Transfer news RECAP: Newcastle are ‘confident of agreeing a loan deal for Kalvin Phillips and Ange Postecoglou insists he wants new signings quickly

Mikel Arteta has admitted that he was right to spend £105million on Declan Rice.

The midfielder has helped inspire the Gunners’ title charge this season, with Arteta describing Rice as ‘special’.

He said: ‘There were a lot of question marks and that’s something you have to overcome because they’re going to be looking at every stat and every movement that you make.’

Could we see Steve Cooper back in the Premier League in January?

Crystal Palace seem to be eyeing up a move for the former Nottingham Forest boss, who was replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo last week.

Much speculation is growing over Roy Hodgson’s future as the Eagles manager, after their 2-1 defeat by Chelsea was their eighth game without a win.

Mail Sport’s Sami Mokbel understands that Palace believe they are ‘clear’ to hire Cooper, without paying any compensation to Nottingham Forest.

Read the full report below!

After joining Al-Ittihad from Real Madrid in June in a huge three-year deal that is worth approximately £258million, things seem like they’re not going to plan for Karim Benzema.

While results on the pitch have left a lot to be desired, with the Saudi Pro League side losing 5-2 to Al-Hilal on Boxing Day, Benzema’s own fans have given him a new nickname…

Mikel Arteta has urged Arsenal’s transfer bosses to act quickly in the transfer window.

The Arsenal boss believes his side are ‘really short’ of players and is hoping to snap up reinforcements to help bolster the Gunners’ squad after losing Takehiro Tomiyasu, Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Fabio Vieira.

Arteta said: ‘Well at the moment, it is very difficult. We are really short. We have positions that we have been very exposed for the last six weeks and hopefully we are going to get players back.’

Sean Dyche claims he believes in Everton’s squad as he speaks out on the club’s plans for the January transfer window.

The Toffee’s manager today admitted that the club had been ‘skinning down’ certain areas of its squad for financial reasons before adding he was keen not to ensure the club lost many players during the window.

‘I knew when I got here the squad was overloaded and had to be skinned down in certain areas. We did that for literal and financial reasons.

‘Finding the balance, we’ve done that pretty well, that’s the reality of it. We’re managing bodies, the players and output, that put a stretch on it. We believe in the squad and the players we’ve got, we move forward and I believe in them, that’s the biggest thing for me.’

On other clubs eyeing up Everton’s players, Dyche said: ‘In one way it’s a backhanded compliment, not many were speaking about the players when I got here and now they are. That’s pleasing, the player’s development and the clubs recent development to make sure we’re on a better foothold. It’s a compliment in a way but I don’t think there’s a reality in them stories.’

Since joining Man City back in 2022 for £45million, Phillips has made 31 appearances and scored one goal in all competitions for Man City.

He’s made a meagre 10 appearances this season for the Treble winners, with Phillips having struggled for game time under Pep Guardiola.

For the 28-year-old, getting game time under his belt is pivotal for his improvement and while he can stay and learn under the Spanish manager, an initial loan move away from City would certainly be beneficial for him to get back out on the pitch.

Phillips is currently being linked with a move to Newcastle who are ‘confident’ that they can land their man in January.

Dominic Solanke is in flying form for Bournemouth at the minute, having notably scored 13 goals in all competitions this season, notably bagging himself a hat-trick against Nottingham Forest last week before scoring against Fulham on Boxing Day.

And his performances have caught the attention of Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, who is eyeing the English striker up as a long-term successor to Harry Kane, according to reports.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s clash against West Ham on tonight, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta gave an insight into how the January window may look for his side.

Yeah we have certain targets and ideas. We don’t know how the squad is going to look in two weeks time. It’s a very tricky market that shifts quite quickly.

On whether Arsenal will be willing to let any one go in January, Arteta said that his side will be moving cautiously in that regard, with his side being exposed to some squad weaknesses in the past few weeks.

At the moment it’s very difficult. We are really short. There are positions where we’ve been exposed in the last few weeks. Hopefully we’ll get play ers back – in what condition and when that’s a different condition.

Ange Postecoglou has admitted that he wants to get his business in the Janauary transfer window done quickly as he looks to refresh his injury-hampered squad.

Cristian Romero will join a long injury list of players at Spurs, with Ivan perisic, Manor Solomon, Micky van de Ven, James Maddison all set to be sidelined for some time.

That has been worsened by players including Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma leaving the club to represent their international sides.

It has prompted boss Ange Postecoglou to think about what signings he needs to make in the January transfer window, with the Australian football manager admitting that he wants to get business done early.

Mail Sports’ Matt Barlow has the full story below…

According to Fabrizio Romano, Hannibal Mejbri is not going to the Africa Cup of Nations, with the Tunisian international reportedly attracting interest from Sevilla, Olympique Lyon and Freiburg.

Romano also claims talks to extend his deal at Old Trafford are ‘currently underway’.

Concerns have risen over the fitness of Chelsea’s summer signing Romeo Lavia who was injured during his club debut against Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.

Noni Madueke’s 89th minute goal helped the Blues secure a late victory, with Lavia coming off the bench to play 32 minutes for Mauricio Pochettino’s side after signing for the club for £58million earlier in the summer.

Having been ruled out for the first part of the season, it appears he may have picked up another injury during the game, with the Chelsea manager saying: ‘I’m a little bit worried about Lavia. He finished with some issues, but I hope it’s not a big issue.’

Mail Sport’s Oli Gamp has the full story below…

Everton suffered a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night.

While the Toffees were on the ascendency, following their 10-point deduction by the Premier League, they had risen to becoming one of the form teams in the competition, winning four games on the bounce.

Despite that they’ve suffered three defeats in their last three outings across all competitions, with the Toffees now 17th in the table, one- point off the relegation zone.

Amid the construction of their new stadium, Everton are currently working on a much tighter budget than we have seen them before, with their director of football Kevin Thelwell advising fans this week not expect ‘a great deal of transfer business’ in January.

He said, according to the Liverpool Echo: ‘The evolution of a squad can be a challenge when fiscal prudence is also a key factor. But progress and financial diligence can be delivered together.

‘And so, as we look to January, I can assure you that, whilst there may not be a great deal of transfer business taking place in the coming weeks, it does not mean the hard work is not continuing.’

While Ange Postecoglou wants to get deals in the door quickly, it seems other sides are predicting things to be a little slower in January.

Eddie Howe is preparing to do business later on in the window, rather than at the beginning.

The Magpies have a raft of injuries and the Newcastle boss admitted his team would be analysing whether they need to bolster their squad or can hold out until they return.

Nick Pope, who recently dislocated his shoulder, harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy are among those sidlined at the moment, while Sandro Tonali is currently serving a 10-month ban after breaching betting rules.

When asked on whether his side’s long injury list was something that had changed his mind about what’s needed in January, Howe said: ‘Not currently because we’re still in the process of analysing who is coming back and when.’

Man United goalkeeper Andre Onana has been named in Cameroon’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

It comes after he was involved in rows with manager Rigobert Song that led to him being booted out of their 2022 World Cup squad.

With Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton waiting in the wings, United are well covered for back-up options between the sticks and could look to strengthen their squad elsewhere.

According to Correio da Manha, United are ‘mulling a move for Viktor Gyokeres’ of Sporting Lisbon.

The forward has an £87million release clause after he signed for the Portuguese outfit from Coventry City in the summer.

The Spanish champions are reportedly ready to let Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto leave the club at the end of the season.

Rather than tieing them down to new contracts, Football Espana claim that the pair are set to be released instead of keeping them on.

Despite that, LaLiga rivals Atletico Madrid are rumoured to be keen on acquiring the pair – having previously shown an interest in Alonso earlier this summer.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has insisted he is looking to make some quick signings in the January transfer window, amid injuries to key players.

Spurs currently have a raft of key players out of action, with their squad set to be depleated even further with Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma all set to depart the club in the coming months for international tournaments.

Cristian Romero, meanwhile is set to be ruled out of action for several weeks due to a hamstring strain, while Ivan perisic, Rodrigo Bentancur, Micky van de Ven and James Maddison, amongst others are all out with injury.

‘We’ll tackle it like we’ve tackled everything else,’ Postecoglou said on the upcoming transfer window. ‘We’ve just got to get on with it.

‘You can see other clubs going through it as well. We’ve been going through it for quite a while, but I like the attitude everyone is taking internally.

‘We’ve still been disappointed with our losses, still disappointed if we’re not playing our football. That’s the most important thing.

‘I like the fact we’re winning games and playing decent football without some of those players.’

Amid what’s been an up and down season for the central defender, Raphael Varane has struggled to string together a consistent run of games.

Amid several injuries and a drop-off in form, Varane has now only managed five Premier League starts so far this season, with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof both being favoured over the French defender.

But it now appears Bayern Munich and Real Madrid could be set to battle it out for Varane.

Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund has recently been vocal on their hopes to sign a new defender and the Bundesliga champions could have a budget of around £20million to spend on a new defender.

Hello and welcome to our transfer news live blog for today!

It’s nearly that time of year again and were less than a couple of days out until the start of the January transfer window.

And we’re seeing a lot of speculation arising already on some big deals, with Kalvin Phillips making headlines recently amid links that Newcastle could be interested in signing him on loan for the remainder of the season.

Eddie Howe’s side are reportedly ‘confident that a deal can be finalised’ and are hoping to get a loan switch done as quickly as possible.