Jean-Philippe Mateta has agreed a contract with AC Milan until 2030, but Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner will not let the 28-year-old France striker leave unless they have a ready-made replacement. (Times - subscription), external
Mateta is waiting for permission to fly to AC Milan for a medical, but the final decision over any deal is with Crystal Palace. (Kaveh Solhekol), external
Fulham have had a £20m offer for Joe Willock rejected by Newcastle United, who will not sanction a move for the 26-year-old English midfielder unless they find a replacement. (Talksport), external
If Michael Carrick is retained as Manchester United head coach beyond this season, he wants England forward Marcus Rashford, 28, back from his loan spell at Barcelona. (Telegraph - subscription), external
Sunderland and Everton are showing an interest in Chelsea's 19-year-old England Under-21 forward Tyrique George. Clubs in Spain, France and Italy are also following him. (Sky Sports), external
Sunderland have offered 25-year-old French forward Wilson Isidor to Napoli. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external
Tottenham and Leeds United are among the Premier League clubs to have been offered the opportunity to sign 22-year-old Colombia striker Jhon Duran, who is on loan at Fenerbahce from Al-Nassr. (Teamtalk), external
Liverpool and Chelsea are in talks with Rennes to sign 20-year-old French defender Jeremy Jacquet, but he will only move in the summer. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Chelsea are considering recalling 20-year-old Senegal defender Mamadou Sarr from his loan at sister club Strasbourg. (Sky Sports), external
Auxerre want to sign 23-year-old Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward David Datro Fofana. (L'Equipe)
Sky Paper Talk
Premier League
Michael Carrick wants to bring Marcus Rashford back to Manchester United if he is retained as head coach beyond this season - Daily Telegraph
Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones is being touted for a potential exit from Anfield as the January transfer window enters its final days - Daily Mirror
Liverpool have entered the race for Jeremy Jacquet - talkSPORT
EFL
Leicester City have been in contact with former promotion-winning boss Enzo Maresca over a shock return to the King Power Stadium - Daily Mirror
Scotland
Rangers are in pole position to strike a loan deal for Cameron Archer before Monday's transfer deadline - Daily Record
Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou bluntly assessed Celtic's chances of landing Tawanda Maswanhise, admitting he IS for sale, just not this month - Daily Record
World Cup
Ivan Toney is so desperate to play for England at the World Cup this summer that he is ready to turn down Juventus to continue scoring goals in the Saudi Pro League - Daily Mirror
Darts
Luke Littler has compared the abuse he received at the World Darts Championship to that which Wayne Rooney received during his football playing career - Daily Mail
Guardian
Enzo Fernández seals thrilling Chelsea fightback to shatter 10-man West Ham
Jacob Steinberg at Stamford Bridge
There are times when trying to make sense of Chelsea is a futile task. Lurching between extremes is their speciality. They were shambolic against struggling West Ham for 45 minutes, had Stamford Bridge ready to turn on Liam Rosenior at half-time and still found a way to mount a comeback so wild it left their opponents in a state of utter, uncontrollable rage at the end of an incomprehensible London derby.
Where to begin? With the end, perhaps, and Enzo Fernández running on to a cutback from João Pedro to make it 3-2 to Chelsea in the 92nd minute. It was some turnaround. João Pedro had made the difference after coming on at the start of the second half. The forward scored Chelsea’s first, heading home just before the hour, and was cool when he broke into the West Ham area when the game ran into added time. João Pedro had options. He could have shot and he could have crossed. Instead he threw West Ham by pulling the ball back to Fernández, who is beginning to resemble Frank Lampard with his knack of deciding games with late unnoticed runs from midfield.
West Ham, who remain five points below Nottingham Forest in 18th place, were broken. They dominated the first half, goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville lifting them into a commanding position. The revival led by Nuno Espírito Santo looked set to continue. West Ham were strong, muscular and dangerous. They defended and attacked as a unit. They rattled Chelsea. It would not be enough. The red mist descended. A mass brawl ended with West Ham fortunate that Jean-Clair Todibo was the only player to be sent off. The defender will miss three games for throttling João Pedro but could have been followed down the tunnel by Konstantinos Mavropanos and Adama Traoré.
Nuno could not hide his disappointment. He criticised his side’s defending during the second half, although he has to take his share of the blame. Nuno was bold at first but too quick to retreat when the tide turned. Not for the first time, he relinquished the initiative with his changes. The most inexplicable was taking off Pablo and replacing the striker with Max Kilman. Chelsea were level three minutes later. Liam Delap headed against the bar and Marc Cucurella, one of three half-time changes from Rosenior, stooped to head in the equaliser.
Is Rosenior a lucky manager or a tactical genius? Chelsea’s head coach has six wins from seven games since replacing Enzo Maresca but few have been convincing. The recoveries are becoming a theme. Rosenior responded after making a mess of his initial approach, just as he had when he bungled his starting lineup during Chelsea’s victory over Napoli in the Champions League last Wednesday.
Chelsea’s mentality against inferior opposition was under the spotlight. Rosenior wanted to see if they could back up the win in Naples. He said this game would tell him a lot about his players. He did not discover anything good about them at first.
West Ham rattled Chelsea with an intense, coordinated press. Taty Castellanos and Pablo were dangerous front two. Pablo was involved in the opening goal. His presence deceived Robert Sánchez, who let Bowen’s cross from the right drift inside the far post after seven minutes.
Chelsea, who made seven changes before the second leg of their League Cup semi-final against Arsenal, were miles off the pace. The passing was abysmal and their left flank was a mess. Bowen tormented Jorrel Hato before Cucurella replaced the left-back. It was 2-0 when Alejandro Garnacho failed to track Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The right-back ran on to a pass from Bowen and set Summerville up for his fourth goal in as many games.
The mood darkened. Trevoh Chalobah was arguing with a home fan when the teams walked off at half-time. Rosenior acted. Benoît Badiashile, Garnacho and Hato were taken off. João Pedro, Cucurella and Wesley Fofana brought on. West Ham kept attacking, though; Bowen and Mateus Fernandes were close to making it 3-0.
Chelsea’s substitutions began to make an impact. Nuno was enraged by his side allowing Fofana to advance and cross for João Pedro to head past Alphonse Areola. West Ham faded. Areola made a stunning stop from Moisés Caicedo. Nuno wanted to protect the lead. The introduction of Kilman made no difference. Pedro Neto, another substitute, crossed. Malo Gusto won the first header and Cucurella scored after the otherwise disappointing Delap hit the woodwork.
West Ham are without a clean sheet since August. That will have to change if they are to stay up. This was agonising. They hit the post through Todibo in the 86th minute. It seemed they would have to settle for a point. Fernández had other ideas.
The Athletic
West Ham have dropped 18 points from winning positions – signing a defender is a priority
West Ham United's head coach Nuno Espírito Santo saw his side lose another lead Adrian Dennis/Getty images
By Roshane Thomas
West Ham United’s second-half capitulation against Chelsea was like knowing the ending of a film but still hoping for a different outcome.
The manner of the 3-2 loss to their London rivals was a reminder of West Ham’s inability to retain leads.
Goals from Crysencio Summerville, who scored for his fourth successive game, and club captain Jarrod Bowen gave Nuno Espirito Santo’s side a 2-0 lead at the break. It was an adventurous performance, with full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka registering two assists in a Premier League match for the first time in his career, Mateus Fernandes pulling strings in midfield, and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola seldom tested. On top of that, new signings Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe pressed and chased after lost causes.
West Ham played to their attacking potential in the first half. The biggest compliment was the Stamford Bridge faithful booing the players off at the interval. But all of West Ham’s attacking threat was undone when Nuno replaced Pablo with central defender Maximilian Kilman in the 67th minute. It prompted a tactical switch from a 4-4-1-1 formation to a back five and sitting deeper aided Chelsea’s comeback, courtesy of goals from second-half substitutes Joao Pedro, Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez.
Nuno’s side have now dropped 18 points from winning positions in the league this season, the joint-highest with Bournemouth.
West Ham previously let a 2-0 lead slip in November when they drew 2-2 against Bournemouth. Despite having a two-goal advantage with 38 minutes remaining, Nuno went defensive when he replaced goalscorer Callum Wilson with Tomas Soucek in the 52nd minute. The Czech Republic midfielder played as a lone striker until Niclas Fullkrug, who joined Milan on loan this month, was subbed on 22 minutes later.
West Ham also led in both the 1-1 and 2-2 draws against Brighton & Hove Albion in December and the 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest in January. Following Saturday’s defeat, West Ham remain in the relegation zone, five points adrift of 17th-placed Forest, who host Crystal Palace on Sunday.
“The first half was really good, we played really good football, we controlled the score and combined well,” said Nuno in his post-match press conference. “In the second half, we started well but then we allowed Chelsea to react and we didn’t properly defend our box. That was the main reason. No (bringing on Kilman wasn’t too early a defensive change), it was the moment that we felt, when Chelsea scored the first goal, that the wide areas were not in control, our wingers were not able to control their full-backs.
“It allowed El Hadji Malik Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to go stronger. At the same time, we have to defend the box. When they cross, we have to defend it, and we didn’t. There’s a lot of football to be played, as long as we can keep maintaining the levels of performance like we did in the first half, we’re going to win matches, of course.
“But this match is, with all the respect that I have for Chelsea… it should be ours, it should be our game. We allowed the Chelsea centre-half to step in, step in and cross and after that, we tried to survive, but we couldn’t.”
To compound matters for Nuno, defender Jean-Clair Todibo received a red card for violent conduct after grabbing Joao Pedro’s throat in stoppage time. Frustration boiled over and a mass brawl broke out, culminating in Todibo’s dismissal after VAR officials advised referee Anthony Taylor to check the TV monitor. Todibo is set to miss league fixtures against Burnley (a) and Manchester United (h), and the FA Cup fourth-round trip to Burton Albion.
Jean-Clair Todibo was sent off for grabbing Joao Pedro by the throatAdrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images
“It was a bit of confusion, a lot of stress on both teams, but I didn’t see the images,” Nuno added. “Yeah, that is disappointing (that he will miss the next few games), but I have to see the image so I can judge properly what happened. VAR interviewed, they saw the image. The bad news is that we’re not going to Todibo for the next games.”
Before Monday’s transfer deadline day, club sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say signing a defender remains a top priority. West Ham have conceded three or more goals in four of their last nine league games (against Aston Villa, Manchester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea). With Igor Julio’s season-long loan from Brighton & Hove Albion cut short, West Ham’s recognised centre-back options are Todibo, Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos.
On Thursday, Championship side Southampton rejected West Ham’s £18million bid for defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis. West Ham are unlikely to make an improved offer for the 24-year-old. There is interest in Chelsea defender Axel Disasi but his club would prefer a permanent transfer, rather than loaning out the France international for the remainder of the season.
A busy January has seen the arrivals of Castellanos, Pablo, Adama Traore and Keiber Lamadrid, with the club confident of goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky arriving on loan from Tottenham Hotspur this month. But the search for the last piece of Nuno’s January jigsaw continues.
Caught Offside
West Ham United offered the chance to sign England midfielder Angel Gomes
West Ham United are among a growing list of English clubs who have been alerted to the potential availability of Angel Gomes, with the Marseille midfielder increasingly viewed as a realistic option.
As first reported by Graeme Bailey, intermediaries have sounded out West Ham over a possible move for the England international, despite Gomes only joining Marseille last summer following his departure from Lille.
While the move to Marseille was seen as a fresh step in his development, his situation has quickly become fluid, with Premier League interest intensifying.
Under head coach Roberto De Zerbi, Gomes has been used in a variety of attacking and midfield roles.
Angel Gomes could add versatility to West Ham
He has featured off the right flank, as a No.10, and occasionally in deeper central areas, a testament to his versatility.
De Zerbi’s system places heavy emphasis on ball retention and progression, and Gomes’ comfort in tight spaces has allowed him to adapt to multiple demands within that structure.
From a statistical standpoint, Gomes’ recent seasons in France highlight why clubs remain keen.
During his final campaign at Lille, he ranked among the team’s top players for progressive passes and chances created from open play, while also maintaining a high pass-completion rate for an advanced midfielder.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are currently pushing hardest for his signature, having already opened discussions.
However, West Ham are not alone in monitoring the situation. Newcastle United, Everton, Brighton & Hove Albion, Fulham, and Sunderland have all been made aware of the opportunity, alongside an ambitious Championship side eager to make a statement.
For West Ham, Gomes would represent a stylistic shift rather than a like-for-like addition.
The Hammers have often relied on power and directness in midfield, but Gomes offers something different, creativity, close control, and the ability to dictate tempo in advanced areas.
His arrival could give the club greater flexibility against low blocks, particularly in matches where patience and technical quality are required.
A return to English football is also understood to appeal to the player. Having come through the youth ranks at Manchester United, Gomes is ready for the opportunity to prove himself in the Premier League.