Randal Kolo Muani joined PSG from Eintracht Frankfurt for €80m in 2023. Now he’s off on loan to Juventus, with Thiago Motta speaking on the deal for the Frenchman. “Happy with his arrival,” said the Brazilian-born manager. “Awaiting paperwork; he could join the group tomorrow.”

Tottenham were interested in the 26-year-old but Ange Postecoglou has just said that Spurs were never seriously in the running.

“We were interested and are looking at a number of players, but we never got to the point where we thought [Kolo Muani] was coming to us”.

This is a fascinating exclusive story from Matt Hughes.

The Football Association is set to block a proposal to allow the English Football League’s Welsh clubs from competing in a new Welsh League Cup next season in what would represent a major blow to Wrexham’s European ambitions.

The EFL is understood to have raised objections to a request from the the FA of Wales for Wrexham, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport to take part in an expanded League Cup, which they hope will generate £3m a year in additional revenue. Getting bigger Welsh clubs into European competition could also improve Wales’ Uefa coefficient.

Uefa has given its approval and confirmed that the winners would be granted a place in the qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League, with the proviso that EFL-based clubs cannot also qualify via English competitions. The final decision rests with England’s FA, however, which is consulting with both the EFL and the Premier League over the matter. The issue will be discussed at a meeting of the FA’s Professional Game Board next week but sources involved have told the Guardian they are minded to reject the proposal.

Mikel Arteta has praised Renée Slegers after the Arsenal women interim manager earned the role permanently on Friday, signing a contract to the end of the 2025-26 season.

She’s done a phenomenal job. I’m very happy for her and for the club. Promoting someone that was already with us is a very strong signal.

Belgium sack Domenico Tedesco, with Thierry Henry tipped for job

Another former Manchester United manager, albeit on an interim basis, Ruud van Nistelrooy has gazed into his crystal ball and predicted Leicester’s survival fate will go down to the last game. Not that he has got a lot right recently, the Foxes have lost their last six and are back in the relegation zone.

We want to be out of the situation come May, we also know we’re in a position with three or four teams that are close together and they are also dropping points,” he said. “That makes the situation possible, but it is up to us to start collecting points. Performances are something you can build on but we are all fed up of that.

From the first day I joined I spoke about it going right to the last day this battle. You have hopes we could surprise and get more results to get us out of the situation early, so in that sense it is disappointing that didn’t happen. There is an amount of patience required, for a six-week start of a collaboration between me and the players, the club, and believe that in this path good performances will turn into points.

Leicester will try and end their horror run against Fulham on Saturday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær confirms talks with Beskitas over manager role

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is next up in front of the microphones:

When the players come, it’s not because I decide. It’s because of the club. The club decides to change the players, or the manager. The trust has always been there [between me and the board]. That’s for sure.

Erling Haaland is making me a better manager. I think this [10-year] deal provides stability to the club. A lot can change but Haaland feels that he wants to give his best years to the club.

Hello everyone! Let’s kick off with some Eddie Howe quotes. The Newcastle manager has been talking before the visit of Bournemouth and was asked about Miguel Almirón, who could return to the MLS this month as the north-east club negotiate spending restrictions which forced them to sell Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh this summer.

No-one wants to lose any players from our current squad, especially in positions where we are a little bit fragile. Why would we want to leave ourselves in that position? But when you’re armed with all the [financial] facts, sometimes you have to take that short-term pain.

There’s not a pot of money there waiting to be spent, it’s all about 30 June and making sure you comply by that date. Obviously if you spend money, then you have to recoup it at a later date.

Howe seems frustrated that his outgoings have to match his incomings. Hmmmm. PSR has got a lot of flack from various people in recent years, but I think there’s some evidence that it is quite effective at the moment?

And with those striking stats, I’ll hand over to Michael Butler to bring you more hard-hitting updates and build-up.

Some Opta stats to chew over during lunchtime…

• Brentford v Liverpool
  Mo Salah has been involved in eight goals in his last three Premier League appearances in London (4 goals, 4 assists)

• Ipswich v Man City
  Erling Haaland has scored six goals in his last four Premier League appearances against newly promoted teams

• Nottingham Forest v Southampton
  Chris Wood has scored eight goals in his last seven Premier League appearances against newly promoted sides

For those who want to be across every bit of transfer window news, keep refreshing these two pages. All the movements featuring Théo Pellenard, Thibault De Smet, Charlotte Wardlaw and more!

Paul Cargill emails in. “Is it just a coincidence that Haaland’s contract now runs for 115 months?” Oof! *taps caculator.

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna says Town hope to do more deals in the January transfer window.

McKenna boosted his forward options by signing Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa earlier this week – the fee believed to be around £20million – but he wants more firepower. That seems perfectly reasonable given that Ipswich have averaged less than a goal per game this season, their meagre tally of 20 making them the third lowest scorers in the division behind Everton (15) and Southampton (13).

Talking about more incomings, McKenna said: “We’ll try to, if we can find quality that can improve us. I think our depth is pretty good now. If we can get everybody back fit, our depth is fine.

“But if we can add quality that can help the starting XI or quality that can help from the bench, then we’ll certainly aim to try and do so – but only if the right players are available that can really push us on.”

Some more from Arne Slot’s press conference this morning. Here are the calm and smiling Dutchman’s thoughts on the title race as Liverpool hope to extend their four-point lead over Arsenal. The Reds travel to Brentford for a 3pm kick-off, with the Gunners hosting Aston Villa at 5.30pm.

“I don’t think we are as much as the media thinking about the league table every second of the day. We are trying to get the best out of the players, and with ‘we’ I mean my staff and the players trying to get the best out of themselves every single day.

“These players know how long the season still is and how many games they have to be in the best possible form to win something in the end of the season, which is not something that happens every single season. We are not so focused on the league as other people are.

“But we are focused on getting a good training session today and getting a good game tomorrow. And as a result of that, we are hoping for a result. But the only way to get a result is to work on a daily basis in the best possible way.”

Slot was also asked if it was an advantage that Liverpool play first.

“No, I don’t look at it that way. I didn’t even know that they were playing later than us. I only look at the opponent that we have to face and that’s a tough one. [Brentford] was my first Premier League game [at Anfield] and then I already thought, ‘If this is going to be the resistance we get every week then this is a more difficult league than the Eredivisie.’ Which I knew before I came but it was proven that day as well.

“They’ve had a very good season until now, had a 2-2 against [Manchester] City – great game, both teams creating a lot of chances – and their manager has done a fantastic job for so many years now. You can see that it is a team that has worked together with their manager for a long time. That’s my only focus and not on when do Arsenal play or when do Chelsea play or when do all the others play. We only focus on ourselves and the team we have to face.”

A bit more detail on the Erling Haaland contract via PA Media.

Haaland’s deal means he has the longest current contract of any player in the top five European leagues, according to Transfermarkt.

Excluding ‘lifetime’ deals offered to Real Madrid duo Raul and Iker Casillas and Barcelona star Andres Iniesta, the next longest in football history with a defined end date was the 10-year deal awarded to Brazilian winger Denilson when he signed for Real Betis in 1998 for what was then a world record £21.5m.

Deals of 10 years-plus are more common in American sports, with Juan Soto signing a 15-year deal with the New York Mets last month.

It has been reported Haaland’s deal increases his basic wage to £500,000 a week and removes a release clause contained in the original contract.

Luton finished just one place below Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last season, unfortunately that being 18th (relegated) to 17th (survived). But while Forest have kicked on in magnificent style, it’s all gone horribly wrong for the Hatters. Simon Burnton investigates.

Can anyone catch Chelsea in the WSL? That’s the big question as the competition returns after a 32-day mid-season winter break with Liverpool hosting Brighton tonight.

Suzanne Wrack sets the scene for the much-anticipated resumption and I’ll give this one a good read having secured myself a ticket for Sunday evening’s Manchester derby at the Etihad.

Jota doubt for Liverpool’s trip to Brentford

Ole direksiyonda! Turkish speakers can either smirk or correct me. So, it seems that former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in talks to take over at Turkish club Besiktas.

(From PA Media)

Solskjaer has not held a coaching role since leaving Old Trafford in 2021 but is now negotiating with the Super Lig outfit, who have been without a head coach since letting Giovanni van Bronckhorst go last month.

The Norwegian has reportedly been in Istanbul to put the finishing touches to an 18-month deal, with the club confirming the move was in progress in a brief statement. “Negotiations have started with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for the position of coach of our football team,” it read.

Solskjaer has managed Molde in his home country on two separate occasions and also led Cardiff for a brief spell in 2014. Should he take over at Besiktas, the 21-time league champions currently struggling in sixth place, he will come up against his predecessor as Red Devils boss. Jose Mourinho is currently in charge of Fenerbahce, who sit second in the table behind leaders Galatasaray.

Saturday’s home match against Samsunspor is likely to come too soon for Solskjaer, leaving interim coach Serdar Topraktepe in the dugout, but the 51-year-old could take charge of the Europa League clash against Athletic Bilbao in midweek.

As Max Rushden points out in his column below, Tottenham are 18th in the Premier League form table since a joyous 4-0 November win over Manchester City at the Etihad. But despite that meagre haul of only five points from a possible 27, Max says Spurs should just flamin’ stick with the bloke.

Some reader reaction to Erling Haaland signing a mammoth new nine-and-a-half deal at Manchester City. Fair to say reaction is, erm, mixed.

Graeme Neill: “You can’t argue with his frankly incredible goalscoring record but let’s face it, he’s no fun to watch. It’s just relentless grinding ability rather than flair or the ability to surprise you. Give me a mercurial number 10 any day.”

Ed Freeman: “He’s not going to stay til ‘34 though is he? I give him another year and a half. This way the club guarantees a good price when he does go to Madrid or Saudi, though. Good bit of business, I’d say.”

Vivek Rajendra: “How should one read into the announcement and details of this absurd contract? Is this City signalling that they are confident of beating the 115 charges? Or are they somehow trying to convince themselves they will conjure up an escape by simply pretending it is business as usual? Should it also be read in context with their trolley dash(?) for Khusanov and Marmoush assuming a potential transfer ban?”

Let’s focus in on those fixtures with our regular double digit-based Friday column.

Brentford v Liverpool should be a cracker for TV viewers on Saturday. Except it’s a 3pm kick-off which, fun fact, is Liverpool’s first away game in that slot all season.

It’s a 5-4-1 formation for the latest round of Premier League fixtures. Here is Matchweek 22 of a season that is moving fast. Just 17 games to go – although Liverpool and Everton have 18.

Saturday
12.30 Newcastle v Bournemouth
15.00 Brentford v Liverpool
15.00 Leicester v Fulham
15.00 West Ham v Crystal Palace
17.30 Arsenal v Aston Villa

Sunday
14.00 Everton v Spurs
14.00 Man Utd v Brighton
14.00 Nottingham Forest v Southampton
16.30 Ipswich v Man City

Monday
20.00 Chelsea v Wolves

Today’s Rumour Mill allows us a segue involving Brighton. Read today’s whispers here…

Brighton were the other winners last night as they ended an eight-game streak without a Premier League victory (eight of those were draws, mind) with a 2-0 success at Ipswich to take them up to ninth. Nick Ames was at Portman Road.

Haaland has 11 Man City hat-tricks to his name so far but none yet in 2025. One man who has is Amad Diallo, who rescued Manchester United with a late, late treble to haul them back from an embarrassment against bottom club Southampton and secure a 3-1 win last night.

Man Utd 3-1 Southampton: Jamie Jackson’s match report
Reaction from Old Trafford: Diallo and Ruben Amorim quotes

That’s quite a start to the morning blog, isn’t it. I know it’s not the main focus but that Man City shirt font remains troublesome.

Preamble