English Premier League

English Premier League

Joao Pedro is enjoying life under Liam Rosenior. The versatile Brazil forward was excellent after coming on at half-time against West Ham. Joao Pedro, who has five goals in his last five games, helped Chelsea complete their comeback from 2-0 down by scoring his side's first and then creating Enzo Fernandez's stoppage-time winner. Chelsea chose well when they beat Newcastle to the signing of the 24-year-old from Brighton last summer.

When it comes to transfer windows it's not all about the numbers - the letters are important too! Can you complete our A-Z of transfers quiz? We want to know the world's most expensive footballer for each letter of the alphabet. Which player, whose surname begins with A, cost one club more than 81m in 2022? It's time to tackle our quiz. Good luck!

The current Premier League spending sits at 325m, down from 421m in 2025 - but there's a good chance we might reach a similar final total with a busy deadline day expected. January 2026 has seen a somewhat middling window. Of the traditional big six, only Manchester City and Tottenham have been active, spending 84m and 48m respectively. Indeed, Antoine Semenyo's 63m switch from Bournemouth to City looks set to be comfortably the biggest deal done in the window.

Liverpool are considering making a move for Sunderland defender Lutsharel Geertruida, who is at the Stadium of Light from RB Leipzig on loan. Fabrizio Romano reports the Reds could either look to take over the 25-year-old's loan agreement, or sign him permanently. Geertruida was Arne Slot's captain at Feyenoord, and can play either right back or center back, two positions in which Liverpool have struggled to cover in recent weeks.

The future of Dayot Upamecano is attracting attention as the Bayern Munich defender is set to become a free agent in the summer. According to TEAMtalk, a host of major sides, including Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Inter, have all held discussions with Upamecano's camp. The widespread interest reflects both the player's standing at the top level and the uncertainty surrounding his contract situation in Munich.

The Liverpool striker gave Eddie Howe further cause for regret with a gamechanging, match-winning performance at Anfield, however, as Arne Slot's side found the consistency that has eluded them too often this season to record a second impressive win in succession. Ekitike struck twice against the club that had agreed a deal to sign him from Eintracht Frankfurt before Liverpool swept in. Their initial outlay of 69m, rising to 79m, is proving money very well spent.

Though not an official term, in football 'bomb squad' is widely used to describe players who have fallen out of favour but still remain under contact. Those players are often excluded from first-team training and have to attend separate sessions with the club's youth teams, or even on their own in extreme cases. Some clubs even go as far as restricting any contact between the first-team and 'bomb squad' members by scheduling training sessions at times of day that will minimise the crossover between players.

In La Liga, Espanyol missed a chance to consolidate their high-flying position as they lost 2-1 at home to Alaves they took the lead through Roberto Fernandez in the 15th minute, but Antonio Blanco levelled 12 minutes later and the points were secured when Lucas Boye finished a counterattack from close range with 19 minutes remaining. It means Espanyol go into the weekend fifth but that defeat extended their winless run to five games.

The Weekend Crossword from FourFourTwo is your weekly accompaniment for a slow Sunday morning coffee before a feast of football. Welcome to FourFourTwo's Weekend Crossword, the ultimate football fan's grid of top tricky teasers. We've come up with a criss-cross of clues. Some are tap-ins, some might even need a team effort, but you'll do well to get them all without serious football knowledge. There's no time limit but there is a clock so you can let us know your time.

Crystal Palace have signed Evann Guessand on loan from Aston Villa. Guessand makes the move to Selhurst Park until the end of the season, with the Eagles having the option to sign him on a permanent deal thereafter. The Ivory Coast international joined Villa from Nice in August on a five-year deal. However, he made just 13 starts, with his tally of two goals in 21 appearances marking a disappointing start to his career in the Premier League.

These are the rules. Hopefully the Premier League next season instead of 18 outfield players they will do 20. I beg them from here, [have it] like it is in the Champions League, because it's much better to manage the squad, to maintain the value of the players, to maintain the mental health of the players as nobody wants to get out of the squad.

Christmas is long gone and the scramble of the transfer window is about to come to an end so it feels like we really are now at the business end of the season with teams' goals, be they promotion, survival or building for next year, programmed for the run-in. In the Championship Middlesbrough might have quite fancied facing Norwich a month ago but the Canaries are a different proposition these days, while Portsmouth against West Brom has 'relegation scrap' written all over it.