Jude Summerfield

The cause of Jean-Philippe Mateta's failed medical with Italian giants AC Milan has been revealed after the French striker's move away from Crystal Palace collapsed at the end of the January transfer window. The 28-year-old was keen to secure an exit from Selhurst Park and looked to be inching his way towards a switch to San Siro. However, issues became apparent during medical checks and Mateta remains a Palace player.

Mohamed Salah has reportedly emerged as Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad's number one priority to replace Karim Benzema. The Egyptian has long been a target for Saudi Arabian clubs and has endured a disappointing campaign so far, hitting out at Liverpool in December before jetting off to the Africa Cup of Nations. The 33-year-old signed a new contract with the Reds last April but his future is up in the air having only scored six club goals this season.

N'Golo Kante reportedly refused to turn up for training with Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad on Tuesday after a move to Turkish giants Fenerbahce collapsed. The France international was set to fly to Istanbul to wrap up the transfer, but an administrative error from Al-Ittihad apparently stopped the deal from going through. There is still a chance of the transfer being completed, with Turkiye's transfer window not closing until Friday, February 6.

Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka has been set a potential return date as he recovers from an injury which ruled him out of his side's Premier League clash with Leeds United on Saturday. The England international was included in Mikel Arteta's starting XI but appeared to suffer a groin complaint in the warm-up at Elland Road and was replaced in the Gunners team by Noni Madueke. Saka is not expected to feature in Arsenal's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg with Chelsea on Tuesday night but his club are optimistic that he won't be out of action for too long.

Marc Guehi may have felt disrespected by the failed transfer to Liverpool in the summer window and "probably" won't regret moving to Manchester City in January instead, according to former Germany international Didi Hamann. The England defender saw a switch from Crystal Palace to Anfield break down at the last minute and instead moved to the Etihad Stadium earlier this month for a reported £20 million.

Manchester United moved - at least temporarily - up to second in the Women's Super League as Lisa Naalsund's double helped Marc Skinner's side beat Liverpool 3-1 on Sunday. The Norwegian midfielder struck either side of Alice Bergstrom's equaliser before Fridolina Rolfo bagged a late third to help United pick up their third win in a row and put pressure on Chelsea before the Blues' clash with Manchester City.

Leicester City have reportedly been in contact with Enzo Maresca over a potential return to the King Power Stadium. The Foxes, who are struggling in the Championship, recently sacked manager Marti Cifuentes and gave the job to Andy King on an interim basis. Maresca helped the 2015-16 Premier League winners earn promotion to the top flight in 2024 after claiming England's second-tier title and has been out of work since New Year's Day when he was given the boot by Chelsea.

Hansi Flick criticised his Barcelona players for not scoring enough goals in Saturday's comfortable 3-1 victory over Elche. The victory kept the Catalan giants at the top of La Liga, four points ahead of rivals Real Madrid who play Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, but the former Bayern Munich and Germany boss insisted the scoreline should have been more flattering for his side given the chances they created. In the end, goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford were enough to take the points.

An old Lionel Messi shirt sold for more than a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey as Chelsea legend John Terry parted with over 50 items in a recent auction. The pair are renowned as the two greatest players of their generation and have won a combined 13 Ballons d'Or, with Messi leading Ronaldo with eight of those awards. Terry reportedly sold items from across his career for just over $695,000, with a percentage of that figure going to the John Terry Foundation.

Norwich City have confirmed on-loan Manchester United defender Harry Amass has suffered what could be a season-ending injury a little over a week after joining the Championship club. The teenager, who spent the first half of the campaign with Sheffield Wednesday, has only just made his Canaries debut and now faces a battle to play again in 2025-26.

Ibrahima Konate has revealed he returned to Liverpool earlier than expected following the death of his father to help Arne Slot's injury-hit squad after scoring in Saturday night's 4-1 victory over Newcastle United. After a three-game absence with compassionate leave, the French centre-back returned to Anfield and scored the Reds' last goal of the evening from close range, being reduced to tears in front of the Kop. With defenders like Joe Gomez, Conor Bradley, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni all missing, Konate's availability was a big plus for Slot.

Virgil van Dijk attracted criticism after being at fault as Bournemouth opened the scoring during Liverpool's trip to the south coast on Saturday night. The Reds captain failed to clear a long ball into his team's penalty area, allowing Alex Scott to cross for Evanilson to put the Cherries ahead. The Dutchman has made some uncharacteristic errors during a difficult season for Arne Slot's side so far and this latest mistake brought him further under the microscope.

Thomas Frank was hit by chants of "sacked in the morning" from Tottenham fans after the Danish manager's side dropped more points in the Premier League in a 2-2 draw with Burnley. The former Brentford boss has been under immense pressure after a string of poor domestic performances throughout the 2025-26 season, despite sitting in the top eight of the Champions League. Spurs have only managed 28 points from 23 league games and have a seriously tough run of fixtures coming up in February.

Granit Xhaka was involved in an argument with a West Ham United supporter during Sunderland's 3-1 defeat at London Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Black Cats captain was ruled out of the fixture due to an ankle injury and was sat among his team-mates while the row with the Hammers fan occurred. A break in play allowed referee Thomas Bramall to pause the game and put an end to the incident.

Liam Rosenior has given an update on suspended Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk and says he hopes to speak with the Ukrainian soon. The 25-year-old has not played competitively since November 2024, having been charged with a violation of the English FA's anti-doping rules in June 2025 following a failed drug test. Mudryk's career has been stuck in limbo ever since having been placed under an indefinite provisional ban, which could eventually be upgraded to a four-year suspension.

Bayern Munich fell to a shock Bundesliga defeat on Saturday afternoon as they were beaten 2-1 by relegation-threatened Augsburg. Hiroki Ito had headed the German giants into a first-half lead, but Bayern were sloppy throughout the contest and fell behind after goals from Arthur Chaves and Han-Noah Massengo. Vincent Kompany's side could now see their lead at the top of table cut down if nearest challengers Borussia Dortmund beat Union Berlin.

The reason behind Chelsea's continued lack of a front-of-shirt sponsor has been revealed, with the Blues still playing in plain jerseys as they search for a new backer. The Premier League giants' last long-term sponsorship deal was with telecommunications company Three and that came to an end upon the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign. They have since bared the names of Infinite Athlete and DAMAC on their shirts, though both partnerships were short-lived.

Chelsea were handed a major blow to their hopes of retaining the Women's Super League title as they were beaten 2-0 at Stamford Bridge by London rivals Arsenal on Saturday. The visiting Gunners struck twice in the second half through Beth Mead and Mariona Caldentey, with the Blues failing to come up with a response. They are now in danger of the current gap to leaders Manchester City increasing to nine points by the end of the weekend.