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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Dominic Booth (later) David Tindall (for a bit) and John Brewin (earlier)

Transfer window: Sancho keen on Dortmund return, Ipswich loan Sarmiento – as it happened

Jadon Sancho Manchester United
Jadon Sancho of Manchester United.
Jadon Sancho could be on his way out of Manchester United. Photograph: Matthew Peters/Manchester United/Getty Images

Summary of the day

Well, that’s the end of a fairly quiet day in the January transfer window, the third day in which the market has been open for transfers, yet very little has been completed so far. Brighton’s Jeremy Sarmiento has joined Championship promotion-pushers Ipswich on loan for the rest of the season, Jadon Sancho appears to be heading in the direction of Borussia Dortmund, but aside from that it’s all chatter and chip-paper, as it the usual transfer way.

Liverpool and Arsenal could do some business at the sharp end of the Premier League, so we’ll roll on tomorrow to see if anything of the kind transpires. For now, get tea on, switch on the darts and/or The Traitors (you will thank me later) and have a good evening. We’ll be back in the morning. Bye!

More on Arsenal now and the Mirror's John Cross has reported today that January deals will prove difficult to do, although the club are keen to move for Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, most likely in the summer.

It seems Mohamed Elneny could be the man to make way in the Gunners’ squad for a new arrival. Zubimendi has been touted for a switch to the Emirates for a good few months.

Roll up, roll up for the latest Football Daily, which has just dropped:

Arsenal fans are getting very excited over on Twitter X about the prospect of their club signing Dusan Vlahovic.

The links are quite tenuous at this stage. But that never stopped anybody, in fairness …

Manchester United are never far away when the January rumour mill starts its grind, are they?

According to reports in Spain, United are admirers of Valencia’s Javi Guerra and have made the player aware of their interest after “extremely positive” scouting reports on the 20-year-old midfielder.

This might be one for the summer, rather than January, with United likely to be restricted to loans this month while waiting for INEOS to take full control, as well as FFP and all that jazz.

Lawrence Shankland is the big name from Scottish football who appears to have no end of January suitors. Would he made the grade in the Championship? He’s been razor-sharp for Hearts, scoring 18 goals in all competitions so far this season.

Brazilian football expert Tim Vickery has been speaking on talkSPORT this afternoon, expressing his confusion that Liverpool haven’t pursued a move for young midfield sensation André. Apparently there’s some consternation in Brazil that Fulham are now most interested in the young tyro. Brazilian pundits think he’s better than Douglas Luiz, just 22 and with a very bright future.

Ed Aarons of this parish did name the Fluminense player as one who could get a big juicy move this month. André could be the jewel in some club’s January crown.

Is Danny Ings a classic case of a ‘what might have been’ footballer? Tony Hughes, emailing in, thinks so, amid those Wolves transfer links:

Football is a fickle old world. It never quite happened for Danny Ings, did it? Injury-blighted time at Liverpool, nearly man at Aston Villa, seemingly unwanted by David Moyes at West Ham. A smattering of England games.

While he never looked like a Klopp or Emery player, he seemed like a Moyes player to me. Hopefully he can become a Gary O’Neil player.

Away from transfers for just a second to ponder the Fifpro men’s XI nominees and ask why on earth Cristiano Ronaldo is still in this conversation?

Some chatter out of Liverpool suggests they will seek new loans for Fábio Carvalho and Rhys Williams after the duo endured underwhelming temporary stays at RB Leipzig and Aberdeen respectively.

Nat Phillips is also back on Merseyside after a spell at Celtic, but the word is that he could be kept in Jürgen Klopp’s squad as defensive cover given that Joël Matip is out for the season. Joe Gomez is currently filling in at left back in the absence of Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas.

Tottenham aren’t going to get gazumped on Radu Dragusin, are they?

Xavi has played down the prospect of Barcelona dealing big in this January window. Their financial issues mean sales are far more likely than major incomings, unfortunately for the Catalans.

Xavi said: “Haaland or Mbappé? We can’t think of Haaland or Mbappé to join Barça now. We can’t afford these players, unfortunately. I’m happy with the players I have. We need to reach our best level as at this club we need to be always at top level.”

Barça have been linked with the wonderfully named (nicknamed, to be fair) Messinho, a 16-year-old talent from Palmeiras, whose real name is Estevão Willian.

An astute email comes in from James Carpenter on our Saudi Pro League discussion:

Afternoon, my understanding is that clubs in Saudi Arabia are restricted to eight foreign players each, and it appears each club already filled that quota in the summer window. So any new incomings would need to be matched by players leaving. There are a few foreign players who are on the books of Saudi clubs but who weren’t registered (eg Jota, formerly of Celtic).

Danny Ings to Wolves sounds so right, doesn’t it? It could happen this month. He’s certainly on a list at West Ham marked ‘ship out’.

Re: David’s question on the strange lack of Saudi Pro League transfer rumours, Manchester United fan Chris from Newark emails in with a suggestion:

You were asking for rumours about players leaving for SA in this window; would you be shocked if Casemiro left United?

He’s looked less than convincing when he’s played this season and I wouldn’t be surprised if United cash in for him whilst he still has some value.

It’d leave us lacking bodies in midfield, but when has squad balance ever influenced United’s transfer decision making?

I think that last sentence is the most crucial, Chris. United cannot afford to offload midfielders given the current ruinous state of Erik ten Hag’s engine room.

Manchester United midfielder Casemiro
Casemiro to Saudi Arabia? Don’t bank on it this month. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images

How good is Joe Worrall? No, this isn’t a social media-style rhetorical question, it’s an actual question about how good Joe Worrall is.

An exit from Nottingham Forest seems inevitable this month, with the club captain having not started a game since September and Nuno ready to cash in, but he’s been linked with Middlesbrough (mid-table in the Championship) and West Ham (sixth in the Premier League). Make it make sense.

It seems odd that Ben Brereton Díaz should want to swap picturesque eastern Spain for a return straight back to sodden northern England, but whatever floats your boat, Ben.

It seems Leeds could rival Sheffield United for the Chile international, according to one report.

Thanks David. What a glowing reference.

When phrases like ‘set to complete’, ‘talks’, ‘tipped for move’ and ‘linked’ are dominating the football internet, you know it’s transfer season. Lets see what this afternoon holds.

It’s a little quiet out there in transfer land but hopefully Jürgen Klopp’s new favourite journalist, Dominic Booth, can bring you some more nuggets this afternoon.

Sheffield United need two positives right now. One to cancel out the negative of being bottom of the Premier League and the other one just so they can have a positive.

That positive could come in the form of a loan move for Ben Brereton Diaz from Villarreal, according to The Athletic. The Stoke-born frontman (his mother is from Chile) moved to Spain last summer after scoring 45 goals in 144 matches for Blackburn in the Championship but he hasn’t been able to make an impact in the Spanish top-flight.

Some Chelsea news surrounding one of their Brazilian loanees, Andrey Santos. The midfielder has played just 97 minutes of first-team football since his move to Nottingham Forest in the summer. Crystal Palace have also been linked.

Talking of Saudi, maybe Al-Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard could make a move for teenage darts phenom Luke Littler. The 16-year-old is clearly a fan of Stevie G and can be seen wearing a ‘Gerrard 4’ top in this cutesy video of him as a toddler.

Let’s go into transfer gossip mode. “Al-Ettifaq are currently languishing in eighth place in the Saudi Pro League, a whopping 28 points behind leaders Al-Hilal, and it’s believed that Gerrard thinks Littler can be the ‘fox in the box’ his side are crying out for. Al-Ettifaq have netted just 22 times in 19 Saudi top-flight matches this term.”

Updated

Is it just me or is anyone else a bit perplexed by the lack of Saudi Arabia transfer gossip? There’s hardly anything. I’ve checked and the Saudi transfer window is open from 1 January to 30 January so there’s nothing stopping the player drain continuing.

On Transfermarkt, one deal has been reached. Yes, it’s 22-year old centre-back Mohamed Ameur Belghith moving from Tunisian club US Monastir to Saudi outfit Taweek Club. On loan.

Perhaps the only rumours I can see involve Raphael Varane and Alexis Sanchez leaving Manchester United and Inter respectively. Any others, let me know!

Thanks John. Much mirth on Twitter with Arsenal transfer bods talking about a move for Liverpool’s Curtis Jones. Apparently, Mikel Arteta is a fan as, I expect, many managers are. Anyway, that’s enough about a local Liverpool lad in some of his best form ever in a red shirt moving to a title rival.

Adam in Salford gets in touch: “Kimmich’s Twitter message means that United will be charged a shocking amount.”

Without doubt. Now, that’s me stepping away from the window and David Tindall’s turn to peer into it has arrived.

Updated

Napoli, the fallen Serie A champions, are rather active. Gazzetta suggest they have reached an agreement to sign Salernitana’s Pasquale Mazzocchi with Udinese’s Lazar Samardzic to follow. Tottenham’s Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Boubakary Soumaré, Leicester-owned but at Sevilla, are also in the mix.

They’ve also been linked with Radu Dragusin, who seems to be heading to Spurs.

Yet more Manchester United: they’re linked with a summer move for Michael Olise. That will be costly. And does he really want to join the talent drain? Or can he be the flagship signing of the Big Sir Jim Ratcliffe era?

Sad tale from Livingston, who have released homesick defender Luiyi de Lucas. (via PA Media)

The 29-year-old Dominican Republic international joined Livi in the summer from Finnish club Haka and made 25 appearances for the cinch Premiership’s bottom club, whose defeat by Hearts on Tuesday left them with only two points from their last 13 games.

Manager David Martindale told Livingston’s website: “Luiyi came and spoke to me a few weeks back and stressed that he was struggling with homesickness and was missing being with his family. We agreed that Luiyi would continue until the winter break as to not leave us short in the last few weeks before agreeing to terminate his contract to allow him to return closer to home and family. I wish Luiyi well wherever his next move is and thank him for his time at the club.”

More Manchester United, with The Athletic suggesting there’s a wishlist of Bundesliga strikers, though to these eyes, they don’t look to be replete with goals.

Bayern Munich duo Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Müller, along with RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and in-form Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy.

While Werner at United could be amusing, Müller could be more fun. Though United may recall that Bayern don’t shell players they might still have use of. Think Owen Hargreaves and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The latest Football Weekly is here.

Chelsea youngster Alex Matos is headed for Huddersfield on loan. The young forward/midfielder has played only minutes for Mauricio Pochettino’s first team but has received positive advanced notices from youth level.

Could Ivan Perisic be leaving Tottenham to return back to Croatia and Hadjuk Split? He’s likely to miss the rest of the season after a knee operation on his cruciate but quotes from Croatian press suggest he’s heading home.

Hajduk Split sporting director Mindaugas Nikoličius is quoted thus: “Ivan is hurt, it’s too early. We have to see when he will recover, when he will be able to run and play.

“The transfer window here lasts until the middle of February and that is an advantage for us. There is a dialogue with Tottenham and we will make the best decision for everyone.”

Perisic, 34 has a return date set for April.

The Athletic suggesting Thilo Kehrer is leaving West Ham, initially on loan, to join Monaco.

A few suggestions this morning that Newcastle have gone a bit cold on Kalvin Phillips. That Newcastle’s team has gone cold could be part of that. Developments at the club could get interesting should they lose in the FA Cup to Sunderland. Not much speculation on Eddie Howe at the moment. But FFP means Newcastle’s can’t buy themselves from trouble in the fashion they did two years ago this month.

Spurs latest: this deal seems likely to happen. Jean-Clair Todibo of Lyon seems like a longer-range target, and one that a few other clubs are likely to want to get involved in.

Joshua Kimmich has been linked with Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool. He must know this, and so to the Twitter decoder. What can he mean here?

The Rumour Mill

Serhou Guirassy is a wanted man. Read all about him here.

Done deal: Ipswich have signed the Ecuadorian winger, Jeremy Sarmiento, on loan from Brighton.

He’s been on loan at West Brom before but has been redirected to the Championship’s second-placed team.

Per his new club’s official website:

“The full Ecuador international, who represented his country at the 2022 World Cup, will join up with his Town teammates later this week and will wear the number 21 shirt during his time with the Club.

“I’m very excited to be joining Ipswich at a time when they have been on a great run since winning promotion to the Championship,” Jeremy said.

“Ipswich were always there, after interest in the summer which didn’t quite work out, but I’m here now and I’m ready to do my best.“

Updated

Tuesday’s transfer stories here.

Preamble

Welcome aboard. The window remains gaping, and the deals are – albeit slowly – starting to happen. The big talk so far is of Jadon Sancho’s return to Dortmund, one of those moves that seems all too sensible. So might Ivan Toney to Arsenal, unless you are of a Brentford persuasion. In that case, £100m, please. That’s about the size of the market at the moment, with FFP clanking a few clubs in irons. Still, as they say, you never know what might happen in the transfer window. (Ok, you do but stuff happens, and someone always goes a bit mad at one point.)

Join us for the latest. We’re here all week. And next, too.

Updated

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