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Liverpool are pressing ahead in their hunt for new signings and could now turn to a star who Hugo Ekitike has previously shown admiration for due to their blistering pace.

Liverpool keen to support Arne Slot in transfer window

Arne Slot has endured a frustrating campaign in charge of Liverpool, and they have failed to replicate their exploits of last season, finding themselved in a battle for Champions League qualification.

Arsenal and Manchester City may well be out of reach, albeit stranger things have happened, but the Reds know that bringing in new faces during the January window will be pivotal if they are to stake a claim for silverware in any competition.

Defensively, both Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi and Rennes defender Jeremy Jacquet have been earmarked by Liverpool, with their rearguard becoming more of a priority amid Geovanni Leoni’s absence.

England international Adam Wharton is also a long-term Reds target. However, it is difficult to envisage the Eagles parting ways with someone they value at around £61 million in mid-season.

Nine matches unbeaten before Liverpool’s trip to Arsenal may sound commendable. Nevertheless, there have been four draws within that run, and tougher tests against the likes of Newcastle United and Manchester City remain to come in the next few weeks.

Some supporters have lamented the tempo of Slot’s football this campaign and others have questioned the mentality of his side. Either way, it is always difficult to defend the Premier League title, and they are hardly the only club to ever experience second season syndrome.

Now, the Dutchman appears primed to fight back against recent events as Liverpool plot a move for a winger who could eventually become Mohamed Salah’s replacement.

Liverpool preparing bid for Bradley Barcola

According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are preparing an offer of over £86 million to sign Paris Saint-Germain winger Bradley Barcola and the Frenchman is keen to leave his current employers after his minutes were compromised under Luis Enrique.

Attracted to the possibility of a move to Anfield, Barcola has registered five goals and three assists in 22 appearances this term, though he has only started nine Ligue 1 matches out of a possible 16.

Related Liverpool now tracking £35m Guehi alternative who's been dubbed Saliba 2.0

The Reds desperately need a centre-back

Posts ByTom Cunningham

Labelled “crazy fast” by countryman and potential future teammate Ekitike, the 23-year-old has created 19 chances and completed 19 successful dribbles on league duty this term, per Fotmob, thriving against his marker in the French top-flight.

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Notably, strained relations between Slot and Liverpool icon Salah may lead to the Egyptian star departing in the near future, and Barcola has been identified as the man to bring pace, power and explosivity to their forward line should the former decide to call time on his glorious Anfield stay.

Barcola is clearly open to a change of scenery and there is potentially room for him on Merseyside, albeit it remains to be seen whether a deal can be forced over the line in January.

More defenders, Mikel, are you sure? When Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie and Cristian Mosquera over the summer, you could hear the ironic laughs.

The Gunners did bolster their forward line during the last transfer window but very rarely does a market go by without Mikel Arteta spending on the defence.

Well, thank heavens they did. Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White have already missed a decent portion of the season while William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Cristian Mosquera have also missed matches due to injury.

It’s left Arsenal in a tricky spot. Christian Norgaard filled in at centre-back against Club Brugge a few weeks ago while Declan Rice even featured at right-back against Brighton last weekend.

Therefore, it’s unsurprising that they’re targeting more defenders heading into 2026.

Games played by Arsenal defenders – 2025/26

Player

Games

Mins played

William Saliba

19

1,535

Gabriel

17

1,356

Jurrien Timber

24

1,848

Piero Hincapie

12

771

Riccardo Calafiori

20

1,493

Cristhian Mosquera

16

823

Ben White

12

604

Myles Lewis-Skelly

19

829

Marli Salmon

1

7

Arsenal chasing highly-rated defender

Despite injuries, Arsenal’s backline looks well set up for the future.

Mosquera has walked into the Arsenal team with relative ease and ensured that when Saliba was absent, he wasn’t hugely missed. The way in which the young Spanish defender performed at Anfield on his first start in the 1-0 defeat at the start of the season spoke volumes.

Combine his presence with Hincapie’s breakthrough, both at centre-back and left-back, and you sense Arteta has plenty of ways he can configure his backline.

Add another defender to the party and his options become even more dreamy.

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Reports from Fabrizio Romano back in the summer suggested that Arsenal had an interest in Rennes centre-half Jeremy Jacquet.

Well, according to Caught Offside, that interest very much remains. They claim that he is on the club’s shortlist heading into 2026 and that ‘informal discussions’ about the player have taken place regarding the player’s situation.

The report does state, however, that no bid has been made yet.

Jacquet is valued at around £35m according to reports back in November. It’s a high price for a 20-year-old defender but certainly one worth paying. For context, Saliba cost £27m as an 18-year-old and look at him now.

Why Jacquet would be a good signing

If Arsenal added the young French centre-back to their squad, then believe it or not, their defence would get even better.

This is a player very much cut from a similar cloth as Saliba. Like Arsenal’s number 2, he made his breakthrough as a teenager in Ligue 1 and has been earning rave reviews since.

He is yet to be capped at international level but it surely won’t be long before the young centre back makes his way into Didier Deschamps’ squad. A move to Arsenal might well propel his chances.

Already described as a player with “top five centre-back in the world potential” by scout Ben Mattinson, fellow scout Jacek Kulig suggests he’s an “insane centre-back in the making.” It’s easy to see why.

Like Saliba, he plays in an effortless manner. His composure for someone so young is incredible. As Mattinson further outlines, he “plays with a maturity beyond his years.”

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Similarly to Saliba, he’s also got lengthy strides that not only help him to recover quickly and eat up ground swiftly, but it also means he’s particularly strong in the ground duel, winning 62% of his ground battles this season and 60% in 2024/25.

Not just content with being difficult to beat inside his own box, Jacquet also has a bit of Gabriel about him. He’s a “dominant” presence from set-pieces, according to Mattinson, only adding further allure to this young defender.

Said to be “scarily talented” by Mattinson, there is very little the Rennes sensation cannot do. From the same academy as PSG superstar Desire Doue, there is plenty to like about this 20-year-old.

If Arsenal can get their hands on him for as small a price as £35m, they’ll have Europe’s next top centre back, someone ready and waiting to replace Saliba.

Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc may yet be available for the tour of New Zealand early next year after examination of his broken right foot revealed he does not require surgery and will be able to resume training in less than a month.Starc suffered a stress fracture in the third metatarsal of his right foot, something the assistant coach Craig McDermott said may have been as a result of compensating for the painful “impingement” or bone spurs in his heel/ankle. That issue has been affecting Starc since the first Test of the Ashes series earlier this year.Apart from a brief, brave appearance while batting on the second afternoon, Starc has cut a disconsolate figure with crutches and a “moon boot” to support the injured foot. However McDermott said early fears about his availability for next year’s early assignments had eased. Nevertheless, Australia must find other pace resources against West Indies in Tests and India in ODIs before the New Zealand tour.”He’s got a crack on the top of his foot,” McDermott told ABC Grandstand radio. “He’s had a heel impingement which may have affected that, who knows, trying to compensate for landing on his heel he may have put more pressure on the front of his foot and that’s eventuated in a crack.”The good news for us is it’s not going to be as long as we thought, so he’s going to be out for three weeks and then we can work on him from there. Hopefully we can get him up for the New Zealand series and the World Twenty20 where he’s ranked No. 1 in the world.”All the way through England and the one-day series he’s had his heel impingement. In the last 12 months he’s done an unbelievable job.”Running his eye over Australia’s bowling stocks, McDermott mentioned the West Australian Nathan Coulter-Nile – suspended this week from Sheffield Shield cricket on a dissent charge – in addition to James Pattinson. He also spoke approvingly of Joel Paris and Billy Stanlake, though admitting both needed more match experience.”James Pattinson went back to Perth and he gets to bowl tomorrow, the Vics are batting today, he was pretty close to playing here, so with him back we’ve got our three quicks and Mitchell Marsh,” McDermott said. “After that we’ve got Nathan Coulter-Nile, if he can keep his tongue wired it would be great, and then we can get him involved if he bowls well enough as well.”Certainly we wouldn’t want too many more injuries, because then we get down past the blokes who are bowling 140kph plus, and that’s the way we like to put our bowling attack together. Joel Paris is very skilful in all formats, he’s had a bad run of injuries … he just needs to make sure his pace is up. Billy’s got the pace, but we need to get him through a fair bit more cricket before he gets into this sort of arena.”Australia’s captain Steven Smith said that Starc would be missed, and also revealed that Peter Siddle had been battling against a back spasm for much of this match. While Siddle is expected to be fine for the first of thee Tests against West Indies in Hobart starting December 10, Smith forecast careful management of Australia’s pace bowling resources over the remainder of the summer.”He’s had a bit of a flare-up in his back the last couple of days actually, so he’s done a terrific job to be able to fight through that and everything else that’s gone on this week to give a performance like he did,” Smith said of Siddle. “To take 200 Test wickets it’s a great feat and he should be really proud.”It was tough to lose someone of the calibre of Mitchell Johnson, and Starc’s been bowling exceptionally well. It was nice to see Joshy Hazlewood step up and really bowl well in this game, it’ll give him a lot of confidence going forward. He’s had a big workload over the last little bit as well.”We’re going to have to have a look at that, we don’t want to break him, we’ve got a lot of cricket to play coming up in the next couple of months, so it might be a bit of a mixed load among a couple of players.”The Australian Test squad for Hobart is expected to be announced on Tuesday.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) are the favourites to qualify for next year’s Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, when the East Asia-Pacific qualifier begins in Vanuatu on Wednesday. Just one place is available.It will be the first of five regional qualifying tournaments to be played up to the end of August – with one qualifying place up for grabs from each. Europe’s will be held in Belfast from 23-26 July, the Americas in Toronto from 13-18 August, Asia’s in Malaysia from 20-29 August and Africa’s in Benoni from 25-30 August.In all, 31 teams will take part, with the five winners joining the ten Full Members and Malaysia for the main event which starts on 17 February where Pakistan will aim to complete a hat-trick of titles. They beat West Indies in the 2004 final, and India last year. PNG failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cups, but played in the two previous competitions.The other three teams are Japan, Vanuatu and Fiji. Vanuatu is one of the six Affiliates taking part in the tournaments with the others being Qatar, Afghanistan, Oman, the Bahamas and Ghana.It will be Japan’s debut appearance at this level after becoming an Associate in 2005, while Fiji was the host of the previous EAP Qualifier when it was staged in 2001.The president of Vanuatu Cricket Association, Mark Stafford, said the tournament will provide a valuable boost for the growth of the sport in Vanuatu. He said: “We have focused on developing our junior cricket programs and structures, and hosting the EAP U/19 Qualifier complements our ambitions to cultivate a strong junior base.”The tournament also has the backing of the Vanuatu Government, with the Minister for Youth Development and Training, the Honourable Dunstan Hilton offering his support. “We have been a long time supporter of cricket in Vanuatu. We realise how important this tournament is to continuing the development of the sport.”On the opening day, Japan will take on PNG at the Kazaa Field while the Independence Park will host Fiji and Vanuatu. The top two teams will play for the title with the winner earning a ticket to Malaysia.Vanuatu Andrew Mansale, Trevor Langa, Frederick Timakata, Simpson Hopeman Obed, Lazaro Carlot, Johnathan Dunn, Brendan Gabriel Francis Piau-Lynch, Steven Mark Piau-Lynch, Trevor Rambay, Patrick Kaltaneaki Matautaava, Henry Chilia, Silou Delarue, Selwyn Garae, Victor Aru.Fiji Josefa Rika (capt), Maciu Babiau (vice-captain), Viliame Yabaki, Peni Dakainivanua, Sekope Biauniceva, Makutu Seru, Viliame Manakiwai, Coqabula Waqabaca, Tukana Tavo, Patrick Tuidraki, Vilikesa Nailolo, Joni Dauveipapitaiso, Gaurang Patel, Enoch Tamani.Japan Kodai Hirano, Takumi Nomura, Naoki Kamatani, Naotsune Miyaji, Masahiro Azuma, Ryo Ikeba, Hideyo Ishida, Taketeru Yoshida, Shohei Okuma, Yosuke Higashimoto, Naoki Toyoda, Naoki Hayashi, Jiro Takenaka, Raheel Kano.Papua New Guinea Tony Pala Ura, Heni Siaka, Tanti Heni, Joel Tom, Miller Rabura, Alfred Amini, Colin Terian Amini, Arua Vagi Dikana, Jonathan Diho, Jason Kila, Loa Nou, Jacob Morea Mado, Harry Eua, Willie Toua Gavera.

Scorecard

Trinidad & Tobago’s hero William Perkins with his Man-of-the-Match award © Joseph Jones

Trinidad and Tobago secured a berth in the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20 tournament with a comprehensive 46-run win against Barbados. In a match postponed by a day because of rain, T&T eased to victory as Barbados folded up for 96 chasing a target of 143. The Trinidad duo of Nicholas Ramjass, the left-arm spinner, and Keiron Pollard, the medium pacer, shared six wickets between them and skittled out the last five Barbados wickets for only 17 runs.Earlier, Barbados sent Trinidad in to bat and the openers William Perkins and Mario Belcon got off to a good start, adding 69. However, they were pegged back by a double strike by West Indies fast bowler Ian Bradshaw, who got the important wickets of Perkins and Daren Ganga. With the score at 79 for 4, Shazam Babwah resurrected the innings with 25, taking his side to 142 for 9. Bradshaw was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets while Fidel Edwards chipped in with two.Barbados stumbled early, losing both openers by the fourth over, before Jason Haynes and Floyd Reifer got things going with a 28-run stand for the third wicket. However, they succumbed to some tight bowling and fielding, with Haynes edging a wide delivery to the wicketkeeper. Ramjass and Pollard then took over to dismiss Barbados cheaply, with the last seven batsmen failing to get into double figures.Trinidad will meet Nevis in the semi-final on August 11.
Scorecard

Man of the Match Esuan Crandon collects his $25,000 cheque from Allen Stanford © Joseph Jones

Guyana held their nerve in a tense encounter against Jamaica to reach the semi-finals of the Stanford 20/20 tournament with a three-wicket win. Requiring 38 with three wickets in hand, Imran Khan and Andre Percival guided Guyana home with an over to spare.Jamaica opted to bat first in a match postponed from Friday due to rain, and posted a challenging 163 for 6, with contributions by Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels and Wavell Hinds. Esuan Crandon led the reply with 71, an innings which contained 12 fours and a six. Guyana were going along well before Jermaine Lawson pegged them back with three quick wickets. Crandon kept his side in the game but Jamaica sensed an opportunity after his dismissal, with the score at 126 for 7. However, Khan and Percival played positively to take their side homeGuyana will meet Grenada in their semi-final on August 10.

The last twelve months has been a momentous period of time in the life of Somerset all rounder Ian Blackwell whose rise to the top in cricketing circles has been meteoric.This time last year the twenty four year old was itching to get the season started after spending the winter of 2001-2 working in the office at the County Ground in Taunton.During the past winter `Blackie’ spent time with the England Academy in Adelaide, made his One Day International debut and played in the World Cup in South Africa, and has come a long way in a short space of time.The former Derbyshire player reflected on the past year when I spoke to him recently. He said: “I was disappointed not to go on the Academy in 2001-2 but I worked very hard during the winter and was determined to make up for it, which I am pleased to say has happened.”He continued: ” I started the 2002 season very well, and got a hundred against Yorkshire in the opening championship match here, which was watched by Duncan Fletcher, and I think it was that which led to me being short listed for the Academy last winter, and then I had a very successful season, scoring 900 runs at an average of almost 40.”`Blackie’ went on: “I got my England chance when Andrew Flintoff got injured, so you could say that his injury was a blessing in disguise for me. I was very pleased to go to Sri Lanka and get runs against India, and then to be selected for the one dayers in Australia.”I asked how he felt playing for England.”It was strange experience really because I wouldn’t say that I felt nervous, in fact I feel worse when I go out to bat in front of the Taunton crowd. It felt kind of surreal to be playing against names that I had only seen on the television. It was a great eye opener, and you have to experience it to appreciate how big a step it is up from county cricket. At that level there are no `gimme’ bowlers, you are made to work hard for ever run you get. It’s much quicker, and the fielding is much sharper,” he told me.Looking back over his eventful winter he told me; “It was a valuable experience for me, and I was one of the best one day bowlers for England. I was very pleased with the way that I adapted, although there is still some work to do, but I didn’t do myself justice with the bat.”With regard to 2003 he told me: “Hopefully I played well enough to suggest that there is a place for me in the England squad and that I will get my chance in the triangular tournament during the summer. There’s nothing like walking out in front of a crowd of 50,000 it gives you a real buzz, and it’s why we play cricket. It’s an experience you can’t buy.”On the eve of the championship opener how did he think Somerset would fare. “I am very optimistic about the season. Everyone has worked very hard during the winter and in the early season matches and everybody knows exactly what is expected. Let’s hope that we can get straight back up to where we belong and that is in the top division, but there are a lot of good teams in Division Two. We need to play well in the early matches and give ourselves a good platform to work from,” he told me.Judging by his early season from with both bat and ball Ian Blackwell is primed and ready for the first championship match at Bristol that starts at the end of this week.

Northerns 5 for 0 trail Easterns 306 (Cullinan 61, Koenig 51, Z de Bruin 51, Jennings 50, Thomas 4-67) by 301 runs
ScorecardThe top-of-the-table clash at SuperSport Park in Centurion ended evenly at the end of the first day, with Easterns getting 4.12 batting points and Northerns getting 4.0 with the ball. Winning the toss and batting, Easterns lost an early wicket, but consolidated well with Sven Koenig, Zander de Bruin, Daryll Cullinan and Dylan Jenning making half-centuries. Alfonso Thomas kept Northerns in the game with a fine spell of bowling, ending the innings with 4 for 67. At close Northerns were 5 for no loss.Boland 48 for 0 trail Gauteng 228 (Ackerman 47, de Lange 7-48) by 180 runs
ScorecardAt Randjesfontein Gauteng, after winning the toss, came under the hammer from Boland, being bowled out for 228 on a faily placid pitch. At one point Gauteng had been coating on 144 for 4, but Con de Lange turned things around for Boland. Coming on as the third-change bowler, de Lange bowled himself to a career best 7 for 48 as the batsmen struggled to come to turn with his left-arm orthodox spinners. At close Boland totaled 48 without loss.

A New South Wales disciplinary hearing tonight suspended bowler Stuart MacGill for two interstate games for a breach of the players code of conduct in yesterday’s ING Cup win over Tasmania.MacGill will miss the vital Pura Cup match against Victoria, beginning in Melbourne on February 5, and the ING Cup one-dayer against Victoria on February 5.The Test leg spinner was found guilty of unbecoming behaviour and using crude and abusive language.

The Gabba will showcase a bumper season of international cricket this summer with confirmation today that Brisbane will host a One Day International between Australia and India in September.The Australian Cricket Board today announced the three-match Super Challenge Series between Australia and India would be held in September, with two matches indoors at Melbourne’s Colonial Stadium and the third at the Gabba.The two matches in Melbourne will be played on September 21 and 23 while the Gabba match, a day/night game, will be held on Wednesday, September 26.Negotiations between Queensland Cricket and the Brisbane Lions have provided the Lions with the opportunity to train at the Gabba prior to any possible AFL Grand Final appearance.Queensland Cricket Chief Executive Officer Graham Dixon today expressed gratitude to the Lions for their support in ensuring the match was played at the Gabba.”We have met on several occasions with the Lions and the Brisbane Cricket Ground Trust about the feasibility of playing this match and have established a great deal of common ground on this and other issues regarding the use of the Gabba," he said.”This level of co-operation has also allowed Queensland Cricket to recommend dates to the Australian Cricket Board that will enable the Lions to play Ansett Cup matches at the Gabba in February and March as well as provide for any cricket Finals at the ground."”Thanks to the efficiency of the curator Kevin Mitchell Junior, we are very confident in the ground’s ability to deal with these scenarios," Dixon said.Australia’s tour of India earlier this year generated record levels of interest and with the world champion Australian team fresh from its Ashes campaign, the return match-up of the two teams is set to create similar attention.The announcement means that the Gabba will host the Australian limited overs team twice during the 2001-2002 season, with the traditional January one day weekend pitting Australia against arch-rivals South Africa as part of the VB tri series which will also feature New Zealand.Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and record-breaking VVS Laxman are expected to form part of the Indian contingent while Australian captain Steve Waugh said today that Australia would field the strongest team available.

Celtic had a massive overhaul during the previous summer transfer window with Ange Postecoglou moving a number of players out of the club and replacing them with a lot of new faces.

Now with the upcoming summer window in mind, it appears as though the Hoops could be set to say goodbye to one of their current figures in a rather uncouth manner.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Greek publication Onlarissa (via Football.Scotland), Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas has demanded to leave the Parkhead club this summer.

Since arriving at Celtic Park back in the 2020 summer transfer window from Greek club AEK Athens in a deal worth a reported fee of £4.5m, the shot-stopper has only made 24 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions where he’s managed to concede 23 goals in the process.

Get rid of Barkas

This season has seen the 27-year-old make just two appearances for the Hoops. The first came in their 1-1 draw against FC Midtjylland in the first leg of the second round Champions League qualifying stage where he committed a “catastrophic” error according to Michael Stewart. That was followed by his only league appearance against St. Johnstone on Boxing Day where he also failed to keep a clean sheet.

As well as only making two appearances for the club in this campaign, the Greece international hasn’t even been in the squad for most of the time, highlighting just where he is in terms of the current pecking order under Postecoglou.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the player would want a move away from the club, presumably to somewhere he’d be able to play regularly rather than waste his time with the Bhoys where his chances to play have been few and far between in recent months.

Also, taking into account what he’s done for the team when he has played or hasn’t done in terms of conceding fewer goals, it wouldn’t seem likely that many Celtic fans would be sad to see the back of him, with some potentially overjoyed by the idea of having him gone.

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Taking all of this into account, Postecoglou now has the chance to fix the nightmare blunder that Nick Hammond made by bringing Barkas to the club in the first place by finally getting the £20k-per-week earner off their books and out the door this summer.

In other news: Sold at £7m, now a 492 goal “beast”: Celtic will rue call on “world-class” 6ft5 “lion”