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Right, that’s it for the day. Thanks to Dom and Niall for their legwork and you for reading.
Updated at 12.33 EST
Nice piece from Chris Godfrey, on the agonies of being an Arsenal fan.
Transfer news: Bradford have signed Wrexham striker, and Disney streaming star, Paul Mullin on loan until the end of the season.
Mullin, 31, has scored 110 goals in 170 games in all competitions for Wrexham since joining from Cambridge in 2021 and spent the first half of this season on loan at Wigan.
Good signing at League One level. You may have seen that clip where an Everton fan champions Mullin as a signing for his club.
Jacob Steinberg reports on more happy times at West Ham.
Protests have been held at many matches this season targeting David Sullivan, the largest shareholder, and Karren Brady, the vice-chair, and the anti-board sentiment was evident when a banner stating “Time 2 Sell – Name Your Price” was held up during the first half last weekend.
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Will Unwin
We couldn’t get Barry to interview Thierno Barry, so Will Unwin will just have to do.
“I had played in Belgium and scored 20 goals, easy 20 goals, and then I went to Basel and when I went there I thought it would be easy to score there, too,” Barry says from Everton’s Finch Farm training ground before Saturday’s game at Brighton. “I found it was not easy. With the pressure and everything, I lost my confidence, I lost the love to play football – I lost everything. I saw some kids playing on the beach. My girlfriend said: ‘Go and play with these kids.’ I went and played and had a game. I was dribbling and just loved to touch the ball and when I came back to Basel I was like a different person.”
Here’s Ed Aarons’ look at the biggest moves of the transfer window…so far.
The top five moves of the 2026 January transfer window – videoShare
Sean Dyche on Nottingham Forest’s transfer dealings: “We’ll see. I’ve said all along, and since I’ve been at the club, the owner’s made it clear he will support the club, but they are a trading club.”
“So it depends on what’s available. It depends, people can possibly be going out, but more likely looking for people to come in. It’s not easy. These transfer windows are really difficult and January is probably the most difficult of all. But we are active in certain situations, and we’ll see if we can get them over the line.”
In short, expect some deals to be struck. Or at least attempted by Forest.
Updated at 11.58 EST
The Hearts manager, Derek McInnes, has said he has received an apology from Mark Fotheringham, the Celtic assistant coach, after last week’s stormy 2-2 draw.
“I was annoyed. I’ve been up against loads of different dugouts over the years and loads of Celtic teams. And I was really annoyed by the reaction. It surprised me. And I thought it was out of order.
“In fairness to Mark, he’s not a boy I know too well, but I know people that know him and he’s a great lad, seemingly. But he phoned me on Monday afternoon to apologise. He said there was no offence meant. And if it was, he said he was sorry for that. So I think that says a lot about him.”
Graham Ruthven considers some leading soccer questions.
Some words from Sonia Bompastor, the Chelsea manager, her team struggling to keep up with Manchester City in the WSL.
Our mentality is to fight until the end, no matter what happens. The only thing is right now we are not in control, and the most important thing is we need to focus on what we can control. Man City are top of the table and in control. We need to make sure we put the focus on how we want to perform going into the next games to make sure we have a better chance to win.
Fermín López have agreed to extend his Barcelona contract until June 2031, the Spanish Fermín was close to a move to Chelsea last summer, the 22-year-old Fermín is one of the club’s top young talents, along with Lamine Yamal and Pedri.Fermín has scored 10 goals and registered 10 assists in all competitions this season.
Milan want Mateta on a loan deal, with £35m obligation to buy.
Ahead of that Monday transfer window, here’s one of the deals taking shape, and it’s more bad news for Crystal Palace.
Thanks, Niall. Back in the saddle….
Time to hand back to your very own John Brewin for the home straight. I’ll leave you with Football Daily, where I look ahead to Panic Monday …
Staying in Italy, where Antonio Conte is under pressure at Napoli after the team’s early Champions League exit. The home defeat to Chelsea left Napoli 30th in the final table, and their Serie A title defence has stalled after costly draws and a 3-0 loss at Juventus.
Hitting out at his side’s busy schedule, Conte said: “I’d like to know who the genius is that makes the schedules. We play on Sunday, then Wednesday at 9pm, and then Saturday at 6pm. They talk about injuries and other things, but totally don’t give a damn.”
Napoli host a big name in even bigger trouble on Saturday – Fiorentina are stuck in the relegation zone after three wins from 22 games so far.
Remember Lorenzo Insigne? The former Napoli winger and Euro 2020 winner has spent the last three years outside of Italy, joining Toronto FC in January 2022.
Insigne ended his contract with the MLS club in June and has been a free agent since then – but he’s now rejoined his former club, Pescara, who are bottom of Serie B.
Updated at 10.46 EST
Celtic assistant manager Shaun Maloney is hoping the club can add up to three more signings before Monday’s deadline. Czech striker Tomas Cvancara and Mexican right-back Julian Araujo have already arrived on loan this month.
“I think if we bring in another two or three, it would be a massive, massive help, but they have to be the right ones,” Maloney said. “There is no need to bring in numbers. It has to be the right type of player for what we need and what probably the team’s lacking.
“The two that we brought in, I really like, but hopefully we can do two or three more.” Celtic are in a three-way title race with Hearts and Rangers, and face Stuttgart in the Europa League playoffs.
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Here are 10 things to look out for in the Premier League this weekend, from Brighton to Sunderland.
If you’re after some free-to-air football tonight, you can watch Cologne v Wolfsburg on iPlayer – but my pick is over on BBC Scotland, where St Johnstone host Partick Thistle. Wait, come back!
It’s first against second in the Scottish Championship, and the winner will be in pole position for promotion. Last week’s Friday game saw third-placed Arbroath draw with Morton in a North Sea gale so strong, it blew one goal kick out of the stadium.
Chelsea may be searching for a centre-back, but Rosenior had a positive update on Levi Colwill’s knee injury. “I spoke to him this morning. He’s really good, he’s working so hard. It’s been brilliant to see him back on the pitch running.
“He’s itching to get back. But we need to make sure he feels 100% perfect. He could return this season, but it’s step by step. I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep.”
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba was Aston Villa’s hero last night against Salzburg, and the teenage playmaker could get a loan move before Monday’s deadline.
According to BBC Sport, West Brom are keen to bring him in to boost their attacking options. Eric Ramsay’s side have already signed Crystal Palace defender Danny Imray on loan today.
Rosenior bristles at one reporter’s use of the term “bomb squad”, and says Axel Disasi isn’t close to finding a new club. If Chelsea need another centre-back, is Disasi really such a bad option?
On Cole Palmer: “He came through with two assists and an outstanding performance. [Physically] he’s fine, he’s ready to start tomorrow [against West Ham]. Was he happy after the Napoli game? He’s always happy.”
On Enzo Fernández: “He’s a winner, he wants to learn and asks tactical questions, so I know he’ll keep improving. He’s a magnificent guy and a top player – I’m really excited to see what we can get out of him.”
Time to check in with Liam Rosenior. “Things can change very quickly in the January market, and it’s about being prepared for any development. [A new centre-back] is a possibility, but we want to make the squad as strong as it can be, in every area.”
“Different players come up, and if we see someone who can improve the team, I know the guys will try to make it happen. It could be busy on Monday … it could be quiet.”
That’s an interesting tactic from Thomas Frank, perhaps trying to calm fan anger about a lack of signings. Semenyo’s release clause meant any ‘big six’ team could make a move in January but Spurs weren’t heavily linked, as far as I can tell. But at the end of the day, they didn’t sign him – and to add insult to injury, he scored his last Bournemouth goal to consign Frank’s side to a 3-2 defeat.
ShareFrank says Spurs ‘did everything’ to sign Semenyo
On transfer dealings, Frank says: “The club worked relentlessly to try and improve the squad, we can’t be too obsessed with short-term fixes. I will go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there’s no doubt the club wanted to sign [Antoine] Semenyo.
“They did everything – I think that’s a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed. That’s a big signing with finances and all that. So that’s the quality of players we’re looking for to improve the squad, and if we can’t find that, then it’s definitely better to take the right decisions.”
Thomas Frank says “Micky [van de Ven] will be touch and go for Sunday” but there are no further injury updates.
Can he bring Spurs’ Champions League form to their domestic games? “Full focus on the next game, Man City on Sunday. Not everything has been perfect, but things are more consistent, we are improving.”
Did he think Spurs would be 14th in the table at this stage? “No, I didn’t – I’m very aware that this season, like any other, is one where we should be ambitious, but it’s a transitional season.”
Is your Friday afternoon dragging a bit? Why not try our sport quiz of the week, featuring goals by goalies, Adama Traoré and plenty more football teasers …
Here’s Unai Emery on Aston Villa’s injury issues: “Ollie Watkins has had a scan, he’s not clearly injured but he has felt tired so we will give him time and assess tomorrow.”
Emery adds that Ross Barkley could feature in his squad to face Brentford on Sunday, but Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans, Andrés García and new recruit Alysson are all out injured.
Updated at 09.30 EST
Elsewhere, Morecambe have agreed an early end to their kit deal with Terrace Teamwear, who were very popular among fans for supporting the club through their financial turmoil. Morecambe have also parted company with their manager, Ashvir Singh Johal, today – the Shrimps sit second-bottom of the National League.
Not one, but two stories about football kit trouble today: firstly, Blackburn are being sued by their kit maker, Macron, according to court records. The claim was filed on Wednesday over an alleged “breach of contract”, but no other details are currently available.
A Blackburn spokesperson said: “We confirm that the club has been served with court papers by its technical kit supplier, Macron S.p.A., in relation to a contractual dispute. The claim is being handled by the club with the support of its legal team, and it would be inappropriate to comment further while legal proceedings are ongoing.”
Blackburn, who are third from bottom in the Championship, signed a five-year kit deal with Macron in May 2021.