Nacho Monreal has sung the praises of Myles Lewis-Skelly, saying the youngster will "make a lot of appearances as an Arsenal player" amid talk he could leave the club. There has been mounting speculation that the 19-year-old will seek a move away from north London in search of more game time ahead of next summer's World Cup. Lewis-Skelly was omitted from Thomas Tuchel's most recent England squad.
Manchester United are reportedly keen on bringing ex-Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic back to the Premier League. Aston Villa are also being credited with interest in the USMNT star, who has been catching the eye for AC Milan. Another transfer for the American could be agreed in 2026 as the offer of a contract extension at San Siro remains unsigned.
Eberechi Eze opened up to Adebayo Akinfenwa on the latest episode of the 'Beast Mode on Podcast', telling his former teammate that he deserved to be released as an academy player. Eze was first let go from Arsenal's youth setup as a 13-year-old, and failed to secure a professional contract with Millwall at the end of his scholarship with the south London club.
Manchester United have been told that they should not ignore any “stupid“ transfer offers from the Saudi Pro League for Bruno Fernandes. Interest from that part of the world was shown in the Portuguese midfielder over the summer of 2025 and could be rekindled 12 months on, with the Red Devils needing to decide whether or not to cash in on a player that is now 31 years of age.
Nacho Monreal has joined a growing list of ex-Arsenal stars who have come out in defence of former team-mate Mesut Ozil, claiming he was unfairly scapegoated for his work ethic. Ozil joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in 2013 for a then-club record fee of £42.5 million and was heralded as a player who could usher in a new era at the Emirates Stadium. However, the German World Cup winner was regularly called out for supposedly acting lazily on the pitch.
Premier League clubs have voted against the introduction of a salary cap in top-flight football, but a serious overhaul of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) is still being lined up. The proposals put to teams at the highest level of the English game would have seen previous financial regulations ripped up, but not every suggestion has received universal approval.
Harvey Barnes is open to switching his international allegiance from England to Scotland. The Newcastle United winger was capped for the Three Lions in 2020, however, he remains eligible for Steve Clarke's World Cup qualifiers through his Scottish grandparents. Barnes sole England appearance came in a friendly against Wales, meaning he can represent the Tartan Army under FIFA rules.
Barcelona have reiterated their stance on a loan transfer for Lionel Messi, with club president Joan Laporta saying such a deal is "not realistic". He has also suggested that those clinging to the dream of seeing the Argentine GOAT return to Catalunya in a playing capacity "live in the past", with La Liga's champions having moved on from their most iconic No.10.
Florian Wirtz's tough start to life in England has taken another turn, as Liverpool boss Arne Slot confirmed his playmaker will miss the Reds' Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The Dutch coach said the £116 million man has picked up a "muscle issue", but did not provide a timeline on his recovery. The injury comes after Wirtz impressed for Germany over the international break.
Cole Palmer has suffered another unfortunate injury setback, in a serious blow to Chelsea’s plans, with the England international fracturing his toe following an "accident at home". The 23-year-old playmaker has made just four appearances this season, as he struggles for fitness, and has now been ruled out of the Blues’ next three fixtures across all competitions.
Andreas Schjelderup has avoided prison time after sharing an explicit video, meaning that he will come into contention for selection by Norway in their 2026 World Cup squad. Schjelderup was, after appearing in court, handed a 14-day suspended sentence. Prosecutors in the case had been calling for an international colleague of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard to face at least 20 days behind bars without parole.
Manchester United are tracking the progress of Elliot Anderson, as they weigh up a move for Nottingham Forest's £100m-rated midfielder in the summer. The Red Devils are unlikely to push for a deal in January, as they look to replace Casemiro, who is out of contract at the end of the season. The 23-year-old has also been linked with his former club Newcastle and reigning champions Liverpool.
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner has revealed how close Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk came to leaving Anfield as free agents in the summer of 2025. Two talismanic figures on Merseyside entered the final year of their respective contracts before eventually agreeing fresh terms. The Reds were prepared to walk away from discussions there if the numbers did not make sense.
Sonia Bompastor has claimed the eight-minute delay caused by a technical fault during Chelsea's 1-1 draw against Barcelona was "not good enough". The French manager fumed during her post-match press conference, claiming the problem caused her side to lose momentum, and that she believed the VAR was not used to rule out Catarina Macario's disallowed winner.
It is not just professional football that Harry Kane is dedicated to, with the Bayern Munich striker "braving the cold" in order to "get 18 holes in" during a winter round of golf. The England captain can often be found on the fairways and is not ready to put his clubs away just yet, despite freezing weather descending on Europe. He is wrapping up against testing conditions.
Barcelona's famed La Masia academy has long been the envy of every other top club in Europe, and for good reason. It has forged dozens of legends over the last 46 years, from Pep Guardiola and Albert Ferrer, to Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and a certain Lionel Messi. Every generation produces multiple superstars, with Lamine Yamal leading the current crop after bursting onto the scene as a 15-year-old.
Birmingham City have been outlining their exciting vision for the future of the club, and that could include bringing home-grown superstar Jude Bellingham back to his roots. England international Bellingham left his boyhood team in 2020 when joining Borussia Dortmund, and is now on the books of Real Madrid. He could retrace steps to the West Midlands at some stage.
Regis Le Bris has responded to mounting speculation linking Sunderland with the signing of Marseille's Matteo Guendouzi. While the Black Cats boss did not commit to an approach for the ex-Arsenal midfielder in the January transfer window, he spoke positively of their relationship. Le Bris was managing Lorient's B team as Guendouzi was coming through the ranks at the French club.
It would have been easy to miss amid all of the excitement generated during arguably the most dramatic international break of all time - but some very big transfer news broke earlier this week. According to the very reliable David Ornstein, Antoine Semenyo has a £65 million ($85m) release clause in his Bournemouth contract that can be triggered during the first two weeks of the winter window.
Following his mid-season arrival at Manchester City, Nico Gonzalez went through the strange experience of being hailed as an oven-ready replacement for Rodri during his first week at the Etihad Stadium, only to then be ignored by Pep Guardiola during the most important stretch of the campaign. Any fears, however, that he would become an expensive flop have since disappeared, with Gonzalez having stepped back in to anchor City's resurgence as they emerge as Arsenal’s main rivals in the Premier League title race.
After the October international break, Arne Slot conceded that there could be no more excuses as far as Alexander Isak was concerned. "Fitness-wise, he is close to the level he should be," the Dutch coach acknowledged ahead of Liverpool's meeting with Manchester United at Anfield, "and we can judge him in a fair way from now on." Just three weeks later, though, Slot was back pleading for patience with the most expensive player in British football history.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is reportedly in line to make a "superhero" return to action in the north London derby. The Norwegian midfielder has sat out the Gunners' last seven games through injury, having endured a disrupted start to the 2025-26 campaign. He is, however, poised to hand manager Mikel Arteta a timely boost ahead of a home date with Tottenham.
Chelsea restored some of the pride they lost in their Champions League thumping at the hands of Barcelona last season with a creditable 1-1 draw with the Spanish giants. After a chastening 8-2 semi-final aggregate loss to Barca, the Blues had a point to prove and were on track to do that with Ellie Carpenter's piledriver. But Ewa Pajor's strike ensured the spoils were shared on Thursday.
Lionel Messi will forever be held in the highest regard at Barcelona, but that does not mean that the Liga giants will be changing the branding of their stadium in order to pay homage to the Argentine icon. Messi, who is currently in MLS with Inter Miami, has admitted that he intends to return to Catalunya at some stage. There are, however, no plans for Camp Nou to take his name.
League Two side Newport have confirmed the appointment of Premier League winner Christian Fuchs as their new manager. The Exiles relieved David Hughes of his duties over the weekend after a 1-0 loss to Shrewsbury left the club four points from safety at the foot of England's fourth tier. The appointment marks Leicester City legend Fuchs' first managerial job since calling time on his playing career in January 2023.
Former Real Madrid and Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele has stepped down from the Miss Universe judging panel just days before the event in Thailand amid allegations that the competition is rigged. The ex-France international was named as a judge for the event last month as he swapped the football pitch for the runway, but has now decided to quit the position.
Wayne Rooney has compared Harry Kane’s “incredible evolution” into England’s GOAT with the development that Cristiano Ronaldo once enjoyed at Manchester United. Kane is already his country’s all-time leading goalscorer and appears set to smash records on the appearance front as well. If he could win an international trophy, then it would be difficult to argue against him being the greatest.
Mauricio Pochettino was left fuming after being quizzed on his apparent penchant for rotating the USMNT, with the angry Argentine suggesting that said press conference should be restarted as he is “not the janitor” in North America and stands by every decision that he makes. The former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain coach was stunned by the line of questioning after a statement win over Uruguay.
In a new interview, Todd Boehly has taken aim at the English media as the Chelsea co-owner fires back at criticism. The American businessman, along with Mark Walter, Hansjorg Wyss and Clearlake Capital, launched a successful bid to buy the Blues in March 2022. Roman Abramovich had put the club up for sale after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Italy block the qualification path for Wales and Northern Ireland when it comes to reaching the 2026 World Cup, while the Republic of Ireland will face Czechia in the play-off semi-finals. There are four more places at FIFA’s flagship event up for grabs in the UEFA section, with routes to the United States, Canada and Mexico being mapped out for all of the hopefuls.