. ✅ pic.twitter.com/q5XDoAyNd6
A curious one, Dennis – has shown pockets of both brilliance and underachievement. But he could do a job back at a team who have shown signs of playoff potential of late. And they’ve not even sacked a manager this season.
On the actual pitch, tonight’s big match pits Chelsea against Middlesbrough in the second leg of their League Cup semi. Louise Taylor’s taken a deep dive into a famous Chelsea-Boro clash from a different world and era, the 1988 relegation/promotion playoff. Well worth a read:
At the time Bryan Lonsbrough, the then mayor of Middlesbrough, told Teesside’s Evening Gazette: “I now know how the Christians felt in the arenas of ancient Rome up against the Lions.”
The late former Middlesbrough MP Stuart Bell described the pitch invasion as “like the hordes of Genghis Khan”, and the Gazette’s then chief football writer, Eric Paylor, spoke of “a deep sense of hatred” underpinning what he would subsequently describe as “the ugliest atmosphere I can remember at a game”.
And here’s today’s Rumour Mill, which riffs on Manchester United’s love of Brians with another such linked to an Old Trafford move. And possible exits to Saudi for Antony and Jadon Sancho.
More Newcastle talk: Turkish media are reporting that Besiktas want Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles and officials from the Istanbul club are flying to the English north-east for talks.
The arrival of Ineos at Manchester United has certainly increased Manchester United’s profile in the transfer gossip market, and there’s talk in the Sun of a move for Inter’s Denzel Dumfries in a swap deal with Aaron Wan-Bissaka going the other way. Dumfries still has 18 months remaining on his contract so United would probabnly have to cough up cash as well as a footballer
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The arrival of Ineos at Manchester United has certainly increased Manchester United’s profile in the transfer gossip market, and there’s talk in the Sun of a move for Inter’s Denzel Dumfries in a swap deal with Aaron Wan-Bissaka going the other way. Dumfries still has 18 months remaining on his contract so United would probabnly have to cough up cash as well as a footballer
Preamble
Morning everyone. So, after a tumbleweed-infested couple of weeks, things are beginning to stir a little in the market. And after Jordan Henderson aborted his Saudi mission at the end of last week, the last 24 hours have seen talk of another big-name Saudi signing possibly turning their back on the Kingdom, with Karim Benzema in talks with Lyon. And perhaps the nearest this window has come to the traditional Transfer Window Saga has been the various attempts to lure Kalvin Phillips, with West Ham seemingly in the box seat on that one. Kieran Trippier to Bayern is another biggie to look out for, as are various other ins and outs at St James’ Park, which may or may not involve multi-club ownership shuffling of packs.
Counterpoint: the quietness of this window is a good thing. Clubs were spending too much, the summer Saudi splurge was never sustainable in that volume, and the impending spectre of regulation is doing its job. Overspending skews competition and, in some cases, imperils clubs in the long-term. Ask a Reading fan.
On that subject, why not start your day with Jonathan Liew’s Tuesday column?
We’re fighting in 2024 the battles that should have been fought in 2014 and 2004, or even earlier. Decisions that were botched, shirked, ignored years ago are now coming home to roost. The unregulated free‑for‑all that allowed first the oligarchs, and then the venture capitalists, and then the state actors, to claim a piece of our turf. Players signed for ridiculous sums by sporting directors and owners who are now long gone. The decision to let the Super League breakaway clubs slide back into the competition with a paltry £3.7m fine for their trouble.
