Soccer (FIFA)

Soccer (FIFA)

Forget the magic of the FA Cup, for West Ham the reality of what is likely to be a Championship fixture next season. An indicator that life in the second tier will be no cakewalk. That QPR took them to extra-time will do little for Nuno Espirito Santo's standing, despite a first win since 8 November. There were, though, positives to take in the performance of Taty Castellanos, the Argentinian striker who scored the Hammers' winning goal.

There was a big surprise in store for Bayern Munich fans when the Bavarians' line up for the Bundesliga restart against VfL Wolfsburg was announced. Leon Goretzka, who had been a fairly ever present starter in the Bundesliga up to this point in the season, started on the bench in favor of the younger duo Tom Bischof and Aleksandar Pavlović amid the injury enforced absence of Joshua Kimmich.

Como's rising star Jacobo Ramon has become one of the most sought-after young defenders of the winter transfer window, attracting intense interest from several Premier League clubs. Since December, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool have been monitoring him closely, while Newcastle United, Brighton and Crystal Palace have also sent scouts to watch his performances firsthand, sources close to the agents industry have informed CaughtOffside.

When Felipe Anderson arrived at West Ham United in July 2018, he settled in quickly, enjoying a promising first season, netting ten times for his new side. The Hammers had paid a club record 36million to bring the Brazilian to east London from Lazio and these early performances saw him become a fan favourite. One of the seasons for this strong early start was the formidable partnership with formed with another Irons forward.

Ajax are exploring the possibility of signing Manuel Ugarte this month as they look to reinforce their defensive midfield options, according to a report from Mike Verweij via Soccer News. The Dutch giants, currently in the midst of a rebuilding phase, believe Ugarte could offer the strength and energy they have been lacking in the centre of the pitch. Ugarte's situation at Man United has been a point of growing concern.

Liverpool defender Conor Bradley is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in Thursday's 0-0 draw with Arsenal. Bradley went down off the ball in stoppage time at Emirates Stadium and was stretchered off the pitch, with head coach Arne Slot later admitting the club "feared the worst" for the right-back. Scans have since revealed Bradley has not suffered an ACL injury but has sustained significant damage to the bone and ligaments in his left knee.

Jonah Kusi-Asare's Fulham loan will not be terminated this month. He's not allowed to play for three clubs in the same season - meaning he cannot join a new team. Fulham want to keep him anyway. The 18-year-old is improving steadily in training, which has led manager Marco Silva to promise him more playing time. Fulham have an option to buy in the summer, with Bayern having secured a buy-back clause.

Paul Scholes tried his hand at management with Oldham Athletic For plenty of players, the end of their playing days means the start of a coaching career. Others, however, do not feel the urge to rush into football management and are content to take their time before making their next career move. Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes seemed to fall into this latter camp when he hung up his boots in 2013, only for sentiment to make him rethink his plans.

These are just rumours, there are always rumours about PSG,

Last season I made the decision that some players needed to rest in the FA Cup because you cannot play every player every single time, Slot said. But it's obvious that we're not in the League Cup anymore and the FA Cup has always been very important for us, but sometimes in a season where you are still competing for the League Cup, for the Champions League and the league, with the amount of players we had last season and have this season,

A little bit. (thinks) I like the way Crystal Palace plays football. I considered whether it might be a good opportunity or not, but I immediately told Devy Rigaux and the staff that I wouldn't push, Tzolis explained. It would be bad for the team if I didn't want to train or play because I wanted to secure a transfer.

Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund) - IK2 in the summer Péter Gulácsi (RB Leipzig) - IK1 in the summer Oliver Baumann (TSG Hoffenheim) Kamil Grabara (VfL Wolfsburg) Marvin Schwäbe (FC Köln) Robin Zentner (Mainz 05) - NK3 in the summer Nikola Vasilj (FC St. Pauli) - IK3 in the summer Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern) - NK1 in the summer Daniel Heuer Fernandes (Hamburger SV)

Cardiff City began 2026 well placed for a promotion push, after head coach Brian Barry-Murphy was handed the job of leading the Bluebirds back to the Championship following last season's relegation. This marked the 47-year-old's second senior management job following a two-year stint at Rochdale between 2019 and 2021, but it was his spell in charge of Manchester City's Elite Development Squad during which he really cut his teeth.

At Middlesbrough, I drove the team bus out of the garage, but that lasted about 100 yards, he recalls to FourFourTwo. Gazza won 57 England caps (Image credit: Getty Images) Bryan Robson was like, Gazza, where's the bus?' I said. It's in the f**king trees, gaffer, it's f**ked.' He said, Gazza, that's a 400,000 bus' Gazza's former England team-mate should have known that he had form in this matter.