Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is facing fresh scrutiny over his treatment of Federico Chiesa, with the winger's former mentor branding the Dutchman's selection policy a "mystery." As the Italian international closes in on a sensational return to Juventus this month, questions are being asked about why a player perfectly suited to the Premier League was left in the cold at Anfield.
Manchester United have been urged to consider Carlo Ancelotti when identifying candidates to become the club’s next permanent manager. The Red Devils are back in the market for a new head coach after taking the decision to part with Ruben Amorim. A man who knows all about life at Old Trafford believes that current Brazil boss Ancelotti would return a “winning culture” to Premier League heavyweights.
Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are set for a heavyweight transfer tussle over Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, with the Spanish giants desperate to find a successor for Conor Gallagher. The England international completed his £35 million switch to Tottenham this week, leaving a gaping hole in Diego Simeone’s engine room that the Brazilian ace has been identified to fill.
Enzo Fernandez is reporting “considering his future” at Chelsea following the departure of Enzo Maresca as manager. The Blues took the decision to part with the Italian tactician on New Year’s Day, with Liam Rosenior now calling the shots at Stamford Bridge. It is being suggested that World Cup winner Fernandez could be lured away from west London, with Paris Saint-Germain among his many suitors.
Radu Dragusin has made his intentions crystal clear to Tottenham chiefs, with reports from Italy suggesting the defender is desperate to seal a permanent exit from London this month. The Romanian international has his heart set on a move to Roma and is reportedly willing to snub interest from the Bundesliga to ensure he never has to return to the Premier League club.
Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has explained to GOAL how Jurgen Klopp could make a sensational return to Anfield. The German coach left Merseyside in the summer of 2024, and saw successor Arne Slot savour Premier League title glory in his first season at the helm. A stunning retracing of steps for Klopp has been speculated on, with it impossible to rule anything out.
Manchester United legend Jaap Stam has identified his "dream" January signing, urging the Red Devils to finally secure the services of Barcelona playmaker Frenkie de Jong. The former defender believes the Dutch maestro, who has long been on the club's radar, is the missing piece to transform United's midfield, while also tipping a Brighton star for a move to Old Trafford.
It is reported that Ruben Amorim was ready to resign a matter of days before Manchester United brought his testing 14-month spell as Red Devils boss to a close. Having struggled to make the desired impact at Old Trafford, the Portuguese tactician was prepared to fall on his sword and walk away. With the decision eventually being taken to sack the 40-year-old, he has cost Premier League heavyweights £12 million ($16m) in compensation.
West Ham icon Carlton Cole has issued a stark warning to his former club, admitting they need "the luck of the gods" to survive the drop this season. In a candid assessment of the turmoil at the London Stadium, Cole backed current boss Nuno Espírito Santo but expressed fears that the current squad overhaul might be too little, too late to save the Hammers.
Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez has made the startling admission that he came perilously close to retiring from professional football during his recent injury nightmare. The Argentine star revealed he felt he was "no longer a football player" during the darkest moments of his rehabilitation, confessing that the mental and physical toll of a serious knee injury left him on the brink of walking away from the sport entirely.
Sportico have released their annual highest-paid athletes list, with Cristiano Ronaldo sitting at the top of that chart. The Portuguese GOAT earned double what eternal rival Lionel Messi pulled in over the course of 2025, with the Al-Nassr forward making $260 million (£194m). There are 13 football players in the top 100, with Brazilian icon Neymar tumbling down the standings.
Arne Slot can't catch a break right now. Barnsley at home in the FA Cup should have made for a comfortable Monday evening for the under-pressure Liverpool boss. Dominik Szoboszlai had other ideas, though. Having earlier broken the deadlock with a thumping strike from distance before Jeremie Frimpong netted his first goal at Anfield with an equally emphatic finish, the Hungarian gifted Liverpool's third-tier opponents a goal just before the break with one of the most inexplicable errors you'll ever see on a football field.
Liverpool will have to wait a little while longer to welcome Mohamed Salah back at Anfield despite Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations exit at the hands of Senegal. The Pharoahs suffered semi-final heartbreak in Morocco on Wednesday night as Salah's former Reds co-star Sadio Mane fired home a clinical late winner to send his country to the final.
Chelsea have reportedly made inquiries regarding a potential transfer move for Feyenoord star Anis Hadj Moussa. The 23-year-old made a big impression during Algeria's run to the quarter-finals of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, providing two assists during a 3-1 victory over Equatorial Guinea during the group stage, and has previously caught the eye with a goal against Manchester City in last season's Champions League.
Antonio Conte has seemingly hit out at Ruben Amorim and Manchester United for their handling of striker Rasmus Hojlund, who is currently enjoying a loan spell with Serie A side Napoli. The Danish striker had a tough second season at Old Trafford and was sent to Italy as Amorim preferred summer signing Benjamin Sesko, who has scored five goals in 19 appearances for the Red Devils so far. Amorim has since been sacked and replaced by Michael Carrick, who will preside over the club for the remainder of the campaign.
Roy Keane has been tipped to make an extraordinary return to management by taking over at former club Manchester United. The tenacious Irishman has been a vocal critic of the Red Devils during their struggles in recent years, with the club lurching from manager to manager without success since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013. United have most recently sacked Ruben Amorim and placed Michael Carrick in charge for the rest of the 2025-26 season.
Manchester United have confirmed key attackers Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo have returned to training after the pair were eliminated from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The Red Devils have been without the duo since a 4-4 draw with Bournemouth in mid-December, when previous manager Ruben Amorim was still in charge. United won only one of the six games where Mbeumo and Amad were absent after they went away with Cameroon and the Ivory Coast respectively, but both look to be in contention to play in the upcoming local derby with Manchester City.
Tottenham have announced the signing of Atletico Madrid and England midfielder Conor Gallagher, with the former Chelsea man signing a long-term contract with the club. Spurs saw off competition from Premier League rivals Aston Villa to secure the 25-year-old's signature, with his arrival a major boost for manager Thomas Frank especially after Rodrigo Bentancur was ruled out of action for three months through injury.
Former Manchester United midfielder Nicky Butt has taken aim at Manuel Ugarte, insisting that he is simply not good enough to be playing for the club. Indeed, Butt believes that the former Paris Saint-Germain star is emblematic of a dismal transfer policy at Old Trafford.
Marcus Rashford has been brutally told that his Manchester United career is finished, with former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy insisting there is no way back for the forward at Old Trafford. Despite the sacking of Ruben Amorim and the arrival of Michael Carrick as interim boss, the 28-year-old has been warned that the bridge with his boyhood club is burned, even if his current loan spell at Barcelona does not result in a permanent transfer.
Manchester United have funds available to attack the January transfer market but are set to keep their powder dry under new interim boss Michael Carrick. Despite a willingness to trigger a £65 million release clause for Antoine Semenyo and a shortlist of midfield targets including Adam Wharton and Alex Scott, club chiefs are prioritising a major summer overhaul instead of panic buying this winter.
Roberto De Zerbi could yet become Manchester United manager this summer, with the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss having many "admirers" at Old Trafford, according to a new report. The club have hired Michael Carrick as their interim manager following the departure of Ruben Amorim, and plans are being drawn up for the hiring of his permanent successor this summer.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp has blamed his father, Harry, for supplying him false information ahead of an on-air gaffe in which he claimed Antoine Semenyo could reject a move to Manchester City in favour of joining Liverpool. Redknapp Jr. has claimed that, briefly, he believed he'd "turned into Fabrizio Romano".
Laura Woods has bravely shared graphic images revealing the true extent of the horror injuries she suffered during a freak accident in 2024. The popular TNT Sports presenter posted candid photos of the deep cuts to her face and arm that required emergency surgery after a glass lampshade shattered, leaving wounds that went "down to the bone" and forced her to miss the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight.
You will struggle to come across anyone in football more obsessed with Chelsea than their former midfielder and cult hero, John Obi Mikel. The Nigerian played 372 times for the club over an 11-year stint, helping them win 10 trophies, including their first ever Champions League in 2012. Though he retired in 2022, Mikel is still a prominent voice in the Chelsea sphere, regularly discussing their exploits on 'The Obi One Podcast'. Mikel sat down with GOAL to chat about the modern-day Blues, how they compare to his generation, new head coach Liam Rosenior, the club's BlueCo owners, his failed move to Manchester United and his recent transfer to Google Pixel.
Some 13 months on from a devastating provisional doping suspension and close to 14 months since his last appearance for the club, Mykhailo Mudryk is Chelsea's forgotten man. An upcoming anniversary, however, brings his troubles back into sharp focus; January 15 will mark three years to the day since Chelsea completed the signing of the then-coveted young winger from Shakhtar Donetsk, but he will find little reason for celebration.
Manchester United have appointed Michael Carrick as their caretaker manager from now until the end of the season to clean up the mess caused by Ruben Amorim’s sudden departure. And now the real work begins: searching for a long–term successor who can bring lasting success. Of all the available candidates out there, Thomas Tuchel is by far the most convincing.
Raheem Sterling could be offered a Chelsea lifeline by new boss Liam Rosenior, who has revealed he plans to speak to the former Liverpool winger and Axel Disasi over their demotions to Enzo Maresca's so-called 'bomb squad'. Neither Sterling nor Disasi have been involved in training with the first-team squad this season.
Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has hit a setback in plans to push through a new offside revolution. The 76-year-old has proposed a radical change to current rules which would benefit attackers but is now facing opposition from both UEFA and the British FAs. The governing bodies believe Wenger's plans are "too drastic" and would have too much of an impact on how the game is currently played.
Chelsea sent a formal letter to Enzo Maresca to remind him of his responsibilities before his departure as manager as his relationship with the club began to deteriorate. The club were also so concerned about Maresca's treatment of players returning from injury that they put the club's head of physical performance on the bench to advise the Italian about when substitutions needed to be made.
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