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Liverpool are not the same team that they were last season. Quite literally. Many changes were rung before the 2025/26 campaign, and perhaps Arne Slot and co have bitten off more than they can chew as the Merseyside outfit struggle for fluency and form enough to secure

Forget the Premier League title. Liverpool are not stable enough, and they have too many holes across the backline. Defensively, it’s been a bit of a mess this year.

Liverpool did sign a centre-half last summer. In August, sporting director Richard Hughes wrapped up a £27m deal for Parma prospect Giovanni Leoni. The Italian is billed as one of the most talented young defenders in the world, but he ruptured his ACL on his Reds debut.

Loeni, 19, will be a key asset when he returns, but Liverpool cannot wait for reinforcements at the rear, with plans drawn ahead of the January transfer window, which is now upon us.

The latest on Liverpool's plans to sign a centre-back

Liverpool need a centre-back, with defensive mistakes and a lack of security and composure at the back forming the crux of the Anfield side’s problems.

It was a fantastic summer transfer window, but the failure to land Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace does appear to have come back to bite an imbalanced and discordant side.

Should Liverpool fail to secure Guehi’s signature at the end of the season (or in January), FSG have drawn plans to land Club Brugge rising star Joel Ordonez, with the Equadorian, 21, touted with a move to Merseyside last month.

Reports even stressed that the Reds are among the frontrunners, with Ordonez even described as “something remarkable” by talent scout Jacek Kulig.

After all, he scrubs up pretty cleanly against Virgil van Dijk; even if they play at different levels, it tells us something of the South American’s potential.

However, Liverpool remain intent on tying the struggling Ibrahima Konate down to a new deal, and with Leoni supposedly good enough to nail down a spot, the Reds may want to hold fire on their transfer plans, especially when one of the most exciting up-and-coming talents has quietly been secured.

Liverpool already have a future defensive superstar

As per transfer insider Ben Jacobs, Liverpool have agreed a deal with Austria Wien for the transfer of 17-year-old defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe at the end of the season.

The Austria youth international is a towering centre-back with a prodigious command of his technical faculties, already described as “one of the most exciting young talents” in his country by scout Jacek Kulig.

While he will be expected to link up with Rob Page’s U21 side, Ndukwe has made the bench on a number of occasions, and Slot has shown that he is willing to give young stars their debuts.

Youngest Liverpool Debutants under Arne Slot

Player

Competition

Age

Rio Ngumoha

FA Cup

16 yrs, 04 mths

Trey Nyoni

Carabao Cup

17 yrs, 04 mths

Trent Kone-Doherty

FA Cup

18 yrs, 07 mths

Giovanni Leoni

Carabao Cup

18 yrs, 09 mths

Amara Nallo

Champions League

18 yrs, 02 mths

Data via Transfermarkt

Hailed by journalist Bence Bocsak for his “really impressive” start to life on the major stage, the 6 foot 6 prospect is endowed with steely, snappy agility and natural prowess in the air.

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While Liverpool won’t want to overburden this young talent, he turns 18 in March and won’t arrive on Merseyside until the summer. And he’s got the right frame of character, having name-checked Van Dijk as his idol during an interview with Austrian television in October, also saying, “in five years I’ll be playing professionally in the Premier League.”

It looks like he’s on the fast-track with that one.

It is hardly out of the question that he could leapfrog a few and emulate Leoni by establishing himself in the senior side next season, perhaps allowin FSG to forget about an equally unpolished talent in Ordonez and maybe even Guehi too.

Related Their new Xabi Alonso: FSG want to sign £61m "cheat code" for Liverpool

Liverpool are in dire need of fresh quality amid a laborious campaign in Arne Slot’s system.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair

2026 can’t come soon enough, with Manchester United rounding off a dismal 2025 in desperate fashion following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with winless Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The start of a new year provides the chance for Ruben Amorim and co to turn over a new leaf, however, with the start of the January window also marking the perfect time to implement such change.

As the recent stalemate showcased, the United boss must surely consign his much-maligned 3-4-3 set-up to the past, with the same also perhaps true of midfield struggler, Manuel Ugarte.

The Uruguayan – who ranks in the top 1% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles per 90, as per FBref – can’t be faulted for effort, but his quality in possession is sorely lacking, having also scored just twice since his arrival back in August 2024.

Reportedly given a dressing down by Amorim following last season’s Europa League final, the 24-year-old is already on borrowed time, with midfield replacements now in the works.

Man Utd lining up potential Ugarte replacement

The suggestion was that after the Bilbao showpiece in May, in which Ugarte was an unused substitute, he was targeted by Amorim for looking like a different player to the one he had coached at Sporting CP.

Is there truly any way back from such criticism? Well, if recent reports are to be believed, perhaps not, with United said to be open to offers for their £42m signing.

Turkish giants Galatasaray are among those believed to be ready to strike in January, bringing a possible end to a disappointing 18 months in Manchester for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain man.

In need of midfield depth, the Daily Mail has named Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher as one of the players on INEOS’ January shortlist, with the Red Devils said to have already made an enquiry regarding the Englishman over the summer.

The report suggests that the 25-year-old would be available for a fee of around £35m, with Diego Simeone’s side unlikely to sanction a loan exit for the former Chelsea man.

Why Gallagher could be the perfect January signing for United

If the Istanbul-based interest in Ugarte does ramp up in the near future, there is an argument to be made that the Wolves draw could have been his final outing for the club, not least with Kobbie Mainoo nearing a return to action.

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Unfancied by Erik ten Hag from the off, the defensive-minded asset appears to lack the quality required to thrive at the elite level, with scout Liam Canning suggesting that he “doesn’t even look like a Premier League footballer”.

Gallagher, while cast off by Chelsea in the same summer as Ugarte arrived in Manchester, has at least proven he can thrive in England’s top tier, with his final season at Stamford Bridge proving particularly fruitful.

Indeed, the eye-catching all-rounder scored and assisted 16 goals in all competitions in 2023/24, while even captaining the Blues on occasion, with it having been of some surprise when he was moved on by Todd Boehly and co that summer.

The midfield “machine”, as hailed by ex-teammate Moises Caicedo, had first truly caught the eye while on loan at Crystal Palace in 2021/22, registering 13 goals and assists for the Eagles across league and cup.

That box-crashing quality has again been evident in the Spanish capital, with Gallagher chalking up 14 goals and assists in 75 games for the LaLiga side, having creditably made himself a reliable presence under the enigmatic Simeone.

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Unlike Ugarte, who has scored just six senior career goals, there is an end product to Gallagher’s game, while he too compares favourably in a defensive sense, after ranking in the top 3% for interceptions.

Conor Gallagher – LaLiga record

Stat (*per game)

25/26

24/25

Games

18

32

Starts

4

19

Goals

2

3

Assists

0

3

Big chances created

1

1

Key passes*

0.2

0.4

Pass accuracy*

90%

87%

Total duels won*

2.1

49%

Recoveries*

1.8

3.3

Stats via Sofascore

He is the type of player that United seemingly need in the centre of the park, someone who can win the ball back in high areas and press effectively, as shown by how he ranks in the top 5% of LaLiga midfielders for tackles won in the final third.

It’s fair to say he isn’t the creative type, ranking in just the bottom 23% for assists and bottom 34% for shot-creating actions, but with Bruno Fernandes and Amad in tow, that burden is already being shouldered elsewhere on the pitch.

Simply put, having witnessed Ugarte toil for so long now, Amorim just needs a Premier League-proven talent to re-energise the midfield department.

Related Amorim must never start £470k-p/w Man Utd duo together again after Wolves

Manchester United rounded off 2025 with a typically limp performance at Old Trafford.

Posts ByRobbie Walls

Saqib Ali with the trophy after UAE’s 67-run defeat of Oman in the final © ICC

With the four places in the World Cup Qualifier already allocated, there was only pride to play for on the final day of the World Cricket League Division Two in Namibia.In the final, openers Arshad Ali and Mohammad Iqbal scored centuries to steer UAE to a comfortable 67-run victory over Oman, the only affiliate in the competition, at the Wanderers Cricket Ground. Former captain Ali scored 133 while Iqbal hammered 111 as UAE posted 347 for 8 after being put into bat. Oman fought gallantly but lost wickets at crucial stages before being bowled out for 280 with more than six overs to spare.Ali and Iqbal laid the foundation for a mammoth total when they put on 200 for the first wicket in 29 overs. Ali, later adjudged Man of the Match, perished in the last over of the innings after scoring 133 off 145 balls, included 10 fours and two sixes. It was Ali’s second century of the week as he finished the tournament with 443 run from five matches. Only Namibia’s Gerrie Snyman, with 588 runs from one more match, as well as ten wickets, scored more.Oman made a valiant effort to protect their unbeaten record in the competition but UAE backed up their impressive batting display with some sharp fielding and accurate bowling. Left-arm spinner Khurram Khan bowled with a lot of variation to grab 3 for 42 while pace duo of Amjad Javed and Javed Ismail shared four wickets between them to keep Oman’s progress in check.In the third/fourth-place play-off at the United Cricket Ground, Namibia ended on a high with a four-wicket win over Denmark. Snyman was once again the star of Namibia’s victory as he scored yet another blistering innings. His 71 came off 68 balls and included eight boundaries and two sixes. However, Dawid Botha won the Man-of-the-Match award for his 58 as Namibia overtook the target of 221 with more than eight overs and four wickets to spare.In the fifth-six play-off between two sides already relegated, Uganda thrashed Argentina by 181 runs at the Centre for Cricket Development. Uganda’s opener Joel Olweny hit a superb century and put on 176 runs for the third wicket with Nand Patel to help Uganda to 335 for 7. Olweny struck 17 boundaries in his 130-ball innings while Patel scored an 82-ball 79 with nine fours and a six. Kenneth Kamyuka hit hard in the closing overs, clobbering six sixes and two fours in his 20-ball 57. The target proved to be too stiff for the Argentinians who were bowled out for 154 despite Donald Forrester hitting 71 from 80 balls with five boundaries. Frank Nsubuga was the pick of Uganda bowlers with 4 for 39 while Kamyuka bagged 3 for 44.By virtue of a top-four finish, UAE, Oman, Namibia and Denmark qualified for the World Cup Qualifier (formerly ICC Trophy) while Uganda and Argentina were relegated to Division Three. However, they will have a second chance to book a place in the Qualifier when the WCL Division 3 is staged in January 2009.

Jason Gillespie has been a force for South Australia © Getty Images

Jason Gillespie insists he is still one of Australia’s best bowlers and the selectors should stop looking at his age. Gillespie, 31, has not been included for any of Australia’s matches this season and he was surprised when Shane Harwood, who is a year older, was picked for the Twenty20 against England last week.”There’s this perception that I’m too old and it’s cr**,” Gillespie told the Sunday Mail. “They shouldn’t be discounting me because I’m one of the best bowlers in the country and they should be looking at me.”Gillespie, who is fourth on the Pura Cup wicket list with 20 at 22.90, said the current decisions “annoy me”. “The selectors talk about bringing youth into the side and then I look at the Twenty20 game and they pick Shane Harwood,” he said. “The perception is I’m older than I really am.”Age can’t be a factor. The selectors clearly feel I don’t fit into the Australian team’s plans. But I’m going to keep taking wickets and gradually eliminate their reasons for not picking me.”Despite his desire to return, Gillespie does not expect to be part of Australia’s next contract list. His last Test was in Bangladesh, when he scored 201 and was the Man of the Series, but he was overlooked for the Ashes series and the 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup.”It didn’t kill me to miss the Ashes but to not even be in the framework for selection was hard to accept,” he said. Gillespie, who has played 71 Tests, was initially dropped during the 2005 tour of England.”I’ve resigned myself to the fact I won’t be on the contract list,” he told the paper. “It shows how much they don’t rate me any more. I don’t think they even wanted to give me a CA contract this year but it would have looked silly not to give me one after my Test against Bangladesh.”It’s almost as if I’m a bit of a fall-back plan if the s*** hits the fan. It happened in Bangladesh. Glenn McGrath took time out, Shaun Tait and Michael Kasprowicz were injured and Stuart Clark missed the second Test and it was like, ‘s***, we’ve got no options left, we’ll just play Dizzy again’.”

Graeme Smith knows he must increase his productivity after the loss of Jacques Kallis © Getty Images

Adam Gilchrist, Australia’s most successful one-day opening batsman, is expected to be demoted to No. 7 when he returns to the side from a short holiday next week. The reports Trevor Hohns’ selection panel, which wants a stable combination before next year’s World Cup, has decided on the move after Gilchrist’s disappointing returns this summer.Gilchrist was slotted in at the top of the order on a Steve Waugh hunch in 1997-98 and since then he has blasted 7147 runs in 201 matches. However, he has struggled after the three Super Series games and scored only 24 runs in his past five matches, including a first-ball duck in Sunday’s loss to South Africa. However, Hohns said on Sydney radio he had no plans to shuffle Gilchrist down the line-up, and Ricky Ponting defended his team-mate.Brad Haddin will replace the resting Gilchirst when Australia face South Africa in Melbourne on Friday and Sri Lanka in Sydney on Sunday. The paper reported the selectors were keen to ease Gilchrist’s load and ensure stronger starts from the opening pair than during the VB and Chappell-Hadlee series. The candidates for Gilchrist’s opening spot alongside Simon Katich, who will miss Friday’s game against South Africa with a groin injury, include Michael Clarke, Damien Martyn and Michael Hussey. Martyn was given the first chance to cement a spot when he was named alongside Phil Jaques for the clash at the Telstra Dome.Another opener in need of runs is Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain who has not posted an international half-century on the tour. Smith, who was unlucky to be given out lbw for 3 in Tuesday’s loss to Sri Lanka, said it was important for the senior players to make contributions after the tour-ending injuries of Kallis, Nel and Ntini.”We’ve got a lot of young guys around and the guys who have been around for a little bit need to take a lot more weight on their shoulders,” he said in . “That includes me. It’s important for me to stand up and get performances.”

Gladstone Dainty, the president of the USA Cricket Association (USACA), has denied making a number of comments attributed to him in the media about the relationship between the ICC and the USACA.Following a letter from the ICC seeking clarification from Dainty on comments attributed to him, Dainty insisted the remarks were inaccurate and did not accurately reflect his views."I would like to make it perfectly clear that USACA board of directors and its executive officers unreservedly recognise the ICC as its parent organisation," he said. "It would be extremely silly not to want to do business with the ICC especially when it is for our benefit. Every member of the USACA board and executive committee are excited and looking forward to working with the ICC. We will not be distracted by any party whose interests are questionable."Dainty denied specific comments attributed to him in the media reports. He wrote: "I am not in a position to nor did I ever characterise the ICC’s position as unreasonable. I never attributed the leaking of any documents to the ICC … as a matter of fact I contacted a private attorney to seek assistance in determining who was leaking this information."I vehemently deny any statement attributed to me that speaks of any `lynching’. I see it as being counter-productive to our efforts to move Project USA forward. If I indeed felt that way I would never consider being part of such a diverse organisation as USACA. I am absolutely disgusted that such a statement has been published as one that I made."Dainty colcluded by saying that he would address the matter directly with the journalist that wrote the original article.

Leicestershire have announced that Garnett Kruger will join Brad Hodge as their second overseas player for the 2004 season.Kruger, a 26-year-old fast bowler who plays for Gauteng, is on the verge of the South African side. He was in the squad for the first Test against West Indies at Johannesburg last week, but didn’t make the starting XI.Kruger moved from Eastern Province during the close season, and has taken 141 first-class wickets at an average of 29.90.But it wasn’t all good news for Leicestershire, as it was also revealed that Luke Wright, an England Under-19 allrounder, had decided to leave the county.

A marathon innings of 75 from 276 balls by Joseph Yovich dominated the first day’s play between Northern Districts and Central Districts at WestpacTrust Park, Hamilton.However, the loss of three wickets in the last hour left CD ahead on points on a day which never got above second gear.It finished with ND 221/6, having won the toss.The pitch offered some movement early on, but with good pace and reliable bounce it is a good batting surface on which a first innings par score should be at least 300.In their last home State Championship game, lost to Wellington by one wicket, ND surrendered so many easy wickets that a white flag could have been flown over the changing room. Hence the emphasis on survival today.James Marshall and Matthew Hart weathered the new ball well, putting on 46 for the first wicket before Hart was caught by Mathew Sinclair at third slip off Lance Hamilton for 13.The appearance of Yovich at No 3 was a surprise. He had scored only 127 runs at 18.14 in this season’s State Championship before today. A resolute 51 not out against Auckland in the last round prompted ND to give him a chance higher up the order.Yovich scored 11 fours, but needs to develop the ability to move the score along with ones and twos in order to take the initiative away from the bowlers.Late in the day, CD were convinced that Yovich had been caught behind, but umpire Peter Wright ruled that the ball had come off the pad. That was the nearest Yovich came to losing his wicket in a remarkable display of concentration that met the terms of his job description completely.With Marshall, Yovich put on 67 for the second wicket. Marshall fell lbw to give Andrew Schwass his 31st wicket of the season.Michael Parlane would have been the man to increase the tempo from the other end while Yovich dug in, but he holed out to deep mid on for 13 off Glen Sulzberger.Hamish Marshall joined Yovich for a fourth wicket partnership of 72, but took the same attritional approach to batting.The off spinners Sulzberger and Campbell Furlong bowled a long spell in tandem, conceding less than two an over without looking threatening. Neither batsmen attempted to disrupt line and length by using their feet.With less than an hour to go it seemed that a secure platform had been built, ready for acceleration tomorrow, but everything changed when Hamilton returned with the new ball.The left-armer took three wickets for 10 runs in a six-over spell, finishing the day with four for 64 from 20 overs.Hamish Marshall was first to go, caught at third slip by Ben Smith for an 83-ball 35. Scott Styris followed, caught at third slip by Sinclair for four.Furlong completed the trio of slip catches, taking Grant Bradburn at the second attempt before the batsman had scored.Hamilton swung the ball and maintained an attacking length. Michael Mason also bowled well, at least a quarter of the 33 runs scored off his 20 overs coming off the edge. He was unlucky to finish wicketless.It is vital for ND that Yovich stays there to reach his maiden first-class hundred tomorrow and that the ND tail supports him well. Durability is an asset, but not an end in itself.The day was marked by the announcement that Simon Doull will be unavailable for selection for the rest of the season. Though he has not ruled out a return to one-day cricket next season, the tone of the press release suggested that this was the end of a most distinguished career for one of ND’s most loyal and effective players.A Doull cameo with the bat would have enlivened today’s proceedings no end.

England’s middle-order mainstay, Graham Thorpe, will not return to the one-day side at least until the final NatWest Series qualifying match against Australia at The Oval on June 21.The Surrey left-hander has been ruled out for a further week after failing to recover from calf trouble.He has so far missed all three of England’s one-day defeats after sustaining the injury in the warm-up to the opening game against Pakistan at Edgbaston last Thursday.It had been hoped that Thorpe would recover in time to face Australia intomorrow’s day-night match at Old Trafford, but with half an eye on the Ashes series England will not want to take any risks with him.If England fail to win tomorrow they will already have been ruled out of the June 23 final at Lord’s.

A second Australian women’s cricketer has been caught out betting on the game this summer, with Western Australia’s Piepa Cleary suspended for six months by Cricket Australia for placing bets on the day-night Test in Adelaide last November.Cleary, 19, placed six bets totalling $15.50 on various elements of the match between Australia and New Zealand, and like the previous transgressor, Angela Reakes, has been handed a suspended two-year ban.However, in this case, the CA head of integrity Iain Roy chose to activate the first six months of that ban due to several “aggravating circumstances” including the fact that Cleary had made the bets two months after being present at a face-to-face anti-corruption training session from CA head of security Sean Carroll.”We continue to remind all elite cricketers and officials that betting on any form of cricket is strictly prohibited,” Roy said. “It is outlined in the anti-corruption education that we deliver annually, and is written into our anti-corruption code.”Piepa has heard this message many times through the anti-corruption education sessions that we deliver and accepts that in placing the bets she exercised poor judgement. Bets totalling $15.50 might seem small but it doesn’t matter.”We take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of gambling on cricket by players in order to protect the integrity of the game. It has been made very clear that if Piepa breaches the code in any way again, she will receive a significantly lengthier suspension.”Christina Matthews, chief executive of the Western Australian Cricket Association (WACA), expressed her disappointment at Cleary’s actions. “We are naturally disappointed that one of our players has been involved in an incident such as this,” she said. “Cricket in this country is held in high regard for its integrity and it is important for the future of the sport that remains the case. The WACA understands and supports the sanctions that have been handed down in this instance.”Piepa will have to work hard to regain some respect from this incident, but she remains an important member of WA cricket and has taken responsibility for her actions.”CA has 16 official betting partners, all of which have signed up to “assist CA in its ongoing management of the integrity of CA competitions, by agreeing to information sharing and other integrity requirements specified by CA”.Like Reakes, Cleary will now be compelled to form part of CA’s anti-corruption player education programmes in the future, as an example of how not to behave.