Hoffenheim have made an enquiry to sign 20-year-old Scottish forward Rory Wilson from Aston Villa on a loan deal with a buy option clause of 6m. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external In addition to an official bid from Hoffenheim, a number of clubs in England, Norway and Sweden have made enquiries about Aston Villa's Scotland Under-21 forward, Rory Wilson. (Sky Sports), external
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.
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.
Ben Jacobs has dismissed speculation surrounding Liverpool enquiring for Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries following the recent injury to Jeremie Frimpong. Despite reports from Italy suggesting the Reds had made contact with the Nerazzurri, it appears Anfield officials may not be pursuing a deal for the Dutch wing-back as the January transfer window enters its final hours. The rumors gained traction after Liverpool's defensive depth was pushed to the breaking point,
The defender recently made his first-team debut with Real Madrid, and he's highly rated across Europe. He has a bright future, and Valdepenas could prove to be an excellent long-term investment for Arsenal. The player is versatile enough to play as a central defender or a full-back. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal can get the deal done. Several clubs are interested in the defender.
Former England defender and five-time Premier League champion with Chelsea John Terry recently sold more than fifty items from his personal collection with American auction house Goldin Auctions. The items took in just over $695,000 including buyer's premium. Among the items Terry consigned to the New Jersey-based auction house were a match-worn and photo-matched Lionel Messi Barcelona jersey and a match-worn, photo-matched and signed Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United jersey.
According to exclusive Sky Sport information, Spurs have closed the door on a winter transfer for Mathys Tel. ❌ For Tottenham, neither a permanent sale of Tel nor a loan model is an option. ↪️ In addition to the French promoted side Paris FC, several clubs from England and Spain have recently expressed concrete interest in Tel - without success. The 20-year-old is not getting clearance from the Premier League's 14th-placed team.
Starting brightly, with some success - see wins over Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen. A quick collapse - see the 6-0 humiliation by Club Brugge in their Champions League play-off second leg. Then a disappointing second half - see an underwhelming Europa League campaign. Just one win in the league phase this season - coming last week against Ludogorets - and it all came far too late. By that point, they were effectively out already.
Two years ago, we had a dream: to waste as much of your time as we could possibly could as you count down the minutes until the weekend. And it's safe to say that over the last 99 editions of the Friday Football Quiz, we've done just that, asking you 1,920 quiz questions about the beautiful game, stretching competitions, clubs, eras and levels.
When Martin O'Neill replaced Brendan Rodgers in October, the Celtic ship was listing. When he returned for a second interim spell after Wilfried Nancy's tumultuous and brief reign, the ship was taking on water at an alarming rate. Celtic have needed a safe pair of hands and a figurehead to unite a fanbase in revolt twice this season. On both occasions they have turned to O'Neill to save them.
Rangers travel to the capital on Sunday with a slightly unfamiliar feeling after they lost for the first time in more than a month in Porto on Thursday. Their hopes of Europa League progression were already over before the 3-1 defeat in Portugal, but it remains to be seen if it will dent their domestic momentum, which has been relentless since they were beaten at Tynecastle just before Christmas.
It is not [Weah's] duty to evaluate the price of the ticket. And then also my job, my duty is to prepare the team, the U.S. men's national team in the best way to perform. We are not politicians. We are sport people that only we can talk about our job and I think if FIFA does something or takes some decision, they know why, and [it] is their responsibility to explain why.
Right back Alex Freeman, a hopeful for this year's United States World Cup roster, transferred Thursday to LaLiga club Villarreal from MLS side Orlando City. A 21-year-old son of former All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Freeman, Alex made his U.S. national team debut in May against Turkey. Getting playing time while Sergiño Dest regained fitness after a torn ACL, Freeman made 13 international appearances and scored twice in a November friendly against Uruguay.
So when Quakes sporting director and head coach Bruce Arena spent two days in Germany detailing his vision for the team and the role he saw for the 29-year-old German international, it was an easy sell. His career, the things he achieved with other teams, with the national team, and what he wanted to do with the Earthquakes was more than enough to convince me to come to the Bay Area and to achieve something together, Werner said Friday morning.
Inter Milan are in talks with Liverpool over a loan switch for midfielder Curtis Jones, 25, with an option to buy the England midfielder. (Fabrizio Romano), external Arsenal could offer Brazil forwards Gabriel Jesus, 28, and Gabriel Martinelli, 24, as part of the deal to sign Atletico Madrid and Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, 25. (Teamtalk), external Arsenal are also close to selling defender Oleksandr Zinchenko to Ajax.
At this stage, travelling fans are left with little to no information as to what will be allowed or not at Fifa venues, or what to expect from the police elsewhere in the country. There is no clarity as to what will be allowed in the stadiums, who will be deployed inside, which police forces will be working where.
Capology reports that Boey's total financial package actually is higher at €5,900,000 (€4,720,000 salary + €1,180,000 bonus), which makes this an even more swift kick in the junk for the Bavarians to absorb. Bayern Munich has made dozens of astute pickups near the transfer deadline over the years, but when the Bavarians see a French right-back available in the waning hours of a transfer window, they just can't help themselves and enter into "Charlie Brown Football Mode":
Celtic are prepared to spend 6.5m on Frosinone winger Fares Ghedjemis - with Dunajska Streda's Damir Redzic a back-up in case they fail to land their top target. (Scottish Sun), external Sky Italia believe Frosinone are already chasing a replacement for Celtic target Ghedjemis, whose contract is up at the end of the season, with Davide Bragantini of Mantova in their sights. (Scottish Sun), external Crystal Palace's Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is another winger that is interesting Celtic. (Scottish Sun), external
It is TRUE: Premier League clubs, like Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal, have been sending scouts to attend the Red Bull Arena to watch Yan Diomande, Falk said. They like Diomande. He'd be a player who would perfectly fit the kind of profile they're looking for. But in the end, if they have to spend so much money and they are talking about 100m [86.6m] that's too much for Bayern Munich.
Real Madrid must face their former manager Jose Mourinho again after being drawn with Benfica in the UEFA Champions League (UCL) playoff round, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face domestic rivals Monaco. In a dramatic finale to the league phase of this year's competition, Mourinho's Benfica beat the Spanish giants 4-2 with a last-minute header from the Portuguese club's keeper Anatoliy Trubin, sealing their place in the knockout rounds.
Inter Miami CF announced the signing of Mexico national team forward Germán Berterame from Liga MX powerhouse Monterrey. Berterame joins Lionel Messi and the reigning MLS Cup champions as a Designated Player on a contract running through 2029, with a club option for an additional year. Miami secured the deal by triggering Berterame's $15 million release clause, sources told ESPN's Lizzy Becherano.
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.
Celtic are interested in signing Tawanda Maswanhise from Motherwell in the January transfer window, according to . The defending Scottish Premiership champions are keen on a deal for Kasper Hogh, but Norwich City are said to be leading the race for the 25-year-old FK Bodo/Glimt striker. With Josh Sargent eager to move to Major League Soccer, Norwich want to sign Hogh before the January transfer window closes next week.
